Battery discharge protection active

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2011 Cayenne Turbo

Just did a battery swap. Replaced a Varta 7P0 915 105 C with a Duracell SLI49AGM from Batteries Plus--$200 and a simple 1 hour job.

I hooked up a jump start pack to the jumper terminals in order to keep from totally depowering the vehicle. This seemed to save most of my settings although there were a handful of codes that needed to be reset after starting the vehicle.

The "Gateway/Special Function/battery change" procedure on my iCarScan was unsuccesful (unable to communicate with ECU).

The problem:

I now have the following message that continues showing on the Multi-Function Display:

"Battery discharge protection active Capacity 90%"

and a yellow battery symbol in the lower right corner of the MFD once this message is cancelled.

The yellow battery symbol never goes away and the protection message returns on every vehicle start.

On threads in other boards, there is reference to a switch near the battery that is used for long term storage and/or discharge protection--these are suppositions as there is nothing in the manual that directly addresses this switch.

On my Cayenne, there is a small access to an area just left of the battery which exposes a plastic switch that slides fore and aft within a plastic channel. I found this switch in the aft position. I have moved this switch in every conceivable combination of ignition on/off, vehicle running/off, etc. and have not been able to get rid of the caution message.

Any insight as to the workings of this switch, the need to "register" a new battery, and how to get rid of this harmless, but annoying message will be greatly appreciated.

 

[deilenberger]

There is no "register" the battery on a Cayenne. BTDT spent a lot of time researching it. If you ask a dealer's service department the response will be "huh?" - they simply replace them. There is info in the Gateway on what battery was installed at the factory - but there isn't a tool capable of changing that information or adding to it. I tried Durametric, ICarScan (which looks like it has the ability - but if you go to write it to the Gateway is doesn't "take"), Snap-On and several other tools.  Then I noticed that Porsche actually changes the charge characteristics according to how you're driving the vehicle. If you have it in non-sport mode, charge voltage is limited to around 13.6V. If you press the SPORT button, that voltage will immediately increase 1V. Doesn't matter what gear, what engine speed. The reason for this is fuel economy. They want to increase the corporate fuel economy rating for the EPA - which saves them gas-guzzler money, so they limit the load the alternator will put on the engine when you're in normal mode. Since fuel economy isn't measured in "Sport" mode - they can unlimit the load and allow for full charging.

 

As far as your problem - I suspect your battery is only partially charged. Before installing any new battery it should sit overnight on a smart-charger until the charger indicates it's fully charged. A battery that doesn't have this done will likely never be capable of full CCA rating. What you might try doing is disconnecting the battery and charging it in place. Hopefully you DID connect up the vent tube to the new battery (I have the same battery in my '11 CTT..)  Charge it up overnight and then reconnect it. See if the fault message goes away. The fact that the ICarScan couldn't communicate with your ECU makes me think the vehicle voltage is low enough that the modules have triggered low-voltage protection mode. They shut themselves down to prevent burning themselves out due to low voltage.

 

You can display a voltmeter on the multi-display on the dash. It would be interesting to observe that.

[scanner-1]

My iCarScan behaves as you described, it lets you think you can write the data, then reports unable with some ECU related error.

So, I also thought it might be the battery and put a smart charger to it while it was connected to the vehicle. My caution actually changed to:

"Battery discharge protection active Capacity 100%".

Based on the caution, I think my car seems to think the capacity of my battery is at 90-100%--why the discharge protection remains active...unknown,

Unless an answer shows up here, I'll probably do as you suggest and disconnect-charge-reconnect and see what happens. Perhaps the simple act of depowering the entire vehicle will reset the system as well--although I don't relish the thought of restoring all my settings.

So what do you make of the switch next to the battery? If nothing else, would you mind peeking at yours and let me know what position it is in?

BTW, I always see about 14.5-14.7V on the MFD (never drive in anything other than sport!)

[deilenberger]

I have no idea where there is a switch that you mention. Can you take a photo of it?  If it requires removing the seat - it's not happening.

 

Have you done an entire system scan with the ICarScan? That should pinpoint where any faults are recorded that might cause the message you're seeing. It is worth doing a system disconnect/reconnect - if the voltage dropped low enough when you were in the process of swapping batteries that might account for the message you see. It may be a residual that clears if the car boots up with a fully charged battery.

[scanner-1]

Problem SOLVED.

The switch is located underneath the driver's seat, just to the left of the battery box.

The switch is easily accessed through the outboard most pre-cut section of carpet joined with a plastic cover (see photo). If you remove the seat and peel back the pre-cut carpet covering the battery you will have a much better view. BTW, the seat is very easy to remove.

This switch has got some funky design features. The last 3 pictures should illustrate the features and the solution to my problem.

Notice the channel that guides the sliding switch is in the shape of a C.

I believe the FORWARD position allows the switch to be locked into what I would call Discharge Protection Manual Engagement--use this position when storing or transporting your vehicle to help prevent battery discharge.

The AFT and OUT position is where the switch is located after an automatic triggering of the Discharge Protection logic (think circuit breaker tripped position). With the switch in any position between here and FWD, the Discharge Protection remains active.

The AFT and IN position is visually not very distinct from the AFT and OUT position.  I found it basically by accident and it is more easily determined to be in the correct position by feel rather than visually. The switch on my vehicle does not naturally "like" to go into that position, it takes a little finagling. Verify it's in the correct position by turning the ignition ON and observing the lack of Discharge Protection caution message/yellow battery indication on the MFD.

I suppose this switch tripped because my old battery was weak and/or during the replacement due to low voltage from my jump start pack. Confounding the problem is the switch design--in the darkness of an underseat switch you might think that it just moves forward and aft. You might also not perceive the approximately 1mm difference in position from normal to tripped. Also a switch label and/or a mention in the manual wouldn't hurt!

[deilenberger]

REALLY interesting. I never noticed the switch. I was easily able to see it by moving the seat all the way back and then popping open the little cover. Since I sometimes leave the P!G for a month or so at a time in the garage (out playing/travelling on my motorcycle) putting it in the storage mode has some real appeal. Plus it makes for a great theft deterrent.

 

Cool beans!

[scanner-1]

Not sure how much theft deterrent value the switch has--I was able to drive around as normal even when the system was engaged--so, I am actually not quite sure what gets shut down in order to protect the battery. My guess is that it shuts off all those noises the car makes when it's just sitting there.

Anybody know what this switch really does?

[deilenberger]

I went looking for it in the wiring diagrams - and nothing in the battery-power circuits showed a manually operated switch, so it must be somewhere else..

[belezanelson@hotmail.fr]

On 02/05/2017 at 3:36 AM, scanner-1 said:

Problème résolu.

L'interrupteur est situé sous le siège du conducteur, juste à gauche de la boîte de batterie.

L'interrupteur est facilement accessible à travers la partie la plus pré-coupée du tapis, jointe à un couvercle en plastique (voir photo). Si vous retirez le siège et épluchez le tapis prédécoupé recouvrant la batterie, vous aurez une bien meilleure vue. BTW, le siège est très facile à enlever.

Ce commutateur a quelques caractéristiques de conception géniales. Les 3 dernières images devraient illustrer les fonctionnalités et la solution à mon problème.

Notez que le canal qui guide le commutateur coulissant est en forme de C.

Je crois que la position AVANCE permet de verrouiller l'interrupteur dans ce que j'appellerais l'engagement manuel de la protection contre la décharge - utilisez cette position lorsque vous rangez ou transportez votre véhicule pour éviter la décharge de la batterie.

Les positions AFT et OUT sont celles où se trouve le commutateur après un déclenchement automatique de la logique de protection contre la décharge (pensez à la position déclenchée du disjoncteur). Avec le commutateur dans n'importe quelle position entre ici et FWD, la protection de décharge reste active.

La position AFT et IN est visuellement pas très distincte de la position AFT et OUT. Je l'ai trouvé fondamentalement par accident et il est plus facile de déterminer s'il est dans la position correcte par la sensation plutôt que visuellement. L'interrupteur sur mon véhicule ne "aime" naturellement pas aller dans cette position, il faut un peu finagling. Vérifiez qu'il est dans la position correcte en mettant le contact et en observant l'absence de message d'avertissement de protection de décharge / indication de batterie jaune sur le MFD.

Je suppose que cet interrupteur s'est déclenché parce que ma vieille batterie était faible et / ou pendant le remplacement en raison de la basse tension de mon pack de démarrage. Le concept de l'interrupteur est déconcertant: dans l'obscurité d'un interrupteur sous-jacent, on pourrait penser qu'il se déplace juste en avant et en arrière. Vous pourriez également ne pas percevoir la différence de position d'environ 1 mm de la normale à la valeur déclenchée. En outre, une étiquette de commutateur et / ou une mention dans le manuel ne ferait pas de mal!

 

[belezanelson@hotmail.fr]

My switch does not move why?

[JFP in PA]

1 hour ago, belezanelson@hotmail.fr said:

 

 

Translated:

 

"Problem solved.

The switch is located under the driver's seat, just to the left of the battery box.

The switch is easily accessible through the most pre-cut part of the carpet, attached to a plastic cover (see photo). If you remove the seat and peel the precut carpet covering the battery, you will have a much better view. BTW, the seat is very easy to remove.

This switch has some great design features. The last 3 images should illustrate the features and the solution to my problem.

Note that the channel that guides the sliding switch is C-shaped.

I believe that the ADVANCE position allows you to lock the switch in what I would call manual engagement of the discharge protection - use this position when storing or transporting your vehicle to prevent the battery from being discharged.

The AFT and OUT positions are those where the switch is located after an automatic trip of the discharge protection logic (think of the tripped circuit breaker position). With the switch in any position between here and FWD, the discharge protection remains active.

The AFT and IN position is visually not very distinct from the AFT and OUT position. I found it basically by accident and it is easier to determine if it is in the correct position by feeling rather than visually. The switch on my vehicle does not "naturally" like to go in this position, it takes a little finagling. Check that it is in the correct position by turning on the ignition and observing the absence of a yellow battery discharge / battery warning message on the MFD.

I guess this switch went off because my old battery was low and / or during replacement because of the low voltage of my starter pack. The concept of the switch is disconcerting: in the darkness of an underlying switch, one might think that it just moves back and forth. You may also not perceive the positional difference of about 1 mm from normal to the triggered value. In addition, a switch label and / or mention in the manual would not hurt!"

[Dee Gohil]

On 5/1/2017 at 8:36 PM, scanner-1 said:

Problem SOLVED.

The switch is located underneath the driver's seat, just to the left of the battery box.

The switch is easily accessed through the outboard most pre-cut section of carpet joined with a plastic cover (see photo). If you remove the seat and peel back the pre-cut carpet covering the battery you will have a much better view. BTW, the seat is very easy to remove.

This switch has got some funky design features. The last 3 pictures should illustrate the features and the solution to my problem.

Notice the channel that guides the sliding switch is in the shape of a C.

I believe the FORWARD position allows the switch to be locked into what I would call Discharge Protection Manual Engagement--use this position when storing or transporting your vehicle to help prevent battery discharge.

The AFT and OUT position is where the switch is located after an automatic triggering of the Discharge Protection logic (think circuit breaker tripped position). With the switch in any position between here and FWD, the Discharge Protection remains active.

The AFT and IN position is visually not very distinct from the AFT and OUT position.  I found it basically by accident and it is more easily determined to be in the correct position by feel rather than visually. The switch on my vehicle does not naturally "like" to go into that position, it takes a little finagling. Verify it's in the correct position by turning the ignition ON and observing the lack of Discharge Protection caution message/yellow battery indication on the MFD.

I suppose this switch tripped because my old battery was weak and/or during the replacement due to low voltage from my jump start pack. Confounding the problem is the switch design--in the darkness of an underseat switch you might think that it just moves forward and aft. You might also not perceive the approximately 1mm difference in position from normal to tripped. Also a switch label and/or a mention in the manual wouldn't hurt!

Thank you Sir. this solution Helped a lot .....wedge a screwdriver in between the switch side wall and twist  

[vsurg]

Thanks for this discussion guys. I to just changed out my battery and although I would contest the “easy” description, I inadvertently moved that stupid switch and saw the “battery discharge” warning . I charged the new battery overnight and still saw it. Loved the seat back, lifted the Capet flap and pushed the switch aft. Signal gone!! Thanks!