Stop/Start questions

[PETER COSGROVE]

In the two weeks of owning my 2016 SE L Greentech the start stop system hasn’t come into operation once. I have read about the various conditions that need to be met, and have realised that this may be down to having air con on or more likely, my driving conditions/style.

Most of the time, the traffic is not heavy enough to have to have foot off clutch, handbrake on etc, however as the car has a years warranty,I would prefer to have it working as it should.

The handbook shows the warning lamp symbol ,but I can’t see where it is actually located on the dash.

Is it with the other warning lights on the speedo? Occasionally there is a warning type beep after starting, is that connected?

 

Images of the dash display online do not show the letter A in a circle, with or without a line through it!

The car hasn’t been used extensively since purchase, but I would have thought it would have worked by now, I must admit I tend to concentrate on driving rather than scouring the dash for a symbol.

Hope this has made sense.

[KenONeill]

@PETER COSGROVE - OK don't have a CitiGo, but I'd expect the relevant light to come on, probably in the instrument cluster, during the switch on BITE test, if the system is enabled.

[Blackcountryman]

My car is 2019 spec,but dash layout it is not exactly as shown in handbook .The stop/start switch is located top left on heater panel near to temp control knob.

When switched off ,it is dimly lit yellow from behind -it does not show a barring. Most of my driving is in heavy traffic,in built up area -stop/start works at least 4/5 times in a two mile journey. Not sure about the warning beep -could be the handbrake not fully off sometimes when you move off.

If you are in doubt,get it all  checked out by whoever sold you the car.......use a dealer if they cannot give you the answer you want.

Edited 7 June, 2019 by Blackcountryman

[Ootohere]

Because a car had Stop / Start from the factory is no guarantee that Stop / Start now will function, you just need to look at the various threads around BRISKODA in verious sections where members ask how to disable Stop / Start.

 

When Main Dealers sell even Skoda Approved Used cars, they are not reset to 'Factory Settings' , and if Stop / Start functions is not checked even though vehicles might have low VED bands on the strength of it being a Standard Feature.

 

If stop / start does not function maybe don't bother trying to find out why unless you really do want Stop / Start on your car.

[PETER COSGROVE]

Thanks everyone, just taken car to town, the beep is definitely connected to the stop start, if I switch off the S/S, and then switch it back on, I get the beep and have just noticed the symbol in the trip part of the dash flashes at the same time so looks like it is faulty.

To be honest, I dislike the idea of the car making the decision to switch the engine off, but my only concern is if there is an underlying problem with the electrics.

I’ll give the dealer a ring, they are Honda main agents, .so not sure if their diagnostics will be suitable.

[greenstripe]

Specifically on the Citigo: Stop start will only stop the engine if the car is in neutral with your foot off the clutch. Additionally it not operate if the car is on a slope or if the steering wheel is turned past a certain point. 

 

To test take the car on a decent clear run for 20 minutes or so. Then bring the car to a stop and put the car in neutral. Handbrake on and take your foot off the clutch.

 

It's possible that previous owner has somehow tried to disable stop start as a lot of people are extremely adverse to the idea. I would expect to be seeing a fault warning on the dash if this were the case though.

[PETER COSGROVE]

Thanks, today the weather was atrocious, so lights, wipers and blower on. I spoke to the  Honda dealer I purchased it from, I am taking it in for the battery to be checked, although it starts perfectly well etc and is only 3 years old.

They may replace the battery if it’s not in spec, in some way I hope they do as the price for these batteries is making my old heart palpitate lol.

How could the previous owner disable it?

As you say, it seems unlikely as nothing is showing on the dash once it has beeped and flashed. I am more concerned that there is an underlying problem not specifically connected.

 

I also believe the car’s system has to be updated to recognise a new battery, so not sure if a non Skoda garage can even fit a battery !!

One last bizarre thing, with everything off, if the wiper stalk is moved to intermittent, the wipers move to halfway up the screen and stop. Thanks for your patience.

[Ootohere]

Nothing wrong with your wiper.

That is the 'Service position.   Park it there in winter maybe so you can lift the wiper from the window and it is not sitting frozen down near the scuttle panel.

[PETER COSGROVE]

Cheers  Skoffski,

 

I really have a lot to learn with this little car,so glad I joined this group.

[nbJubilee]

I have stop/start on all the time. I also leave air on on as well. Every now and then I turn the heating on full to burn off anything incubating in the pipes.

[Tech1e]

2 minutes ago, nbJubilee said:

I have stop/start on all the time. I also leave air on on as well. Every now and then I turn the heating on full to burn off anything incubating in the pipes.

 

Interesting concept. The heating and air conditioning systems are relatively separate on the car. By using the heating the only parts you would be heating are the air ducts to the vents and the heater box itself. The air con pipes are sealed to hold in the gas (as best they can). The only place you get anything grotty on is the surface of the evaporator which needs ultrasonic cleaning or anti bac spray.  

[nbJubilee]

Thanks for that Tech1e. I was told that smells and nasties develop and a blast of heat kills them. How can one tell when air con needs a recharge?

[KenONeill]

On 08/06/2019 at 09:17, nbJubilee said:

Thanks for that Tech1e. I was told that smells and nasties develop and a blast of heat kills them. How can one tell when air con needs a recharge?

Well, you were "told wrong" then. The smells develop from lack of system usage, and need a special anti-bacterial cleaner (from accessory shops) to deal with.

 

As for how you tell that air con needs recharging, it's when it stops blowing really cold from start on a hot day. Alternatively, you could get a "home charge" air con service to do a refill every 3 or 4 years on a service basis.

[ohnoes]

On 07/06/2019 at 11:32, PETER COSGROVE said:

Thanks everyone, just taken car to town, the beep is definitely connected to the stop start, if I switch off the S/S, and then switch it back on, I get the beep and have just noticed the symbol in the trip part of the dash flashes at the same time so looks like it is faulty.

To be honest, I dislike the idea of the car making the decision to switch the engine off, but my only concern is if there is an underlying problem with the electrics.

I’ll give the dealer a ring, they are Honda main agents, .so not sure if their diagnostics will be suitable.

 

Hi Peter,

 

I had this with my citigo after the starter motor was replaced.

You get the 'ding' when you switch the car on and the start/stop symbol flashes.

 

Took it to the garage, they read the fault codes and there was a fault code logged in relation to the starter motor jamming.

 

Once they cleared the code the ding went away and start/stop works again. I imagine its a failsafe built in to disable the system if there is a fault logged in relation to the starter motor.

 

[PETER COSGROVE]

Thanks for that information,went to the supplying garage today to have the battery tested , they came up with 75%,and informed me that they couldn't do any other checks until the battery had been trickle charged overnight.

I bought the car from a respected local Honda dealer,they only have equipment to check the codes at another branch. This means leaving the car overnight at the local branch,(they will give me a courtesy car), testing it the following morning and then presumably taking it to the other branch to have the codes read.

It seems an awful lot of faffing about,just to see what's wrong with the stop start, I thought about getting a cheap obd tester,but not sure if the cheap ones will work,the previous owner could have had the system disabled after all.

The only reason behind my concern is that the car was only purchased just over 2 weeks ago,and the system should work,however with all the variables built in to stop it working,it seems a particularly hit and miss set up. 

[Blackcountryman]

Hope you get this sorted. Once these garages take  trade -ins to resell,there is no thought given to checking faults on different makes to their dealership. There is no expertise to cover different makes,not possible ,but that does not stop them reselling a non franchise make.

It would be easier for the customer,once you have registered your concern ,to allow you to book in to a dealer for the make of the car -and they reimburse your bill -if out of warranty......

Car dealers being what they are,none will work this way ,if they think their profit margin is being erroded.

Edited 10 June, 2019 by Blackcountryman

[PETER COSGROVE]

I think I was naive regarding the complexities of modern cars, my previous car was a 2007 Mazda, and I thought that was pushing the envelope of space travel. 

I am actually better suited to a mk 1 Escort, but I do enjoy the Citigo very much, so I will have to move grudgingly with times,(and expense).

If the battery is shown to be innocent,I think I may well get a “we can’t find anything wrong” , just have to wait and see.

[lynxblaine]

Cheap OBD2 Bluetooth readers do work nicely with an android phone, I have one connect to my citigo green tech.  AC won't stop start/stop, even after driving for only 1 minute my car will start/stop at traffic lights (2014 model) you get a small symbol with the start/stop logo when it goes into it or when it cannot with a line through it. Clearing codes does seem like a good bet. The VW up owners club has lots of members and might have more of an answer on their blue motion engines. 

[Ootohere]

A/C can inhibit Stop / Start as can the difference between the Ambient Temperature outside and the requested temp inside.

Load demand on the battery etc etc.

[PETER COSGROVE]

Thanks again, I will suggest clearing any codes to the dealer,of slight concern is the news on this site that stop/start correct operation will be included in the MOT from 2020.

 

How an earth are they going to judge correct operation with the number of conditions that need to be met is beyond me,unless they just look at the relevant code.

[Ootohere]

The Adam Smith Think Tank suggest that UK MOT's are scrapped.

 

There is no testing that Stop / Start functions being in the UK MOT by 2020 happening.

As it is the form a UK MOT takes could likely not have many Stop / Start systems actually work.

[KenONeill]

Well, I'd be happy to have the MoT returned to being a pure safety check, with no exhaust or other "environmental" checks.

[PETER COSGROVE]

Just an update on this,dealer had car overnight to trickle charge battery and then ............stop/start didn't work, massive surprise!!!

Now booked in with the branch that has suitable diagnostics to check car on Wednesday.

Receptionist insisted that battery had to be charged before fault codes can be read, this makes no sense at all to me,as faults should be recorded and then should  be able to be read.

The battery shows no traditional signs of discharge, the alternator appears to be functioning fine,maybe I am missing something,but if a battery is good enough to spin a cold engine over,should be fine to read faults recorded. 

I can understand if the system detects less than 75% charge in battery due to high demand from air con etc it will disable stop start,but not his implausible (to me) theory.

 

Please advise if my out of date vehicle knowledge is flawed !!

[gregoir]

My car went through 4 sets of checking under warranty- and was said to be ok. It had no problem starting even when the 12V battery low warning appeared. The control module was changed and the battery was charged several times.

The system only started working after the battery was changed ,recently.

[PETER COSGROVE]

How old was your battery if you don’t mind me asking