So I have had the 09 Brooklands for about a month and a half now and it has spent a total of 3 weeks at the service department. It has had several warning lights coming alternatively on the dash:
- Check Engine light
- Service Required
- Alternator Charge
- Service Check Battery
I got the car back on Monday after its second stay (14 days) with the service department which peeled the car appart to find the source of the problem. They said that they had identified a drain and that they fixed the problem.
Today after an hour and a half drive I bring the car to my parking lot and the "Service Check Battery" light comes back on.
The Owner's Manual reads that the light indicates that the twin battery control module has detected a fault in one of the batteries and I need to consult a Bentley retailer as soon as possible.
I know that electrical problems can be some of the worst to diagnostic and I really do not want to end up with a problem ridden time bomb, so should I start considering NY's State Used Car Lemon Law?

 

In my experience with my Maserati QP and Ferrari F360, if the battery got low enough to drop voltage under like 10.5 volts, it would start throwing codes completely unrelated to problem. What made it an ongoing issue in my QP was and aftermarket a/v system that would drain the car on top of the cars normal drain. The issue was bad because I would alternate cars and could go 3-4 days without driving car or just making short trips too short to recharge battery even though I had upgraded to Optima battery.

I finally resolved issue when I found a battery from a company named Odyssey that is the same battery as military uses from parent company Enersys. The batteries not only held charge much longer, they charged many times faster than Optima or regular OEM battery.

The short answer to your question is to make sure you don't have a bad battery and start with 2 fully charged batteries and each battery checked to be fine or replaced. The lead acid batteries, even new, don't react well to losing charge and may be your issue. If you have issue again, you could have an intermittent power drain still that only happens from time to time making it hard to find. If your car was 2 weeks looking for electrical drains without running, it's possible batteries were discharged completely, may more than once, or not charged completely before returning car to you.

Once you eliminate possibility of bad battery, alternator, etc,.then you should be ok. If you have issue again after eliminating those things. there is likely still a drain issue and then you need to decide how many times you are willing to deal with it before trying lemon law route. Lemon law varies by state, so read your local law and see what is required to justify a lemon law.

 

Hey BigA thank you for your input. They said that they located the drain the last time it was in. They removed an iPod connector that was installed by the previous owner and then they put in a new battery. After thar they said that they let the car seat for 5 days and did not notice any more drainage.
So the battery having been installed only a few days ago I don't think is the issue. My guess would be the alternator is not charging the battery while the engine is running and that might be why after an 1.5 hour drive listening to the CD player I got a Battery warning..
I checked the lemon law in my state but I really would rather they fix the car because I really like it. However, I do not want to spend half my time at the service department either.

 

If electrical problems persist and the dealership wants to keep you as a customer (especially considering the amount of business you gave them by buying your car), they should let you trade the car in and get a more reliable replacement.

If you don't mind me asking, which dealership was doing the repairs?

 

Manhattan Motorcars.

 

Any luck with repair? I didn't mention the alternator in my previous response because I assumed that would have been one of the first things they checked before spending any time looking for a drain. Also, alternators are fairly simple devices that either work or don't, they usually don't have any intermittent problems unless the regulator starts acting up. The fact they actually found a drain on your car makes me think your issue might be a battery not charging correctly after being drained a couple of times while working on drain issue. Then again, if they did replace battery and you can eliminate that and charging system, you may still have a drain that is intermittent which can be a nightmare to track down since it only happens occasionally. I did see a few members talking about issues with not driving car long enough to charge/ maintain battery between trips. Good luck to you, hope they find your issue!

 

Thanks! I'm taking it in tomorrow but I'm not looking forward to it as i just realized they managed to scratch the leather and the wood veneer next to the radio the last time it was there. I have to take it up with them on top of everything else. I'm seriously getting tired to deal with that dealership...:-(

 

Wow, Norman: I had no idea you were having such issues. Hope it gets worked out!

 

It happens, it's an old school Bentley and it is used.. I'm actually more pissed off by the bad service the dealership provided than by the car having problems. It's the third car I buy from them in 3 years it probably will be the last.
Thank you for the kind words though Sanibel.

 

I have the car back for a few days now and it has been problem free. The issue they told me was due to a loose connection to the battery control module. So I finally get to enjoy it and cross my finger I do not get any more lights.
Thanks for everyone's input

 

This issue sounds awful