Who ever read the code for you didn't clear it with the OBD reader?

 

Go to autozone or similar, if their reader is compatible they will clear it for free.

 

I use a bluetooth OBD scanner and an app on my phone called Torque. It will read and clear codes.

[ame]http://www.amazon.com/ScanTool-427201-OBDLink-Bluetooth-Professional/dp/B00H9S71LW/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1459093488&sr=8-3&keywords=obdlink+mx+scan+tool[/ame]

 

good luck, but you cannot clear the code, so you are stuck having to go to the Lotus dealer who has Lotus licensed software to re-enter the VIN number and clear the code away. Just did mine, same thing, repeat issue, paid $150 for the hour labor, then run the software, install latest Lotus updates and your good to go. Reason it won't clear is the VIN code is mismatched/missing (lost when battery drained) and will constantly regenerate the error. Next time use a trickle charger and don't leave the car sit for too long (winter storage) without starting/driving and/or leaving the trickle charger on it to keep full charge and prevent battery drain.

 

Agreed, this code can only be cleared by the dealer and their Lotus software.

I too had this issue after my car was shipped to me from the dealer, Seattle to Anchorage ALaska. Battery dead on arrival, car jump started and code appeared. Unable to clear with my scanner. Instead of sending the car all the way back to Seattle I removed the ECU (Easy for even the most inexperienced owner to do) and express shipped back to dealer. I believe they had to install my ECU in one of their cars and then could scan in my VIN into the ECU. Express shipped back and problem solved within a few days for me. I did not get charged any shop fees for this work.

Good luck. Keep us posted on how you resolve the issue.

 

Good info here.

(not necessarily aimed at OP

But, I wonder if our members let their batteries die more than owners of other cars.

Some of you are on other car sites; I'm not.

Who wouldn't know to use a Battery Tender or ~ after being on this site for a day or two?

Rhetorical: Plenty of ppl.

Yeah, our batteries may be smaller than average, but this still surprises me.

What is up with this? Thx.

EDIT: see? http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/interesting-bad-battery-symptoms-358201/



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Battery Tendered: XRS, Elise, tractor.

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Will forgo discussion of locking keys in trunks....

 

So this code only pops up after a battery drain and not when it's disconnected? What's the difference?

 

Lot's of cars are jump started and lose their battery charge every day, but in the Lotus that may require a trip to the dealer to overcome a defect in the ECU requiring the car's VIN number to be reentered in the ECU.

10/1/14 TSB 2012/02R - USA Only - Potential loss of electronically stored VIN in ‘05 to ‘07 MY vehicles Elise, Exige

Lotus Repair Info Site

 

Clearly, the problem with the stored VIN being lost during a low-voltage situation is a bug in the hardware/software that makes up the PCM for 2005-2007 vehicles. Lotus isn't going to fix that at this point. In talking with Lotus and actually reading a copy of the TSB above, it's apparent to me now that the P0630 is actually set by the reflash required by the TSB. Lotus was required by the CARB to implement the change to the calibration to detect for a mismatched VIN in the PCM in case the SMOG test ever checked for a VIN (it still doesn't at this point). In reality, there is nothing for the PCM to check the VIN against, so the CARB would need to change the SMOG check to check for this zeroed serial in the VIN. Any number could then be entered for the serial portion of the VIN and the test would pass. I suspect that there is little incentive for the CARB to ever implement the check as part of a revised test; especially considering that the VIN has absolutely nothing to do with clean air. For those that use a code reader and find that they have a VIN with all zeros in the serial and no check engine light, you don't have the recall flash installed. That's good. If you do find that you have the default zeroed VIN and a check engine light set, you will have to have the VIN reflashed into the PCM. This should be a while-you-wait one hour of labor procedure at the dealer. PCM reflashes have a lot in common with new release of the Android operating system in that you should wait to hear what a disaster the update is before installing it.

 

Huh.

I remember reading that when newer BMW's get new batteries, car must go to dealer to register battery to car.

 

That's to reset the battery life information so the charger knows it's working with a new battery.

Or it's because you bought an M5 turbo and expected the battery to last more than 30,000 miles :facepalm

 

On my 05 Elise, the original battery finally died last month. When I installed the new battery, I got the check engine light. With Sector 111 located only 13 miles away from me, I took the Elise there to clear the fault. They charged me an hours worth of labor for the diagnostic and re-input the VIN.

 

When my OE battery died(lost a cell or 2) I was able to put a new battery in and all was well. About 2-3 years ago lotus released an update to correct a vin issue and ever since if the battery dies or you have to jump the car it now loses the vin. It's such a pain in the rear!

 

So help me understand this - I have an 05 Elise, 30K miles. I'm interested in putting in a new battery as 12 years old is enough for me. When I disconnect it to install the new one, I'm gonna throw codes until a dealer clears it (for whatever reason)?

 

When I disconnect it to install the new one, I'm gonna throw codes until a dealer clears it (for whatever reason)?

Nope. The MIL being discussed here is triggered from running the car with low voltage. It can be as simple as any sensor receiving inadequate voltage from a bad battery or failing alternator, which then triggers a fault code.

The ECU's VIN being erased doesn't throw a code. My ECU had its VIN matched to the chassis VIN years ago, and I've never seen it zero out even while using a battery kill switch all these years.

 

Bump.

 

If you want to make sure that the VIN isn't lost in any of the Lotus ECUs, wait 30 minutes after the engine has been turned off to disconnect the battery. The VIN is compromised in the event that a power source is removed before the ECU is shut down. It has to do with the VIN being written back into ROM from RAM...

In my tunes, I have disabled this issue and force the ECU to power down after shut-off. The lotus VIN bug is an unintended consequence of the heat soak algorithm in the ECU...

Nevertheless, VIN retention is a "problem" on all the Toyota T4 and T4E ECUs when it comes to low or no power at inopportune times. Bottom line, wait 30 minutes to pull the battery after the car is off. This will ensure the ECU is powered down... You can also zap the VIN by trying to start the car on a too low of battery with the "click click click"... Not always but some times...

Normally, the white dash cars don't care about a lost VIN. The black dash cars care a lot, so be particularly careful with those....

edit: On the black dash cars, they can actually go into limp with a lost VIN. That said, on any black dash ECUs I tune, I disable that feature knowing that the likelihood of losing the VIN is relatively high...
-Phil