Discharge of the light brigade

I bought a BMW 320dSE Touring in just over 2 years ago. The stop/start always worked well until recently. The car has been back to the dealership 3 times and each time they say there is nothing wrong with it. I went round the south circular yesterday and it did not cut out once. The outside temperature was plus 12 degrees so that would not be the reason. Some days it works just once or twice out of about 20 'stops'. My wife's new Fiat 500's stop/start works perfectly. Shall I perhaps try another dealership?

Asked on 12 June 2010 by P.K., via e-mail

Answered by Honest John

Yes, try another dealer. The ECU must either think it's colder than it is, or that you have things on that you don't have on like the a/c. Or it might be that your journeys have been too short to recharge the battery properly, so the system is protecting it from overwork. One of the problems with Efficient Dynamics is that they only work if you do a big mileage. If you do a small mileage, the low resistance alternator does not charge the battery sufficiently.

Tags: stop-start technical issues owning

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