Battery drains

[Luc Cornelissen]

In 2.5 years this is the second time I have this problem.
We travel every year for about six months. We are in Malta right now. No dealers or servicepoints.
I have a freezer in the back to keep yhe food for the dogs.
The freezer is on the secondary battery.
Since a few days the primary battery runs empty over night. From 74% to 48% last night.
During travel it charges again but no more than 75%.
First time I had the problem is not more than 1 tear ago. They changed the battery. But the problem came back and the annoying thing is there are no service points nearby. I am obliged to drive every day.
Called the dealer and he thinks it's the secondary battery which drains the primary. In a few days I can disconnect the freezer so I can see what happens to the primary when nothing is connected.
Anyone had this experience? Should I just change the primary again ?
Grts Luc

 

[TheDocAUS]

Here are some things you can look at, but having a cheap battery monitor can help find the underlying cause (the INEOS gauge is not that accurate):

Thread 'What is draining my battery in my IG or QM when parked?'

Aug 24, 2025

PART 1- THE POSSIBLE CAUSES - this post
PART 2 - WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT - next post
PART 3 - FURTHER CHECKS - look here​

PART 1- THE POSSIBLE CAUSES
I am writing a checklist for owners to work through if your battery is going flat quickly. Understanding how the INEOS works is useful to work out if there is a problem or just the way your setup is working.

All modern 4X4s make BIG power demands on the battery. The INEOS is close to what I experienced with the much older Nissan Patrol over 10 years. I had a dual battery setup in each. I fixed the...

• TheDocAUS
• battery
• Replies: 51
• Forum: Electrical, ECU, HVAC, Lights & Infotainment

• 

Post in thread 'What is draining my battery in my IG or QM when parked?'

Aug 24, 2025

PART 2 - WHAT YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
If you do not know what you are doing, leave it to the dealer or an auto electrician.

WARNING FROM HQ94: "when looking for shorts and drains and working or testing around the steering wheel or airbags DO NOT TEST SRS AIRBAGS & SEAT BELT PRETENSIONERS without knowing the circuit and what you are doing. Measuring resistance, OHMs and stray millivolts mV can set off airbags, and seatbelt pretensioners."

How to manage battery power drains

1. WARNING: If you are going to disconnect any battery, first allow the car to go into SLEEP...

• TheDocAUS

• 

 

[Joerg]

We are facing the same problem for the last 18 month
Dealer and Ineos Australia can’t find what causes the sudden and random battery drainage
On top of that problem the charging software seems to be faulty as the alternator delivers no charge after 70 %
So sorry no solution but the message
You are not alone with this problem

 

[RY-Journeyman]

Weird. Definitely not normal. I just got my vehicle back on the road after overseas shipping and transport. Last saw it in last week of November, got it back start of this week. Total time without being driven was about 2 months and about 5 minutes of being started to load unload I’m guessing plus the doors all open do compliance and bio security checking at the border. I handed over at 98% battery (dual battery Australian diesel trialmaster spec) and got it back at 78% charge on Monday. Have driven it about 1 hour in total now and is sitting at 83% this morning. Doing a 4 hour drive this weekend so that should get it in the high 90s again.

Battery drain is definitely a fault, not a normal “feature”.

 

[Ever Pragmatic]

Mine has the same issue and charge ranges between 70 and 80%.. for sanity, I occasionally trickle charge it off the mains and it does go to to almost 100% and holds to above 90% for a reasonable time thereafter with regular use. My dealer pointed out that I should only charge it using the live terminal in the engine bay, and not by connecting to the battery terminals directly. Apparently the ECU doesn’t like it..

I do recognise that if you leave it for an extended period, 14 days or more, it goes back to the 70-80% range. One thing I have noticed is that it’s never discharged to the point it won’t start but that maybe unique to my particular circumstances. I should add that mine is a single battery set up and was in the first 600 vin numbers so pretty early.

 

[TheDocAUS]

The onboard SOC is inaccurate, unless it is re-calibrated every 2 weeks or so - it depends on car usage. By that I mean have the battery actually fully charged and the console saying 100%.

You get more accurate information if you look at the charging rate, but I had 10 years of doing this on the Patrol. SO I can make an educated guess.

A cheap battery monitor is more accurate over the longer term than the INEOS version.

I have been studying the onboard one for the last 12 months.