V60 B3 12v battery critical charging fault

[Mm1988]

For those interested the on call guy is installing what looks like a little metal bar. It’s what he’s been told to install as there is “nothing wrong with the charging or battery” but without this component we’ll keep getting the message. Hopefully this is a permanent solution and it’s good it’s not just a reset as that seems to have not worked for others.

[MCV60]

Originally Posted by Mm1988

For those interested the on call guy is installing what looks like a little metal bar. It’s what he’s been told to install as there is “nothing wrong with the charging or battery” but without this component we’ll keep getting the message. Hopefully this is a permanent solution and it’s good it’s not just a reset as that seems to have not worked for others.

Yes, sounds similar to the fix the dealership provided back in June for me. The part replaced was apparently a ‘switch’ of sorts connects to the battery under the bonnet. All very vague. Took 1:30hr.

Apparently what the Volvo assist technician did previously was rebooted with battery from the rear to overide the system.

Touch wood no further issues

[brazenskies]

Happened again...

[MCV60]

Originally Posted by brazenskies

Happened again...

Reading back your issues. Did the dealer install the 'switch' of sorts whic connects to the battery under the bonnet or just do a software update?

If only the latter, then my understanding is the 'switch' is what is required.

Touch wood, I have had no issue since.

[justj]

Originally Posted by VOLVOL0VER

This is what you all get when you choose B instead of D or T.
Just saying ...

But it’s a 12V battery issue. Not the hybrid battery.

[Mm1988]

It happened to me again. This is despite having the metal clip thing installed. Pretty frustrated and i’ve completely lost faith in the car now. On call are just on their way but might have to have discussions with the finance company about the car long term.

[Mm1988]

The on call guy did all his tests and figured out the battery is not accepting charge. He was surprised it was so low, especially considering I had driven it 400 miles, almost in one go, this weekend.

The solution is a new battery, fingers crossed this actually fixes the issue.

[LindaP]

My 8 month old v90 cross country B5 had critical battery failure yesterday. It went into "limp mode" at 6mph and had to be recovered to the dealership. They say its been charged up and is fine- just a discharged battery. No reason given as to why it suddenly did so. So at least the forum for the B3 battery problem may shine a light on a very dim answer! No info available about v90 model mild hybrid, but the v60 info looks like the same problem. So thanks to posts from you all!

[jameo]

Hi folks,

I have a V60 B4 new in April '21. Yesterday on return from a ten minute drive to buy Calpol for the three year old, the dash flashed the same error:

12 V Battery Critical charging fault.

Hoping to remove the message I stopped the vehicle (which was driving normally), switched off the ignition and on again. The error message persisted and then a 7mph crawl speed limit kicked in.

Twenty minute wait on the line to Volvo assist and then a 3.5 hour wait for the recovery vehicle. The engineer identified a bunch of errors in the diagnostics (images below). He suggested it may be possible to reset the errors, and the car be drivable again. His concern was that doing so could remove the error reports from the system, such that Volvo's engineers couldn't read them and fix them. So, to Volvo's service centre the car will go.

My question for the forum is whether anyone has a definitive hard or soft ware fix for this issue on this vehicle that I can point the Volvo service centre toward?

I'm reading about the persistent nature of this problem here and my concern is that my local Volvo service centre (with whom we don't have a great track record of issue resolution) will perform a reset of some description, remove the message and return the car to me, only for the problem to return, likely on a cold, dark night when my wife is out with the kids on her own.

Thanks!

[Sub2]

My V60 went to the dealer with this fault in late October and it was given a software update as the fix. So far the fault hasn't reappeared, after happening twice in the month before going to the dealer. Early signs are promising but it's too early to be sure that it's definitely fixed and that I haven't just been lucky the last month or so.

As an aside, the first time I had this fault the car would not start after I stopped and turned off the ignition. The dashboard would do the needle sweep as if the engine was starting but there was no sign of the engine even trying to run. I tried jump starting the car and it not only started the engine but also seemed to clear the fault instantly, letting me drive home normally.
If you get stuck in limp home mode away from home then it may be worth trying a jump start to see if that lets you get out of limp home mode.