Stop start

[Iank]

Hi guys, I recently bought a 2012 xtr 1.6hdi e  have had it for about 6 weeks now, still trying to get used to it as its auto seems so strange having no gear stick and now got a dial. Well when I bought it I never realised it had stop start as it's never worked since I got it. Read a few threads everyone says when it don't work it's down to battery so checked my battery with volt meter and reading was 12.45 v so battery only 80%. Was going to put another battery on it eventually to see if it works or not.Then on Friday done a 450 mile round trip still didn't work,On Sunday I bled rear brakes as pedal feels a bit spongey and fronts seem to grab on,was going to do fronts as well but her indoors had other ideas. Well I went out in it today and first time I stopped engine cut out couldn't believe it and every time I stopped it worked. So now I am wondering if the stop start works in conjunction with rear brakes.

[rnamman]

Hi guys, I recently bought a 2012 xtr 1.6hdi e  have had it for about 6 weeks now, still trying to get used to it as its auto seems so strange having no gear stick and now got a dial. Well when I bought it I never realised it had stop start as it's never worked since I got it. Read a few threads everyone says when it don't work it's down to battery so checked my battery with volt meter and reading was 12.45 v so battery only 80%. Was going to put another battery on it eventually to see if it works or not.Then on Friday done a 450 mile round trip still didn't work,On Sunday I bled rear brakes as pedal feels a bit spongey and fronts seem to grab on,was going to do fronts as well but her indoors had other ideas. Well I went out in it today and first time I stopped engine cut out couldn't believe it and every time I stopped it worked. So now I am wondering if the stop start works in conjunction with rear brakes.

Hi Iank

I found in cold weather when I had lights, heater, wipers and wireless on, that the Eco stop wouldn't work until I'd given it a good run. So it might be the battery. Mine is a 2014 VTR 1.6hdi e and I am thinking about getting a Varta or Bosch battery before next winter. There are posts on this forum about them, somewhere.
This sounds obvious, but there's an on / off switch for the Eco stop. It's at knee level on the right of the steering wheel,  but I think it's probably hard to switch it off accidentally. By default, it should re-set itself to ON each time the ignition is switched on.

[macdad1968]

Had my used ex-motability  62 XTR  e-Hdi automatic 4 weeks and Stop/ Start never worked.
Read post about the battery needing to be fully charged.
I have a CTEK XS 0,8 trickle charger and after a 24 charge it showed the battery fully charged and working properly.
Drove off and Stop/start worked immediately.
MORAL OF THE STORY.....MAKE SURE BATTERY IS REGULARLY TOPPED UP. CHECK IT BEFORE YOU FORK OUT FOR NEW ONE!
I can thoroughly recommend this charger (5 yr guarantee about £35) . Bought it to keep my camper leisure battery in good condition.

[ron]

You shouldn't ever need to top up a battery unless a car is left off the road for a long time.  In normal use, the alternator should give it all the charging it needs.  Batteries have a finite lifetime, and 5 years plus isn't actually that bad.

By charging it, you're working around the problem instead of solving it.

I've charged my batteries monthly for donkeys years.My C15 battery was original when I sold it @ 8 years/180,000 miles.My last Berlingo is now over 10 years & on original battery.I hope my new Berlingo battery will last as long.According to my volt meter,mains charging brings the battery voltage higher than the alternator after a long run. .2-.4volt.

[Lighty]

You absolutely WILL need to charge the battery. I have a friend that works at a car supermarket & they change stop start batteries all the time, it his biggest single issue these days. 
They have found that even brand new batteries will not reactivity the stop start due to only being at about 80% due to storage etc.
You cannot test the battery purely by voltage, it needs an electronic tester on it to compare EN output against actual values.
My BMW has stop start & a week of short journeys 8 mile each way to work , causes it to stop functioning.
A decent 50 mile trip is needed to make it function again.
P.s not all battery chargers are compatible with agm stop start batteries.

[Gravity]

With some cars, stop-start is causing many issues, and some reports suggest that although it may save a little fuel the downsides outweigh the fuel savings.

For example, stop-start batteries are more expensive and tend to have higher failure rates. Wear on components - starter motors, timing belts, cam gear, is higher.

(Mercedes are finding that on their latest simplex chain engines, serious chain failures are wrecking engines that are frequently stopped and started, whereas taxis and long distance vans with the same engine, that are running almost continuously once started, are not giving the same trouble).

It's a mixed blessing then, like a lot of modern developments, which is why many drivers turn the stop-start facility off.

Gravity

[BerlingoAndy]

Mine hasn't worked for weeks, I'm very pleased as I find it a real pain when it does. First thing on a frosty morning and it stops at the traffic lights before it's even thinking about getting warm, has me reaching for the deactivation button.

[macdad1968]

You shouldn't ever need to top up a battery unless a car is left off the road for a long time.  In normal use, the alternator should give it all the charging it needs.  Batteries have a finite lifetime, and 5 years plus isn't actually that bad.

By charging it, you're working around the problem instead of solving it.

Thanks doofer  and you are quite right if you were having to charge the battery regularly to make the stop start work. However in my case the car had not been used for some time before I purchased it. Additionally I was unlikely to do any long runs to sufficiently recharge the battery.
Therefore if anyone is in the position of having left their vehicle idle for an extended period it is worth recharging before thinking their battery needs replacing to make the stop start work again.

I sought advice from the excellent guys at British Batteries Ltd (BBL Exeter) before using this charger on the start stop battery.