Hello all!

I recently traded in my Charger Hellcat for a 2020 Vantage and am completing some routine maintenance, as well as fixing some small issues. For starters, the battery didn't hold a charge after sitting in the garage for 24 hours. I did leave the car unlocked and the key in the laundry room right next to the garage, so I'm hoping that this drained the battery. I pulled the battery and took it to Advance Auto, and they said it tested good. After driving it a couple of days I'm still getting weird issues like the SRS light staying on and the reverse camera stopped working. When I measure battery voltage at rest, it is low for, at about 12.2 volts. I've had it hooked to a 4 amp charger overnight, and it's not getting to a fully charged state. The only charger I have on hand is a Viking 4 Amp from Harbor Freight, and I have a CTEK MXS 5.0 on the way with magnetic adapter for the rear charge port.


I have a 6 hour road trip coming up and really want to take the Vantage, but I know the battery is on its way out. It is the original battery. The soonest I could get an appointment for battery replacement and registration is December 30th, which is after the planned trip. Since we really want to take it on the trip, I'm contemplating replacing the battery and not registering it, or keeping the existing battery in and bringing along the CTEK charger/maintainer and just plugging it in when we get to our destination. The battery hasn't completely died, and I'm thinking the most probable worst case is it goes completely dead and I have to do the replacement at our destination. I would then be forced to drive it back without registration.


I've read of people on other vehicles (BMW/mercedes) not registering batteries and having no issues. I realize the ecu will think it is the old battery and the charge profile will not be appropriate immediately but should adjust over time. It seems that this really only reduces battery life but shouldn't have any catastrophic consequences.


I know it's best to leave the Vantage at home, but we really want to drive it! It is a blast and we love the car, but it really stinks that it is so hard to get access to the software to register the battery. I have a BMW X5 and was able to download ISTA on a laptop to replace its battery. I realize this comes with the territory of owning an Aston Martin, and I've found two good independent shops to help me in the future, I just wish I could get an appointment sooner.


I also changed the oil and put in some BMC filters. I plan to inspect and clean the filters every oil change and may go back to stock if I start to see signs of issues. Below is a link that could be useful to others that are interested in the oil change procedure.


Also, I was able to successfully use an ELM 327 and the Torque app on my smartphone to clear the service engine codes that were stored after the dead battery situation. The only thing not resetting is the SRS airbag warning, and I'm pretty sure this is because the battery is not at proper voltage on start-up. Anyways, that's the saga to date. I'm interested in any feedback on the battery situation and if others have experienced something similar when the battery is on the way out. Also, if anyone has any questions on changing air filters, changing oil, or pulling the battery, I may be able to help. I did learn some tricks on getting the battery out that could be useful to others.


Oil change link

(2) 2019 Vantage Oil Change DIY | Aston Martin Forum

 

Charger went green this morning, indicating full charge. I disconnected and went for a 10 minute drive. The reverse camera still didn't activate and the airbag light stayed on. When I got home I checked the voltage while running and it was stable at 14.6 V. I then shut the car off and the voltage went down to 12.6V and slowly started falling until stabilizing at 12.34. I wont be surprised if it continues to drop. I think this confirms that it needs to be replaced since resting voltage should be closer to 12.7. Also gives me hope that there is not a parasitic drain issue since I saw the voltage drop immediately after shutting off and stabilizing somewhat at a low value.

Spoke too soon. The lower voltage appears to be from systems still running after shutdown. The voltage is on the way back up and I'm going to watch it to see if it gets to 12.7 or so. Maybe the battery has some life in it still....

 

Just a couple of replies -

I cannot say for sure on the Vantage, but pretty certain you have an AGM battery. I do in my DB11 V12. You shouldn't need a battery "reset" as systems that have a BCM are usually those with Lithium Ion batteries. Those definitely do need a control module reset. Those who have the AMG cars (GTS and higher, not the GT) have Lithium batteries. AGM should just be remove and replace with a new one.

As long as your voltage is 12.xxv for the long term (engine off, such as overnight) you're probably OK . The threshold voltage for most modules found in any car is around 11.8v. When voltage drops past 11.8 is when many modules start to lose functionality and when you might see the flakey faults and warnings on a startup when the car has sat for some days. The CTEK 5.0 is an excellent maintainer, the one I keep my DB11 on when it's not moving.

One additional comment on diagnostics. Just about any CANBUS scan tool, even $10 ones will read the faults that set a CEL. These are called Powertrain functions and set P-codes (P-xxxx). However, there are other systems in modern OBD EMSs such as:
B-codes - Body (lighting, security, etc.)
C-codes - Chassis
U-codes - Network/module, etc.

B, C, U codes always take proprietary tools to read these and a normal, simple scan tool cannot read these codes. Unfortunately, AM is a very unique manufacturer that doesn't make access to its proprietary side very available and no third party diagnostic tool mfgr bothers with AMDS stuff as it is too rare to include. This is for all the late model platforms, not the older ones.

Hope any of this helps, .....Nice looking car!.

 

Thanks for the info! It definitely dropped below 11.8V that one time and I'm hoping it's because I left the key fob close and the doors unlocked. I know for my BMW X5 that registration was recommended, and it was equipped with AGM batteries as well. I would love to be able to drop a new AGM battery in there and would do so today, but I am a little concerned about it damaging the new battery. The battery would be warrantied, so maybe I should just go for it?

 

I decided to replace the battery for now and am going to schedule an appointment with the dealer to reset the air bag light and reset the camera system. Here are the steps and some photos of the battery replacement procedure.

1) First move the passenger seat all the way forward. Then pull the manual release handle at the top of the seat so you can move the seat back to the full forward position.
2) Remove the access panel by reaching between the panel and the floor and pulling forward.
3) Pop out the three cable anchors that are holding the two heavy guage red wires into the floor of the car. I used an angled trim removal tool.
4) Unplug the three electrical connections circled in lime green, and pop the wiring anchor loose that holds them to the front of the battery bracket.
5) Using a 10mm box wrench, remove the nut holding the wire on the positive terminal.
6) Loosen and remove the negative side using a 10mm wrench or small socket.
7) Using the 10mm wrench, loosen the positive terminal nut.
8) You should be able to disconnect the positive connection and move the black box and cables out of the way. I used a bungee connected to the steering wheel to pull it back.
9) Loosen the four 10mm bolts holding the fuse panel. 3 on top and 1 on bottom, fastened to the top of the battery bracket.
10) With the fuse panel loose you now have access to 2 10mm bolts that fasten the battery bracket to the back wall. I used a long wobble extension to go under the fuse panel and get to the bolts.
11) Remove the two 10mm bolts that secure the battery bracket to the floor of the car.
12) Pull out the battery bracket.
12) Move the wiring harness from step 4 back under the fuse panel so it is out of the way.
13) Use a bungee to pull the negative wire back towards the wall of the passenger side. I used the passenger side door latch striker to anchor the bungee.
14) You can start moving the battery forward now. On the left side is the vent. I used the trim tool to disconnect the vent from the battery.
15) Once the vent is disconnected, you should be able to pull the battery out. It is not easy! I kept getting caught on the carpet on the left bottom side.


Tools used.

All disconnections points besides the 2 10mm bolts the secure the battery bracket to the back wall. Also the battery vent on the left side cannot be seen in the photo.

Wire anchors.

Bungee to hold positive wires.

Back battery bracket 10mm bolts. Access with long extension.

Battery removed.

New battery in, fuse panel secure. Reconnect electrical components.

 

Hi @2020vantage

I think you made a good decision to replace the battery especially if you want to travel with the car before you have much hands on time with the car being new to you.

I didn't read through all of your detailed instructions, did you disconnect/remove the + terminal first? I think that's the way I read it.

With the battery disconnected and there was an opportunity to do a hard reset, it sometimes will clear some issues especially if they're U-codes as all modules will reset. It might have helped with the camera, but the SRS is probably more complex.

All the Best!

 

Good catch! I've edited the steps to disconnect the negative side first.
Can you explain the hard reset?
I read for Mercedes to disconnect the negative terminal and let the car sit for 30 minutes. I'm going to try this.

 

Yes, most people won't have the stomach for a hard reset, but it is technically a sound procedure.

After the negative terminal is disconnected, (battery in situ or removed) touch the negative terminal to the positive terminal for 1 to 3 minutes. This drains all of the latent capacitance out of all the modules. When power is restored, all the modules start completely fresh with no residual volatile memory. Sometimes, modules get "lost" on the CANBUS. This hard restart puts everything back online as the modules boot back up.

Without a hard reset, (and many do this the long way) you can disconnect the battery and leave it for as many as 12 hours (or more for some electronics) and accomplish the same thing as eventually capacitance will drain itself, but this does it much more quickly. Non-volatile memory is not affected by a hard reset.

I just did this hard reset on my DB11 about 6 months ago.

 

Thanks! Do you know if I'll need a code for the infotainment? I'm looking through the manual and documents I received, and it doesn't look like this was provided.
I see you probably provided my answer above. Non-volatile memory should not be affected, and I believe that includes the radio code. Is that correct? Sorry for my ignorance! You have been extremely helpful.

 

So I tried the hard reset. With the terminals removed I was measuring about 2.5 volts. I used a home electrical box ground wire (scrap from renovations) to connect the two terminals together. After holding for about 2 minutes, I was measuring .05 volts. I assumed this may be noise, and low enough to reset, so I connected everything and restarted. Still no camera and air bag light on.

Attempt 2, held them together long enough to get the voltage to read .008 volts. Didn't seem to want to drop from here. Still have the two issues, but at least I'm running and shouldn't have to worry about the battery. Thanks again! I'm going to schedule the dealer appointment and see how that goes.

 

Yes, no code needed for infotainment.

Best

 

One more reply - a hard reset can't fix a hard failure. The HR helps when modules get wayward on the network and cannot find their way back, which they sometimes do.

 

Thank you. I have an appointment on the 30th with the Philadelphia dealer to check things out. Hopefully everything will get sorted then!

 

By a hard failure, do you mean something physically broken like a wiring issue or blown fuse? Since all of these issues started after my battery died the first night, I'm hoping I don't have this. Also, do you know of a good resource for the fuse diagram? I would like to check the fuses but cannot find a diagram of what's what.

Nevermind! I see the fuse diagram in the owner's manual.

 

Hi 2020,

Yes, by a hard failure I meant something such as a bad module, failed sensor, etc., something that requires a parts replacement. Yes, could also be a fuse, wire, etc,. Something that isn't going to reset itself with system or SW reboots.