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Hello ALL. I left my car in my garage for a little over a month and it would not start. The display shower: "Parking Break not available" My car seems to want to start electrically but the engine never tried to start. My battery (lead acid Part Number 28800-38120) is should be good because it is barely over 2 years old. My last battery last a little over 4 years. My LS600hL has about 65K on the odo.
The “Parking brake not available” message is a typical indication that the starting battery’s State Of Charge is very low. Probably too low to operate the starter. You should remove your starting battery and take it to a battery dealer to be charged and tested.
The “Parking brake not available” message is a typical indication that the starting battery’s State Of Charge is very low. Probably too low to operate the starter. You should remove your starting battery and take it to a battery dealer to be charged and tested.
Thanks for the diagnosis JM. I think you are right. I am very disappointed because my battery is only 2 years old. I don't drive my LS600 that often but I do try to drive her to keep the her juices flowing and electrical systems going. I have neglected doing that the past few months though.
I actually may not have driven my LS600 for three months. Can't recall. In any case, right before my original post, I put my Battery Tender on the car and it started right up. Only problem is it is giving me message that I have a break failure and the VSC, PSC and some other lights are lit up. It tells me to stop and call the dealer immediately. I left the Battery Tender on ever since in hopes the Battery Tender will recharge the battery to full.
Parking brake appears to work fine as far as I can tell. I can hear the brake engage or disengage when I pull or press the button.
Today (3rd day), I started her up again and noticed the engine would not rev at all. After waiting about 5 minutes at most, it allowed me to rev but not beyond 2,500 RPM. Is that normal? Not sure if that means anything. I haven't driven it besides moving it forward and backward in my garage. I have a 175 ft driveway so I may try driving on on that once the battery Tender tells me the battery is fully charged. Any other feedback? Thanks.
Yes, it is normal for the LS600h to only rev to low rpm's in park. It's painfully slow to rev in park as well. After roughly 5 seconds with the pedal floored mine is still under 2500rpm.
It's fairly common for a weak battery to cause errors in the brake system. You'll need a shop or dealer with techstream to do the reset procedure. The codes will likely indicate a bad brake component. Make sure to find a shop that actually uses techstream and is willing to reset the system before dumping money on parts.
Yes, it is normal for the LS600h to only rev to low rpm's in park. It's painfully slow to rev in park as well. After roughly 5 seconds with the pedal floored mine is still under 2500rpm.
It's fairly common for a weak battery to cause errors in the brake system. You'll need a shop or dealer with techstream to do the reset procedure. The codes will likely indicate a bad brake component. Make sure to find a shop that actually uses techstream and is willing to reset the system before dumping money on parts.
Thank you Mike. I actually have Techstream from a few years back. I also have a bluetooth OBD scanner. I will most likely try a reset and hope it clears out. Once the 2 year old battery is charged up, I will try and find the codes and post here. My LS600 is not used often as you can see for a 2008 with 67K miles. I have been contemplating selling it for years but the LS600 is so plush, fairly trouble free and just plain classy so I could not let it go. Besides I personally feel it is worth more than $11K value that I am seeing on truecar.com. I know, I know... car value and feelings are totally unrelated.
I'm glad you got your car started. There are several things you need to do now. To charge your battery with your "battery tender" you need to disconnect the battery from the car while you are charging it. Battery tenders are just chargers with very limited charging current. If you charge the battery in-place then some of the available charging current is sapped by the car's standby load and that will increase the time required to charge the battery and that time may be several days. So, disconnect the car's Neg connection to the battery while you are charging it. The warning lights are common when the battery gets completely discharged while it is connected to the car. No need for any special equipment to get by this. Most of the time the only thing needed is a Power On Reset. To POR the car you need to make sure the battery is good and that it is charged. Disconnect the car's Neg cable from the battery for a few minutes, then reconnect it securely and start the car in the normal fashion. Please be reminded that starting-batteries can suffer permanent damage if their SOC falls below 50% for an extended period of time. You should have your battery charged and tested by a battery professional if you continue to have problems. And one last thing, the term Fully Charged when referring to batteries means that no additional charging will raise the SOC. A battery is that is "fully charged" is not necessarily good or capable of providing satisfactory service in a car. In most situations the definition of a "good battery" is a battery that has a Fully Charged State Of Charge of 70% or greater.
The odds of your battery having gone bad is high. Letting the vehicle sit for 3 or more months at a time on multiple occasions is something that ruins batteries. Have the battery professionally tested as suggested. If it fails or is marginal, just replace it and keep it disconnected with a "smart" charger that can be set for the exact type battery you buy. Batteries are technologically advanced from our father's lead acid battery. Start reading about long term car storage anything's you can do to prevent deterioration or door seals, gaskets and belts. This will also include coolant, oil and brake fluid change to get ALL the original fluids cleared. They will have contaminants that can damage these components. It's not just miles on the car, it's time as well. Sounds like you love the car and it's time to prevent any other issues.
I'm glad you got your car started. There are several things you need to do now. To charge your battery with your "battery tender" you need to disconnect the battery from the car while you are charging it. Battery tenders are just chargers with very limited charging current. If you charge the battery in-place then some of the available charging current is sapped by the car's standby load and that will increase the time required to charge the battery and that time may be several days. So, disconnect the car's Neg connection to the battery while you are charging it. The warning lights are common when the battery gets completely discharged while it is connected to the car. No need for any special equipment to get by this. Most of the time the only thing needed is a Power On Reset. To POR the car you need to make sure the battery is good and that it is charged. Disconnect the car's Neg cable from the battery for a few minutes, then reconnect it securely and start the car in the normal fashion. Please be reminded that starting-batteries can suffer permanent damage if their SOC falls below 50% for an extended period of time. You should have your battery charged and tested by a battery professional if you continue to have problems. And one last thing, the term Fully Charged when referring to batteries means that no additional charging will raise the SOC. A battery is that is "fully charged" is not necessarily good or capable of providing satisfactory service in a car. In most situations the definition of a "good battery" is a battery that has a Fully Charged State Of Charge of 70% or greater.
Thank you for additional input JM. You're right I need to disconnect the negative so the Battery Tender can charge it up. The Battery Tender has indicator for amount of charge via solid or blinking LED colors. I will see if it can get 80%. If it doesn't charge, I will take to to O'Reilly to do.
The odds of your battery having gone bad is high. Letting the vehicle sit for 3 or more months at a time on multiple occasions is something that ruins batteries. Have the battery professionally tested as suggested. If it fails or is marginal, just replace it and keep it disconnected with a "smart" charger that can be set for the exact type battery you buy. Batteries are technologically advanced from our father's lead acid battery. Start reading about long term car storage anything's you can do to prevent deterioration or door seals, gaskets and belts. This will also include coolant, oil and brake fluid change to get ALL the original fluids cleared. They will have contaminants that can damage these components. It's not just miles on the car, it's time as well. Sounds like you love the car and it's time to prevent any other issues.
Hope not. Unlike a regular LS battery, the LS600 battery is around $400. At least it was when I had to buy one a couple of years ago. My first two batteries went almost 4 years.
I replaced mine a few weeks ago. After reading some other threads which recommended H7 batteries I picked one up at walmart. $150 and 2 hours later...
Unfortunately there was a small 1/8" lip on the bottom of the H7 I purchased, just my luck. It still fit within the tray opening but wouldn't sit flat on the bottom of the tray.
Out with the old D31
There were 2 bumps in the tray which I cut out. With them removed the H7 fit. Another option would have been to shave off some of the plastic on the battery.
Made it smell good.
Then to top off the fun. The battery ended up 1\4" too short. At this point I was finished playing. I stuffed some spacers under the bracket for a snug fit.
I replaced mine a few weeks ago. After reading some other threads which recommended H7 batteries I picked one up at walmart. $150 and 2 hours later...
Unfortunately there was a small 1/8" lip on the bottom of the H7 I purchased, just my luck. It still fit within the tray opening but wouldn't sit flat on the bottom of the tray.
Out with the old D31
There were 2 bumps in the tray which I cut out. With them removed the H7 fit. Another option would have been to shave off some of the plastic on the battery.
Made it smell good.
Then to top off the fun. The battery ended up 1\4" too short. At this point I was finished playing. I stuffed some spacers under the bracket for a snug fit.
A non-hybrid LS is a different battery than a hybrid LS. There is a thermal connector for the LS600h battery. Only Panasonic makes this battery. I couldn't find any other third party manufacturer for the LS600h. That said, your H7 solution will not work for me.
I believe that the original starting battery is AGM. Some Battery Tenders are compatible but not all. AGM is more tolerant to abuse than Lead acid. Are you certain the current battery is lead acid? The price you stated is high for lead acid, that's why I ask. If your intention of getting it charged to 80% is successful and the car always starts from now on and the brake warning goes away after reset, there's no need to get it tested. But, most auto part stores will test your battery for free and only takes a few minutes. Just be sure it's fully charged when you get it tested for accurate results. Under normal circumstances, a starting battery should last 3-5 years as your previous batteries did. I too hope it's not bad, I'm basically supporting what JMCRANEY is stating.
I believe that the original starting battery is AGM. Some Battery Tenders are compatible but not all. AGM is more tolerant to abuse than Lead acid. Are you certain the current battery is lead acid? The price you stated is high for lead acid, that's why I ask. If your intention of getting it charged to 80% is successful and the car always starts from now on and the brake warning goes away after reset, there's no need to get it tested. But, most auto part stores will test your battery for free and only takes a few minutes. Just be sure it's fully charged when you get it tested for accurate results. Under normal circumstances, a starting battery should last 3-5 years as your previous batteries did. I too hope it's not bad, I'm basically supporting what JMCRANEY is stating.
I know you are going to point out to me that I said that the LS600 OEM starting battery is an AGM battery. I have since learned that it is a pseudo custom flooded cell battery.
I know you are going to point out to me that I said that the LS600 OEM starting battery is an AGM battery. I have since learned that it is a pseudo custom flooded cell battery.
Hi, glad you chimed in. No need to apologize for an old post. We're all human. Apparently this car uses a proprietary OEM battery. As such, it's computer module would be set up for this specific battery. I don't know the specifics of this battery or if the temperature sensor, or lack of, can throw a code. It appears that some have used a lead acid battery and it works fine. At it's price point, even if lead acid only lasts 2 years, it's still much cheaper than the OEM battery and probably a good alternative. We all want to see the OP get his car running reliably with no codes. New tech seems to complicate things at times.
A non-hybrid LS is a different battery than a hybrid LS. There is a thermal connector for the LS600h battery. Only Panasonic makes this battery. I couldn't find any other third party manufacturer for the LS600h. That said, your H7 solution will not work for me.
The pictures I posted are my hybrid LS600hl. The H7 I used is an AGM battery.
The sensor is held onto the oem battery with a sticker and dab of glue. You remove the temperature (thermal) sensor from your original battery and stick in in the hole on top of the H7. The sensor fit snug in my H7, no glue required. The cars vent line fit onto the H7 battery without any issues. If you put a 1/4" spacer under the walmart H7 battery it will probably fit without any modifications. ( no need to slice and dice like I did) The little spots I cut out were only on the lower section of the tray. A 1/4" spacer will probably keep the battery above them.
Another store may have an H7 that fits slightly better. Temp sensor wires are visible near the corner of the green stripe. It goes in the top of the battery.
09-19-22, 12:31 AM
2008 LS600hL will not start
