[colin bird]

I have a 20 plate custom bought from new,I drive to work ach day between 8 and 12 miles to my first job,with minimal stopping,then I clean between 15 and 20 houses and then drive home.
Van is hardly ever used at night or weekends,van is now 13 months old and has 14 k on the clock
During the winter months heater and fan is on and also heat seats.
Approx 6 weeks ago stop start stopped working,I had to wait all that time to get a slot for them to look at it as I needed a loan vehicle
When I picked the van up they advised the stop start had stopped working as the van was not going on long enough journeys to keep the battery charged above the level for the stop start to keep working,they have charged the battery and it's now ok.
My way of thinking stop start is fitted to vehicles to reduce pollution so perfect if you are sitting in city traffic ie London but if you are and the stop start is on and off all day and you live in London it will soon stop working due to lack of charge going back into battery.

My wife has ans Audi on a 66 plate with stop start does similar journey to me each day apart from the 15 to 20 jobs but has had no issues with stop start

I'm not really buying what there saying to me so and feedback would be appreciated

[zesty]

I hate stop start, it’s turned off every time I enter the vehicle.

All it does is cause more wear and tear.

You ain’t gonna save the world with a little bit of stop start whilst China are pumping our more co2 than the west could dream of.

 

[KS Cleaning]

I have the same problem with mine, the problem is that the battery the van comes with is pants and isn’t up to the job. The only way around it is to upgrade the battery at your own cost.

[colin bird]

I have the same problem with mine, the problem is that the battery the van comes with is pants and isn’t up to the job. The only way around it is to upgrade the battery at your own cost.

Yes I agree my thoughts are either the battery is not big enough or the alternator isn't working properly

[colin bird]

I hate stop start, it’s turned off every time I enter the vehicle.

All it does is cause more wear and tear.

You ain’t gonna save the world with a little bit of stop start whilst China are pumping our more co2 than the west could dream of.

It's a pain in the arse having to turn it off ach time you start up,there's no way of disabling it permenantley

 

[Spruce]

I have the same problem with mine, the problem is that the battery the van comes with is pants and isn’t up to the job. The only way around it is to upgrade the battery at your own cost.

Yes I agree my thoughts are either the battery is not big enough or the alternator isn't working properly

Are you charging a leisure battery as well? If so how are you charging it?

Stop start is dependent on the battery's state of charge. If they charged the battery and its working then they are advising you correctly. I don't know what other emission control features you have on your van, i.e. regenerative braking etc. but winter time using all those additional accessories including the internal blower and heated windscreen (if you have it) consume vast amounts of power. Your alternator won't recharge a starter battery quickly.
8 miles might take you 16 minutes at 30mph.

[colin bird]

I have the same problem with mine, the problem is that the battery the van comes with is pants and isn’t up to the job. The only way around it is to upgrade the battery at your own cost.

Yes I agree my thoughts are either the battery is not big enough or the alternator isn't working properly

Are you charging a leisure battery as well? If so how are you charging it?

Stop start is dependent on the battery's state of charge. If they charged the battery and its working then they are advising you correctly. I don't know what other emission control features you have on your van, i.e. regenerative braking etc. but winter time using all those additional accessories including the internal blower and heated windscreen (if you have it) consume vast amounts of power. Your alternator won't recharge a starter battery quickly.

Leisure battery is charged seperatly,
So is the way forward when the stop starts stops should I charge battery ?

[Slacky]

My custom’s stop-start failed after a few months. Same diagnosis despite using it for long journeys, regularly. IMO it’s pants, Ford know it, but haven’t got round to resolving it.

[Spruce]

I have the same problem with mine, the problem is that the battery the van comes with is pants and isn’t up to the job. The only way around it is to upgrade the battery at your own cost.

Yes I agree my thoughts are either the battery is not big enough or the alternator isn't working properly

Are you charging a leisure battery as well? If so how are you charging it?

Stop start is dependent on the battery's state of charge. If they charged the battery and its working then they are advising you correctly. I don't know what other emission control features you have on your van, i.e. regenerative braking etc. but winter time using all those additional accessories including the internal blower and heated windscreen (if you have it) consume vast amounts of power. Your alternator won't recharge a starter battery quickly.

Leisure battery is charged seperatly,
So is the way forward when the stop starts stops should I charge battery ?

You will probably find it best to incorporate a weekly starter battery charge into your schedule. It may not be necessary in summer when you stop using those winter comfort accessories.

Charging my leisure battery using a B2B charger sucks power from my starter battery. Now I have hard wired my charger into the starter battery side of my B2B charger so I fully recharge both batteries every time.

[Spruce]

My custom’s stop-start failed after a few months. Same diagnosis despite using it for long journeys, regularly. IMO it’s pants, Ford know it, but haven’t got round to resolving it.

I also think that the calcium acid batteries aren't as good as the older lead acid batteries have proved to be. They have improved but not there yet.

[NWH]

I think that Grippa came up with a charging system to get round this.

[Simon Trapani]

Same prob in my 16 plate vivaro. I don’t do ling enough journeys for starter battery to get fully charged. I bench charge it in situ with ctek stop/start charger once a month now.  Original van battery was only capable if charging to 60% auto electrician told me. Bought s new battery but same happened a few weeks later hence why i now bench it.  I also have a sterling battery to battery charger but also bench that nightly with a ctek mx7.  Still the stop start will only work for a few days after starter battery is charged. I just din’t do the mileage.  Can’t be bothered to turn it off every time i get in the vehicle. Can’t turn it off permanently though. I actually quite like it when it’s working

[windowswashed]

I found it frustrating waiting at traffic lights for it to start back up so held the button down for three seconds to overrun the system so it's permanently locked from stopping the engine at lights, stupid function in the first place for practicality.

[dazmond]

mine stopped working after the first few months and that was 4 years ago now(17 plate connect)....i have a button to turn it off anyway in the cab.....

my golf GTD stop/start works fine but ive only had it for 8 weeks from new.....

[dd]

I would not call 14k mileage in 13 months low. As others have suggested battery seems to be not up to it.

Not a fan of stop/start myself.

[Splash & dash]

I have a 20 plate custom bought from new,I drive to work ach day between 8 and 12 miles to my first job,with minimal stopping,then I clean between 15 and 20 houses and then drive home.
Van is hardly ever used at night or weekends,van is now 13 months old and has 14 k on the clock
During the winter months heater and fan is on and also heat seats.
Approx 6 weeks ago stop start stopped working,I had to wait all that time to get a slot for them to look at it as I needed a loan vehicle
When I picked the van up they advised the stop start had stopped working as the van was not going on long enough journeys to keep the battery charged above the level for the stop start to keep working,they have charged the battery and it's now ok.
My way of thinking stop start is fitted to vehicles to reduce pollution so perfect if you are sitting in city traffic ie London but if you are and the stop start is on and off all day and you live in London it will soon stop working due to lack of charge going back into battery.

My wife has ans Audi on a 66 plate with stop start does similar journey to me each day apart from the 15 to 20 jobs but has had no issues with stop start

I'm not really buying what there saying to me so and feedback would be appreciated

I had exactly the same issues with my renault master van , I regularly have to charge the battery to keep it charged up , my other van an MAN TGE , is fine and keeps charged up as does  my audi ,

[dazmond]

I would not call 14k mileage in 13 months low. As others have suggested battery seems to be not up to it.

Not a van of stop/start myself.

That's not low mileage!I've done 14k miles in 4 years and 3 months!😄👍

[JandS]

It won't work when battery is low....not really a problem though is it.

[Spruce]

It won't work when battery is low....not really a problem though is it.

The problem comes from what happens if the battery becomes too low in charge.

It won't start the van.

A calcium battery is less prone to sulphation but not immune to it. Leaving a battery at a low level of charge is a problem as the battery will deteriorate quicker due to sulphation. Sulphation affects every battery to one degree or another.

A calcium battery needs a higher charge rate than a standard lead acid battery. Its needs 14.8v where a maintenance free lead acid battery requires 14.2v. A flooded battery requires 14.6v.

My Numax battery charger pushes out 13.9v. So the Numax leisure battery charger won't fully recharge a calcium battery.  It won't fully recharge a leisure battery either but it does a good enough job. However, recharging the starter battery will help as it gives the van's alternator a base to work from.

[KS Cleaning]

I would not call 14k mileage in 13 months low. As others have suggested battery seems to be not up to it.

Not a van of stop/start myself.

That's not low mileage!I've done 14k miles in 4 years and 3 months!😄👍

My van is 20 months old and has done 6k miles. I just sold my car last week, just coming up for 6 years old and only had 11k miles on it.

[KS Cleaning]

I actually put my van into the Ford garage last week due to the stop/start not working, this despite a 60 mile round trip to Edinburgh. You can’t even listen to the radio during lunch break as it switches off after 2 minutes when it goes into battery saving mode. Ford know the batteries are crap but because it doesn’t show up as a fault code they won’t replace them under warranty.
Bottom line is they sell the vans with stop/start technology but install a battery that doesn’t support it. I reckon their emission results are probably more flawed than VW!

[zesty]

I’m amazed most of you like stop start, I hate it.

Just turn it off lads, or, get it mapped out. It’s a load of climate bed wetter political nonsense.

 

[P @ F]

I have stop start in my Fiorino , didn’t work when I got the van , had a new battery a while back and it still doesn’t work 

TBH even if it did work I don’t think I would bother with it , I see it as a starter motor killer myself  !

[Splash & dash]

I have stop start in my Fiorino , didn’t work when I got the van , had a new battery a while back and it still doesn’t work 

TBH even if it did work I don’t think I would bother with it , I see it as a starter motor killer myself  !

You need a special battery for it to work it doesn’t work with a normal one , they generally cost double the price of a normal battery .

[colin bird]

I found it frustrating waiting at traffic lights for it to start back up so held the button down for three seconds to overrun the system so it's permanently locked from stopping the engine at lights, stupid function in the first place for practicality.

Do you have a transit custom ?

[colin bird]

mine stopped working after the first few months and that was 4 years ago now(17 plate connect)....i have a button to turn it off anyway in the cab.....

my golf GTD stop/start works fine but ive only had it for 8 weeks from new.....

Can you turn it off permenantley in a connects? In my custom it I turn it off, when I next turn the engine off to do a job, then restar the stop start switches itself on

[zesty]

mine stopped working after the first few months and that was 4 years ago now(17 plate connect)....i have a button to turn it off anyway in the cab.....

my golf GTD stop/start works fine but ive only had it for 8 weeks from new.....

Can you turn it off permenantley in a connects? In my custom it I turn it off, when I next turn the engine off to do a job, then restar the stop start switches itself on

My custom an older one so doesn’t have it, thank goodness.

But our beemer does, it just becomes habit to turn it off every time you  get in and drive.

[Elfyn]

I persuaded one of the lads in my local dealer to permanently turn the stop/start off. I also fitted (on his advice) a solar panel that was the only means of charging my leisure battery - no split charge relay. Never had any problems after that.

[dazmond]

mine stopped working after the first few months and that was 4 years ago now(17 plate connect)....i have a button to turn it off anyway in the cab.....

my golf GTD stop/start works fine but ive only had it for 8 weeks from new.....

Can you turn it off permenantley in a connects? In my custom it I turn it off, when I next turn the engine off to do a job, then restar the stop start switches itself on

theres a button in the cab to turn it off....

[windowswashed]

I found it frustrating waiting at traffic lights for it to start back up so held the button down for three seconds to overrun the system so it's permanently locked from stopping the engine at lights, stupid function in the first place for practicality.

Do you have a transit custom ?

The start stop button has been disabled on my Bmw. I drive a Merc Vito for work as it's faster than a lot of Bmw's. Contemplating getting rid of my car for a vito 122 as they go 0-60 in under 9 secs with 225 hp, they are wicked vans to drive, love them, better than a transporter anyday 

[colin bird]

mine stopped working after the first few months and that was 4 years ago now(17 plate connect)....i have a button to turn it off anyway in the cab.....

my golf GTD stop/start works fine but ive only had it for 8 weeks from new.....

Can you turn it off permenantley in a connects? In my custom it I turn it off, when I next turn the engine off to do a job, then restar the stop start switches itself on

theres a button in the cab to turn it off....
[/quote

Hi dazmond I've seen the button on the dashboard,but it doesn't switch it off permenantley,each time after removing key it comes back on

[colin bird]

Four days after battery was charged by dealer stop start is not working,I have contacted ford customer service,will advise on the outcome

[Simon Trapani]

You don’t do enough mileage to charge it enough for it to kick in. It’s a common problem for short journeys.

[colin bird]

You don’t do enough milage to charge it enough for it to kick in. It’s a common problem for short journeys.

Yes agree with that,but that doesn't make it right,I'm being a bit pedantic over it i know,but it's sold with stop ,start ! And in my opinion it should do what's it says,my wife's Audi 66 plate also short journeys stop stat works without missing a beat.
The custom is also sold with a cab heater,imagine if they said the same thing about that,I will be a difficult customer,we all have difficult customer cleaning windows,now it's my turn !!

[Smudger]

The answer is clear - it's a Ford

Audi is a different league entirely

Darran

[Splash & dash]

The answer is clear - it's a Ford

Audi is a different league entirely

Darran

Totally agree but it should still work the way it’s intended to it’s not fit for purpose and should be made to work correctly under trading standards law .

[KS Cleaning]

The answer is clear - it's a Ford

Audi is a different league entirely

Darran

Totally agree but it should still work the way it’s intended to it’s not fit for purpose and should be made to work correctly under trading standards law .

Exactly. If you pay for a vehicle with stop/start technology you expect that technology to work. Whether you choose to use it or not is irrelevant.

[Smudger]

Does that not depend on age and use - if a clutch goes is it manufacturer or driver ?

The post was supposed to be flippant - no doubt the day will come the next van will have start/stop - I live in dread as I can't stand the smart alternators fitted

Darran (Luddite)

[Splash & dash]

Does that not depend on age and use - if a clutch goes is it manufacturer or driver ?

The post was supposed to be flippant - no doubt the day will come the next van will have start/stop - I live in dread as I can't stand the smart alternators fitted

Darran (Luddite)

Heaven help us all with the electric car/ van situation !!!!!!

[zesty]

Lads, just turn it off each journey and be done with it.

It’s a massive load of nonsense anyway.

Or, get it mapped out.

[dd]

The answer is clear - it's a Ford

Audi is a different league entirely

Darran

It is not like Ford vans are cheap though is it? They are more expensive than most other vans except VW (at least when I look at vans anyway).

[Flash..]

Modern vans have intellegant alternators, if you are charging your pump battery off the van battery you will need to fit a DC to DC battery charger in the van, The stop start will work then, it wont work whilst the van battery is charging your pump battery without it.  My son understands this stuff not me and he was right as soon as he fitted the charger pump battery charges itself and stop start works.

[KS Cleaning]

Modern vans have intellegant alternators, if you are charging your pump battery off the van battery you will need to fit a DC to DC battery charger in the van, The stop start will work then, it wont work whilst the van battery is charging your pump battery without it.  My son understands this stuff not me and he was right as soon as he fitted the charger pump battery charges itself and stop start works.

I don’t use pumps or anything electrical on my system, so I don’t draw anything from the van battery. It’s just a simple case of the batteries that Ford install not being up to the job. I’m a member of the Custom owners group and there is many a thread on there about battery issues.

[simon w]

I've a new Custom Limited coming in August should I be thinking of upgrading the vehicle battery on delivery of the new van?

[Splash & dash]

I've a new Custom Limited coming in August should I be thinking of upgrading the vehicle battery on delivery of the new van?

No it should come with the correct battery to work the stop start , if you get issues it will have a manufacturers guarantee of how ever many years they offer to cover it , my new van has 3 years unlimited mileage guaranteed on everything apart from tyres and break linings

[KS Cleaning]

I've a new Custom Limited coming in August should I be thinking of upgrading the vehicle battery on delivery of the new van?

No it should come with the correct battery to work the stop start , if you get issues it will have a manufacturers guarantee of how ever many years they offer to cover it , my new van has 3 years unlimited mileage guaranteed on everything apart from tyres and break linings

They won’t change the battery under warranty unless it shows a fault code. Unfortunately it won’t show as a fault code because the battery isn’t strong enough to operate the stop/start.

[simon w]

So it's best to just upgrade the battery on arrival

[KS Cleaning]

So it's best to just upgrade the battery on arrival

I would wait and see, there may be a slim chance that Ford will have started installing a better battery by then as it’s been well documented that the current battery they install isn’t up to the job.

[Splash & dash]

I've a new Custom Limited coming in August should I be thinking of upgrading the vehicle battery on delivery of the new van?

No it should come with the correct battery to work the stop start , if you get issues it will have a manufacturers guarantee of how ever many years they offer to cover it , my new van has 3 years unlimited mileage guaranteed on everything apart from tyres and break linings

They won’t change the battery under warranty unless it shows a fault code. Unfortunately it won’t show as a fault code because the battery isn’t strong enough to operate the stop/start.

If they fit a battery that won’t operate the stop start then it’s not fit for purpose weather it shows a fault code or not , I would be contacting trading standards if they refused to sort it out , when buying a new van you shouldn’t be having to change a battery .

[KS Cleaning]

I've a new Custom Limited coming in August should I be thinking of upgrading the vehicle battery on delivery of the new van?

No it should come with the correct battery to work the stop start , if you get issues it will have a manufacturers guarantee of how ever many years they offer to cover it , my new van has 3 years unlimited mileage guaranteed on everything apart from tyres and break linings

They won’t change the battery under warranty unless it shows a fault code. Unfortunately it won’t show as a fault code because the battery isn’t strong enough to operate the stop/start.

If they fit a battery that won’t operate the stop start then it’s not fit for purpose weather it shows a fault code or not , I would be contacting trading standards if they refused to sort it out , when buying a new van you shouldn’t be having to change a battery .

I totally agree. My van was in at Ford for 2 days for them to carry out the necessary battery checks. The Ford garage that carry out the maintenance on my van were very apologetic but said Ford wouldn’t authorise changing the battery under warranty as there was no fault code. Trading standards aren’t quite so hot when it’s business to business transactions so I just left it at that for now. If you really want your battery changed under warranty I would recommend short journeys with all electrics on to try and run the battery down, winter time is usually good for this.
The truth is these vans emissions will be a lot higher than the official figures given by Ford and are probably not ULEZ compliant due to the stop/start bein inoperable. Maybe Watchdog would be a better option than trading standards😆