Economy Mode

[chrismac]

Looking for some information.

Sometimes when entering the car - the "Economy Mode Active" message appears in the display when turning on the ignition. Other times it does not.

I have a dash cam fitted - but that is powered from the cigarette lighter and I know it turns off a few seconds after the key is removed, and a reversing camera but that only powers up when the reverse gear is selected.

There does not seem to be any obvious reason for the economy mode - does anyone have any ideas - or is this another case of "Peugeot electrical gremlins"

:brickwall:

 

[Kerr]

I was getting the warnings and it was because the battery was past its best. A new battery and the economy mode warnings went.

 

[2retro]

It comes on all the time. Especially at this time of year with all the electrics on, lights, heating windows, etc. It's just a safety measure to make sure you always have enough battery power to start the car.

It is kinda stupid though because sometimes you'll be parked with your windows down and when you try to put them up again economy mode is active so you have to actually start the car to put them up - which is not really very economical! :lol:

 

[chrismac]

Thanks for the replies.

Going to try an experiment, see what the current drain is whilst not running - a process of elimination. Also carrying a set of Jump leads at all times.

Its a Peugeot after all !

 

[Marmite]

Kerr is right mine done it more an more till I fitted a new battery

 

[neilgsxr69]

Yeh there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason a battery coming to the end of its life will definitely bring it in more often but mine comes and goes and that’s with a recent new battery you just get used to it and eventually ignore

 

[neilgsxr69]

Yeh there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason a battery coming to the end of its life will definitely bring it in more often but mine comes and goes and that’s with a recent new battery you just get used to it and eventually ignore

 

[Pedro]

The car is live 24/7 that is why Economy mode is triggered if the power is low

 

[Logikmaster]

it’s all to do with the batteries state of charge which is measured by the ECU every time the key is cycled on. The economy mode is a previously stated a system protection in order to maintain sufficient amps for starting the vehicle. The reason for varying times of it being activated is due to each individuals battery state which is two fold - one by where the owner is doing lots of short runs, stopping and starting which all erodes battery capacity given it takes approx 4 miles of driving to return back the current drawn to start the car. Two, the actual capacity of the battery in terms of cell charging capability and this erodes over time (usually circa 5-7 yrs) to where the cells cannot retain sufficient charge to enable normal usage and it requires the battery to be changed. So overall it would be normal to see it popping up if for example if the car was not used very often, not on a trickle charger during layup and if it was then used for short runs, or conversely if the battery was becoming aged and insufficient to maintain its charge I.e on its way out. I would always recommend that owners of cars which are left for long periods of inactivity get themselves a trickle charger to maintain battery levels and when using the car make sure it gets a good long run to really give the battery a work out - seems like a good excuse to drive it

 

[chrismac]

Thanks for the info.

The Battery was quite new (less than 6 months at the time). There does not seem to be any consistency to it. Sometimes the "Economy Mode" message does not appear at startup, other times it does. Does not seem to matter whether the car has been standing a few days or not, Tried powering off the Radio before stopping the engine - no difference.

Its not important - the car always starts without problems. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Pedro]

The Economy mode will activate even if there is 75% charge in the battery what it does is cut the power to non essential Auxiliary units what it won't do is cut the power to the ECU/ BSI/ immobilizer/ignition system which are all live circuits fed from the Battery

 

[Woodso]

I just live with the fact no matter what the conditions are, it always goes to economy mode at the drop of a hat. My take is as long as it starts and goes like stink, I can live with it, as it is a small price to pay.