Turning Off "eco Mode"?!

[Guest SortedTrainers]

Every ten minutes when the engine isn't running "eco mode" switches on and shuts of the power in my Xsara MKII. There seems to be no way to deactivate it except by starting the engine or switching off the stereo for a couple of minutes before ten minutes has passed.. Which really defeats the point of calling it "eco mode" :blink: Its really starting to get on my nerves :rolleyes: So could someone please tell that there is a way to disable it, or to switch it off without starting the engine?

 

Cheers ;)

[kfk]

ECO mode is the state the computer goes into when it can see consumption of battery power but has no indication that the alternator is charging the battery......ECO mode occurs on all the latest citroen models and can occur anything between 30 minutes to 2 minutes without the engine running.

 

Its purpose is to shut off all consumers and thus stop the battery going flat......the computers on the car wont operate unless they have at least 11.5 volts.

 

Its got to be easier to restart the car and wait for eco mode to cut in again (knowing you are flattening the battery) than it is to leave the radio on with the volume down low and come back to a car you cant start!.....how irritatting would that be?

 

So Eco mode.......has nothing to do with being enviromentally friendly......its all to do with being economical with the battery power.

[Guest SortedTrainers]

So calling it "wind up mode" would probably be more appropriate then. C'mon Citroen...its what buttons are made for!

[Guest Colin Hunter]

I'm inclined to agree with "Sorted Trainers" that the eco mode is nothing short of a pain in the arse! When my wife and I go to town I usually walk along to the bank, draw out some cash and go to the news agents for the latest copy of Classics Monthly or What Diesel, have a walk along the harbour and return to the car to await the arrival of my wife while she "does" the charity shops before returning with some chips or something for our lunch, which we have while listening to the radio.

 

I get in, turn the ignition to aux and listen to Jeremy Vine (Or whatever) while reading my mag. I have done this in every car I have had since we married 22 years ago and I haven't flattened a battery yet. Imagine my DISGUST when, in my new (to me) Picasso, after 1/2 an hour the radio goes dead and "economy mode activated" comes up on the display! Having had Citroens for 10 or more years this was news to me! No matter what I did I couldn't get the radio to come on until I started (and immediately stopped) the engine! So much for economy! Instead of taking a few milliamps from the battery listening to the wireless I take a few hundred amps cranking the engine! Not to mention the wear on the engine for such a short run! DOHHHH!

 

I asked the dealers if they could exend the time on the radio, but apparently my 2002 Pic is too new and can't be "hacked" to allow JV to finish his sentence! I am very pleased with the car in every other respect, but this STUPID eco mode will make me think twice about where my next car comes from. I was set on a C4 Pic but I believe you get even less "Vine Time" in them before they shut down!

 

If they want power for the computers to work they should give them their own power supply, in the form of a small Lithium Ion or Nimh power pack specifically for that purpose. My HDI Xantia once sat in the garage all night with the radio on and still started no bother. It's all just bloody paranoia on the part of some french to**er trying to save battery power! WHY do we need this BSI Bo**ocks anyway? My Xantia managed perfectly well without it!

 

There are many times here in Shetland when people may want to listen to the radio without the engine running, Waiting for a ferry between the islands for instance, sitting in the vehicle while ON the ferry, and (not only in Shetland) awaiting the return of A.N.Other to the car. My mate got rid of his Pug 307 for this very reason!

 

DISGUSTED! :rolleyes:

[Johndouglas]

I'll add my twopennyworth by condemning the eco mode. My C5 shuts off the CD player at 30 minutes. Also it won't continue until the engine has been running for a while. As others have said, it's a pain in the backside. Leave the side lights on and they'll happily burn for hours. Leave the player on and it closes down at 30 mins. It doesn't make any sense.

[wheeler_cit]

I'll add my twopennyworth by condemning the eco mode. My C5 shuts off the CD player at 30 minutes. Also it won't continue until the engine has been running for a while. As others have said, it's a pain in the backside. Leave the side lights on and they'll happily burn for hours. Leave the player on and it closes down at 30 mins. It doesn't make any sense.

Eco mode only shuts off uneccisary electrical consumers, sidelights may be neccisary (depending on where your parked), if you notice the hazzard lights still flash but the telltale lights & noise stop inside because they are not needed.

systems with a BSI draw a lot more power when the network is awake than a normal car with the ignition/accesories on.

[wheeler_cit]

There is an easy way to sort it, fit an aftermarket radio :blink:

[Guest Colin Hunter]

systems with a BSI draw a lot more power when the network is awake than a normal car with the ignition/accesories on.

 

EXACTLY! So the system has to shut down so that IT doesn't flatten the battery, not because it's concerned about the radio wasting battery power. And why should we have to bow and scrape to what the BSI considers "neccessary "or not. I consider my radio VERY neccessary but I can't remember the last time I parked and left the sidelights on. There's an alarm that sings if you do that anyway!

 

As I said WHY do we need the BSI in the first place. The controls in my Pic work exactly like the ones in my Xantia (and every other car I've had) which didn't "benefit" from the presence of the mighty BSI! Also why spend money replacing a perfectly good radio with some piece of aftermarket Tat which sounds no better, looks entierely out of place and losing the remotes in the process? No brainer to me!

 

NOT CONVINCED! :angry: :)

[wheeler_cit]

EXACTLY! So the system has to shut down so that IT doesn't flatten the battery, not because it's concerned about the radio wasting battery power. And why should we have to bow and scrape to what the BSI considers "neccessary "or not. I consider my radio VERY neccessary but I can't remember the last time I parked and left the sidelights on. There's an alarm that sings if you do that anyway!

The radio is connected to the comfort VAN network also so it can allow things like speed sensitive volume control, security coding & navigation (if fitted)

As I said WHY do we need the BSI in the first place. The controls in my Pic work exactly like the ones in my Xantia (and every other car I've had) which didn't "benefit" from the presence of the mighty BSI!

 

The BSI is there mainly to reduce the amount of wiring & components fitted to the car + increase comfort & safety features. to be fair though the xsara & picasso are early attempts at multiplexing therefore pretty basic but they have to start somewhere.

To give you an example of the benifits of later multiplexing : the mk1 C5 with navidrive sat nav is capable of the following, you are in an accident & the airbags deploy, the airbag ECU sends a message to the injection ECU which cuts off the fuel pump (no inertia switch or its wiring needed anymore), the airbag ECU also sends a message to the satnav/telephone which automatically sends a message to the emergency services for help & gives them the exact location of the car via GPS. I bet your Xantia couldnt do that :) .

That system is operational in France at the moment no UK celular networks have taken up on the idea.

[Guest Colin Hunter]

OK OK!!!! I'm convinced! (Maybe) But I'm still pissed off with it all the same! I've even thought about fitting a small battery pack with a "caravan" type charging system so that the radio has a separate power supply, but I suppose that would upset the mighty BSI as well!

 

Cheers. Thanks for the banter! :)

[wheeler_cit]

OK OK!!!! I'm convinced! (Maybe) But I'm still pissed off with it all the same! I've even thought about fitting a small battery pack with a "caravan" type charging system so that the radio has a separate power supply, but I suppose that would upset the mighty BSI as well!

 

Cheers. Thanks for the banter! :)

 

Yeah i dont think thats a good idea, really the only way to do it is to fit an aftermarket radio.

You can buy faceplate adaptors so they dont look that out of place & wiring adaptors to keep the remote controls ;)

[Guest Colin Hunter]

I don't really want to buy an aftermarket radio as I see no great point. Other than overcoming the original one switching itself off I have no complaints about its operation or sound quality. I have also bought an Xcarlink (mp3 player which tricks the haed unit into thinking it's an autochanger) and that probably won't work with any other unit. So! Stumped!

 

Thanks for the suggestions. :huh: