New Ocean Battery Empty

[RTT]

Hi Folks,

Picked up our new T6.1 California Ocean yesterday. The control panel will not switch on unless the ignition is on. It says on the control panel that the battery is empty. It has been plugged in to the ehu for 15 hours now and even when plugged in, the control panel still says battery empty. The yellow indicator lamp is displaying on the control panel showing that it's charging. Anyone else experience the same issue? I phoned the VW dealership and he reckons it just needs to be driven. He said that the batteries were tested yesterday and are full. But that it may be a sensor issue which may sort itself out by driving. Any advice please?

 

[WelshGas]

Hi Folks,

Picked up our new T6.1 California Ocean yesterday. The control panel will not switch on unless the ignition is on. It says on the control panel that the battery is empty. It has been plugged in to the ehu for 15 hours now and even when plugged in, the control panel still says battery empty. The yellow indicator lamp is displaying on the control panel showing that it's charging. Anyone else experience the same issue? I phoned the VW dealership and he reckons it just needs to be driven. He said that the batteries were tested yesterday and are full. But that it may be a sensor issue which may sort itself out by driving. Any advice please?

I'm not familiar with the T6. 1 Control Panel, but, Does the yellow light you mentioned indicate actual Charging with a voltage reading of 14. 4 v, or just that Mains is connected.
There are many instances of new vehicles with Mains connected and Mains power to the Kitchen Unit Mains socket, but the batteries not charging because the kettle type Mains plug to the Charger is loose.
The charger is above the rear Leisure Battery at the base of the rear wardrobe accessed via a hatch in the boot on the L side.
The Mains lead to the Charger is on the L side of the Charger.

 

[Eber123]

Dear RTT,

First of all welcome in the forum and congratulations for the new Ocean. Is this your first California? Where did you buy it?

Like you explained I would have also expected that the batteries would have been full after 15x hours of charging. At that point it shouldn't be a problem to switch on the control panel (especially if it is such a nice new control panel).

It is strange to suggest that driving the van will "sort this out". For such an expensive buy I wouldn't accept this and let the dealer get away with his responsibility to ensure that you get a fully functional vehicle. But them a wee bit under pressure.

There are lots of things to look after the van - I see the van as a hobby so I don't mind. I see that you are in Dublin. If you have any questions send me a text, maybe I can help. Kilcock is just a few minutes away from Dublin.

Happy California,
Eberhard

 

[RTT]

I'm not familiar with the T6. 1 Control Panel, but, Does the yellow light you mentioned indicate actual Charging with a voltage reading of 14. 4 v, or just that Mains is connected.
There are many instances of new vehicles with Mains connected and Mains power to the Kitchen Unit Mains socket, but the batteries not charging because the kettle type Mains plug to the Charger is loose.
The charger is above the rear Leisure Battery at the base of the rear wardrobe accessed via a hatch in the boot on the L side.
The Mains lead to the Charger is on the L side of the Charger.

I'm not actually sure. I phoned the dealer and bringing it back to get it sorted. Thanks for the help.

 

[RTT]

Thanks Eberhand,

Yes it's our first California. We bought it in Frank Keane. I phoned them there and bringing it out to them now. They said a reset should hopefully fix it. I'll keep you posted. Thank you.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

Best of luck. If you talk to Ger (Sales) give him my regards and ask him when they believe to sell the over 96K Ocean?

From Service side I always deal with Eoin Campbell he is quite good. He took over from Ian Murphy and seems to understand that a California is so much more than an normal car and comes with a bit more work for them as a Golf. Ian (he left, I believe to Renault) and now Eoin are good (as actually the rest of Frank Keane Liffey Valley).

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks Eberhand,

Yes it's our first California. We bought it in Frank Keane. I phoned them there and bringing it out to them now. They said a reset should hopefully fix it. I'll keep you posted. Thank you.

If you could, find out how they do the Reset on the Control Panel. It would be very useful for the Forum members who have the T6. 1.

 

[Eber123]

Just thinking about it, you might deal with Frank Keane Deansgrange.

My wife and I were there only ones, many weeks ago to look at a T6.1 Coast.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Rowls1958]

Was yours built before lockdown and therefore parked up for 3 months with the batteries flat ? No expert on batteries but may that have damaged them ??

 

[BT23]

Just thinking about it, you might deal with Frank Keane Deansgrange.

My wife and I were there only ones, many weeks ago to look at a T6.1 Coast.

Regards,
Eberhard

Hi Eberhard,

I am RTT’s wife and thought I jump in as he is at the garage now. It was indeed FK Liffey Valley and Ger who we dealt with.
Pretty poor service that they did not make sure that the battery was fully charged.
when we saw the Cali 2 weeks ago it already mentioned a low battery.
Let’s hope they will be able to fix this so that we can enjoy our first weekend with it

Best regards,
Barbara

 

[BT23]

Was yours built before lockdown and therefore parked up for 3 months with the batteries flat ? No expert on batteries but may that have damaged them ??

I am suspecting the same!

 

[Andyboy]

Hi Folks,

Picked up our new T6.1 California Ocean yesterday. The control panel will not switch on unless the ignition is on. It says on the control panel that the battery is empty. It has been plugged in to the ehu for 15 hours now and even when plugged in, the control panel still says battery empty. The yellow indicator lamp is displaying on the control panel showing that it's charging. Anyone else experience the same issue? I phoned the VW dealership and he reckons it just needs to be driven. He said that the batteries were tested yesterday and are full. But that it may be a sensor issue which may sort itself out by driving. Any advice please?

Hi Folks,

Picked up our new T6.1 California Ocean yesterday. The control panel will not switch on unless the ignition is on. It says on the control panel that the battery is empty. It has been plugged in to the ehu for 15 hours now and even when plugged in, the control panel still says battery empty. The yellow indicator lamp is displaying on the control panel showing that it's charging. Anyone else experience the same issue? I phoned the VW dealership and he reckons it just needs to be driven. He said that the batteries were tested yesterday and are full. But that it may be a sensor issue which may sort itself out by driving. Any advice please?

I had the same problem with a new coast display would not work was told to charge the bacteria but after 6 hours just got a message saying bacteria empty. Took it back and decided to pay a little more and bought a ocian instead problem solved. But it does sound like there is an issue with this.

 

[Loz]

I would also check the charger fuse (30A) under the seat. But if the batteries have been sat for a week or more below 10.6 volts they will be toast and will need to be replaced as they will not take a charge.

 

[ainsy]

Was yours built before lockdown and therefore parked up for 3 months with the batteries flat ? No expert on batteries but may that have damaged them ??

If this was the case you'll need 2 new leisure batteries.
I've been through the same process and once they've been left without a charge they won't hold a charge.

 

[Rowls1958]

Sorry, but is this correct ? There will be many of us here taking delivery of vans that will have been parked up for 2/3 months. I presume VW have not kept the batteries charged, would seem to be an impossible task.... However, before I insist the dealer changes them, I would like to be sure of the technical issues. I don't suppose there is any electrical engineers on the site who could advise......

 

[ainsy]

Sorry, but is this correct ? There will be many of us here taking delivery of vans that will have been parked up for 2/3 months. I presume VW have not kept the batteries charged, would seem to be an impossible task.... However, before I insist the dealer changes them, I would like to be sure of the technical issues. I don't suppose there is any electrical engineers on the site who could advise......

The batteries are AGM (absorbed glass mat) ones, which are meant to withstand being left drained a little longer than normal lead acid ones.
In my experience though if they have been left discharged they will no longer fully hold a charge.
For example my batteries now can be left for several weeks and will still be at 12.7v (100% charge).
When I picked up my Cali it had been left for 8 weeks without a charge, which damaged the batteries. They couldn't hold a charge even overnight and both needed to be replaced.
The manual says they need to be charged for 24hrs every 4 weeks (if I remember correctly).

VW will test the battery using a VAS6161 tester but unfortunately this doesn't test if it will hold a charge correctly

 

[RTT]

Hi again guys,
So I'm just back from the dealership. Believe it or not they said that they had two other Californias in this morning with the same problem. They managed to get sorted eventually. He said that there was some glitch with the software update but they had a fix. On the other two vans, they disconnected and reconnected all batteries and that worked. It didn't work on mine however and he was about to give me a temporary car and hold onto the California for the weekend, meaning having to cancel our plans for a trip this weekend. I wasn't happy. Then he came back out and said they tried again and mine was now fixed but that they were testing it.
@WelshGas they didn't actually reset the control panel as such.
@Rowls1958 Yes I imagine it was sitting up for a while but they assured me that the batteries were in fact fully charged but the van's system believed they weren't, until everything was reset.
The mechanic said (apparently a California engineer and the only one in Ireland ) that VW leave a battery terminal loose to prevent batteries going flat while being shipped.
Anyway all is good now. I'm off out to play with it now!

 

[Rowls1958]

It will be interesting to see if they now hold their charge........

 

[ainsy]

Hi again guys,
So I'm just back from the dealership. Believe it or not they said that they had two other Californias in this morning with the same problem. They managed to get sorted eventually. He said that there was some glitch with the software update but they had a fix. On the other two vans, they disconnected and reconnected all batteries and that worked. It didn't work on mine however and he was about to give me a temporary car and hold onto the California for the weekend, meaning having to cancel our plans for a trip this weekend. I wasn't happy. Then he came back out and said they tried again and mine was now fixed but that they were testing it.
@WelshGas they didn't actually reset the control panel as such.
@Rowls1958 Yes I imagine it was sitting up for a while but they assured me that the batteries were in fact fully charged but the van's system believed they weren't, until everything was reset.
The mechanic said (apparently a California engineer and the only one in Ireland ) that VW leave a battery terminal loose to prevent batteries going flat while being shipped.
Anyway all is good now. I'm off out to play with it now!

Great news, glad it's sorted. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it can hold a 100% charge

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

Well, that sounds all strange. Never the less I hope the issue is sorted now. RTT I know how it is to have planned to look after the van and something comes up - very annoying.

The weather improved a wee bit this afternoon so I spend a bit of time on the van myself and added some stickers from our last summer holiday (well, these days everything takes longer ).



RTT let me just add another picture of the van from a few weeks ago when the weather was better:



Frank Keane in Liffey Valley looked after me rather well during the last 2,5 years. Have I said that with one exception there were no bigger issues. But I had some extra wishes and ideas and they helped me. Before Corona I popped in ever so often just to say hello and to see if there are any news. The poor guy from Service had a good bit of work with me - but we got along very well.

Enjoy the afternoon with the van and have a nice weekend.

Happy California,
Eberhard

 

[RTT]

Good afternoon,

Well, that sounds all strange. Never the less I hope the issue is sorted now. RTT I know how it is to have planned to look after the van and something comes up - very annoying.

The weather improved a wee bit this afternoon so I spend a bit of time on the van myself and added some stickers from our last summer holiday (well, these days everything takes longer ).

View attachment 62118

RTT let me just add another picture of the van from a few weeks ago when the weather was better:

View attachment 62119

Frank Keane in Liffey Valley looked after me rather well during the last 2,5 years. Have I said that with one exception there were no bigger issues. But I had some extra wishes and ideas and they helped me. Before Corona I popped in ever so often just to say hello and to see if there are any news. The poor guy from Service had a good bit of work with me - but we got along very well.

Enjoy the afternoon with the van and have a nice weekend.

Happy California,
Eberhard

Beautiful van. I'll certainly be keeping an eye on the batteries and whether they hold their charge or not and I'll keep you all posted. Thanks for the advice.

 

[GSX1300R]

Many people state on here that when your batteries go flat and are left a while they are knackered and need to be replaced..Not from my personal experience..Mine went down to zero on the control panel and listening to people on here I thought oh well they obviously know what’s what.. But I thought I will try and disconnect all my add ons, That is front and rear dash cams and sat nav..Charged the batteries for 24 hours to 100%. Turned of the control panel 8 weeks later into the lockdown without any use turned the control panel on..Batteries at 90%.. and everything working perfectly again..

 

[WelshGas]

Many people state on here that when your batteries go flat and are left a while they are knackered and need to be replaced..Not from my personal experience..Mine went down to zero on the control panel and listening to people on here I thought oh well they obviously know what’s what.. But I thought I will try and disconnect all my add ons, That is front and rear dash cams and sat nav..Charged the batteries for 24 hours to 100%. Turned of the control panel 8 weeks later into the lockdown without any use turned the control panel on..Batteries at 90%.. and everything working perfectly again..

0% or 0 v on the Control Panel?

 

[Rowls1958]

Unless there is a qualified automotive electrical engineer on here, I don't think we are going to get a definitive answer, at least not one I'm confident of going to my dealer with.....

 

[WelshGas]

Unless there is a qualified automotive electrical engineer on here, I don't think we are going to get a definitive answer, at least not one I'm confident of going to my dealer with.....

The Dealership will not change them, no matter what you say. They will have to do certain tests before a Warranty test would be authorised.
As long as the batteries are placed on hookup monthly, as detailed in the handbook, and last for 48-72 hrs running fridge and parking heater, not on hookup, then you’ll have no cause for concern.
ps. I wouldn’t think VW would leave the batteries connected whilst awaiting delivery.

Now, the Dealerships is another matter if they’ve had them in their compound for months.