12v battery problem

[unclerichy]

My wife's 1.2 110 DSG has had some KESSY issues for a while now:i if she doesn't use it for a few days then the pull to unlock function doesn't work and she has to press the butotn on the keyfob. After a drive it locks with the touch operation and will then unlock for a few days until the cycle begins again.

 

I swapped the keyfob battery and that fixed it for a few days but now it's playing up again.

 

Start/stop is also very intermittent - sometimes she can drive for miles without it ever stopping/starting again.

 

And now, for the last few trips out she's had a Maxidot warning along the lines of "12v battery has insufficient charge. Turning off" when stopping the car.

 

Today she got in and when she started the car a message flashed up telling her that the infotainment system wouldn't start due to insufficient battery charge,

 

Evidently, something is amiss and we're popping into the dealers on Friday to see what they say.

 

Has anyone else experience anything such as I have described?  :wonder: I've seen the keyfob battery threads but they are are very specific and don't mention the other two issues.

 

I suspect that something is draining the battery and her infrequent use means it's not getting charged often enough to mask the issue.

[AGFalco]

I think that you have answered your own question.

The infotainment system not working and the stop/start not working indicates that the under bonnet car battery has low voltage. This sounds like it is going flat due to lack of use.

 

My rule of thumb is that the car needs to be started every two days and after every cold start it need to be driven for at least 10 miles before being turned off. Otherwise the car battery will slowly become flat/low voltage.

 

Another trick that will help is every time you get somewhere, turn everything electrical off before you turn the engine off.

eg. lights, wipers, infotainment system, heaters/blowers 

Then when you start it again the only thing the battery is trying to do is start the engine.

 

Thanks AG Falco.

Edited 30 November, 2016 by AGFalco

[sifre]

The kessy is turned off if the main battery voltage is too low.

[unclerichy]

Thanks folks. Low usage aside there is definitely something amiss as her Mk II was driven under the same conditions and that had no problems.

[Rooted]

The MK2 had a different engine and electrical system.

Did it have Stop / Start?

[unclerichy]

Nope, her Mk II didn't have stop/start or KESSY but then her Mk III doesn't stop/start very often either.

 

Maybe it's too simply clever for it's own good and sulks when not driven enough. We'll see what the dealer says tomorrow.

[rum4mo]

It does sound that something is not right here, as long as that car is not being driven maybe 4 miles once a week, I'd expect it to function okay.My wife has a 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110 SEL and sometimes, it gets left for almost a week, but has never ever failed to function as expected - yet.

 

If I fancied running a car with that sort of trouble, I'd stick with my daughter's late 2009 Ibiza SC that likes to drain its battery due to a problem I still have to sort out!

[vc-10]

Hmmm this sounds a bit like what I'm experiencing. My car hasn't stop/started normally for a month or so now. I did a 500 mile round trip to my parents the other week, which got it going again, but that only lasted a couple of days of commuting. It's also sometimes sluggish to start up again on the key, as if the battery charge is low and it can't crank fast enough. I put it all down to the cold weather, but its not been that cold. I don't have KESSY (it's a standard SE model). Is there a way to check the battery charge level? I seem to remember someone mentioning pressing the 0.0 button in the dash cluster with the ignition off.

[the_raz]

I am also seeing the start and stop not working. In the infotainment, the reason stated is "High energy consumption". I knew I was going to drive a lot of short trips, so I have an external battery charger that charges the battery whenever I plug in the electric engine heater (which I do every day now in freezing temperatures). So clearly something is eating up battery, but I have no idea what. The kessy has been working fine, the only thing is the start/stop not functioning

[rum4mo]

Has "early death" of EFB in Fabias not been hinted at or mentioned before, I'm sure it has as I chipped in to correct someone that said that these small petrol engined cars were fitted with AGM batteries, which was the real problem - though the almost 5 years old AGM battery in my S4 is still very healthy when I last tested it. (maybe I'll need to retest wife's EFB battery in her Polo very soon!) ?

[lowedb]

One thing to note. The door handle sensors on Kessy systems shut down after a time. On other cars it's 72 hours, not sure about Furbies. My Superb is certainly around 72 hours. The other behaviour does seem like a battery problem though.

[unclerichy]

We dropped it off at the dealer this morning and picked it up this evening. They said that there were no faults recorded and have charged the battery back up and tested it (showing us the tester output slip).

 

We'll see how it goes and take it in again if the problem persists.

 

Interesting point at about the KESSY shutdown. I have a Mk III Superb and haven't experienced anything unusual even if sat unused for almost a week.

[lowedb]

We dropped it off at the dealer this morning and picked it up this evening. They said that there were no faults recorded and have charged the battery back up and tested it (showing us the tester output slip).

 

We'll see how it goes and take it in again if the problem persists.

 

Interesting point at about the KESSY shutdown. I have a Mk III Superb and haven't experienced anything unusual even if sat unused for almost a week.

My Superb is a Mk2. So maybe they have improved the handle sensors so they don't have to be turned off.

[Rooted]

The OEM battery fitted to a MK2 or 3 Superb is not the same as fitted to a Mk3 Fabia is it?

[lowedb]

The OEM battery fitted to a MK2 or 3 Superb is not the same as fitted to a Mk3 Fabia is it?

Probably not. It's the fact that the door handle sensors on Kessy do or don't turn off, and whether it's the same on Furby 3s that we are discussing, though.

[unclerichy]

The car went in to the dealer again for a few days and Skoda sent over some tests; all of which came back with no issue.  We're waiting to see if it plays up again (probably).  The dealer has seen a couple of cars with the same issue now (KESSY+stop/start never working).

[richyherts]

Hi

 

I had this problem and as the garage was busy, they recommended I call Skoda Assist who were fantastic at diagnosing a possible issue.

 

I took the information to the garage who checked the cable/sensor coming off the battery and found it needed reprogramming.  The sensor was stopping the battery becoming fully charged and therefore running down over an evening/weekend.  I haven't had the problem since.

 

Allowing the battery to recharge now allows the battery to charge enough for the stop/start to work again although this takes some time with the radio/heater etc running.

 

Rich

[rum4mo]

Excellent news, fixes/progress is almost acceptable!

[vc-10]

Hmm that's interesting. I might have a look at the battery voltage after a run- got to find the multimeter first! (unless there's a voltage option for the trip computer?)

[vc-10]

OK, so I bit the bullet and bought a cheap OBDII Bluetooth reader, and hooked it up to Torque on my phone. For £8 it's highly recommended!

 

I had it on driving to my friend's yesterday- about 35 minute in stop-and-go traffic, from cold, lights, demister, etc all on. The car stopped twice, but otherwise refused. The ambient temperature clearly isn't causing an issue- the first time it stopped, the ambient was 2C, the coolant needle was only 1 notch above the bottom, and the oil temperature display was still saying --- in the Maxi-DOT. It may however be causing issues with charging or maintaining charge. When the car started up again, there was a quick drop as the starter engaged, dropping the voltage to ~9 volts. While sitting still with the engine off, the battery was initially at 12v, but then started to drop. The lowest I saw was 11.6, and it did automatically start back up again at one stage. When I'd initially turned the ignition on, but not started the engine, it was showing 11.9v.

 

What I found odd though was that the system was running at 14-14.6 volts all the time the engine was running. This makes me think that the car is trying to charge the battery, but it's not working. It was consistently showing over 14v the entire time the engine was on, even when I turned everything off when I'd got home (in case it was the lights or radio causing significant load).

 

I've also recently done a few very long trips, and those haven't managed to charge the system up properly either.

 

My understanding was that the system would pump energy into the battery (at 14v or so) when braking (regen!) or if the battery charge level was low, but that once the battery was full, it would stop trying to charge, and the car would simply run off the battery at 12v and only top the battery up when braking. 

 

Is something amiss here?

[Warrior193]

OK, so I bit the bullet and bought a cheap OBDII Bluetooth reader, and hooked it up to Torque on my phone. For £8 it's highly recommended!

 

I had it on driving to my friend's yesterday- about 35 minute in stop-and-go traffic, from cold, lights, demister, etc all on. The car stopped twice, but otherwise refused. The ambient temperature clearly isn't causing an issue- the first time it stopped, the ambient was 2C, the coolant needle was only 1 notch above the bottom, and the oil temperature display was still saying --- in the Maxi-DOT. It may however be causing issues with charging or maintaining charge. When the car started up again, there was a quick drop as the starter engaged, dropping the voltage to ~9 volts. While sitting still with the engine off, the battery was initially at 12v, but then started to drop. The lowest I saw was 11.6, and it did automatically start back up again at one stage. When I'd initially turned the ignition on, but not started the engine, it was showing 11.9v.

 

What I found odd though was that the system was running at 14-14.6 volts all the time the engine was running. This makes me think that the car is trying to charge the battery, but it's not working. It was consistently showing over 14v the entire time the engine was on, even when I turned everything off when I'd got home (in case it was the lights or radio causing significant load).

 

I've also recently done a few very long trips, and those haven't managed to charge the system up properly either.

 

My understanding was that the system would pump energy into the battery (at 14v or so) when braking (regen!) or if the battery charge level was low, but that once the battery was full, it would stop trying to charge, and the car would simply run off the battery at 12v and only top the battery up when braking. 

 

Is something amiss here?

The AGM battery used in vehicles fitted with Stop-Start require a slightly higher charge rate - 14.5 - 14.7 volts. At 12 volts, the battery will be about 75% discharged.

Edited 6 January, 2017 by Warrior193

[vc-10]

So while it was sitting at ~14.6 volts it was charging, as I thought? It only ever showed 12v when the engine was off. 

[rum4mo]

Not AGM battery on these small petrol engined cars with Stop/Start, it is EFB and I've noticed quite a high charging voltage when braking or on over run. Maybe, just maybe, the 12Volts you are seeing is a stabilised power supply output that disconnects the users from the "being over charged during braking etc" battery?

 

Edit:- have you not noticed that the "users power supply" seems to be more stable than it is in cars without Stop/Start, ie fan speeds don't dip when engine switches off or re-starts.

Edited 6 January, 2017 by rum4mo

[Warrior193]

Not AGM battery on these small petrol engined cars with Stop/Start, it is EFB and I've noticed quite a high charging voltage when braking or on over run. Maybe, just maybe, the 12Volts you are seeing is a stabilised power supply output that disconnects the users from the "being over charged during braking etc" battery?

 

Edit:- have you not noticed that the "users power supply" seems to be more stable than it is in cars without Stop/Start, ie fan speeds don't dip when engine switches off or re-starts.

 AGMs are fitted in the Octavia, not sure about other models. Enhanced Flooded Batteries weren't considered robust enough for the rigors of Stop-Start.  

[vc-10]

Fan speeds definitely drop when it stops, but I took that to be an automatic thing, my dad had a 3-series which did the same thing.

Can't say I've noticed any noticeable difference with everything else compared to my old Polo, which is the old 1.2 3-cyl.

I'm just not sure why it doesn't seem to actually hold a charge. It's constantly 'charging' but then doesn't seem to have enough juice in the battery to reliably activate stop/start!