RustyHill

Ah well that will be it then! Makes far more sense! Thanks again everyone

A final (hopefully) update. Garage found a very corroded earth point on the started motor which when they cleaned it up seemed to solve the charging issue. I have no idea why this would cause the charge voltage to drop as i can't see it being used once running.... however it seems to have worked so I'm not going to complain. Anyway while driving with everything I can find to turn on I still have 14.1v so I am very happy to say the least! Moral of the story, before I start looking at ECU's, alternators etc check the basics better; check the earth points of things that don't even seem like they could be causing issues!

So a quick update, I went for a long drive with a basic logger attached to the battery, started off charging at 12.9v from the off, within 30min it had dropped to 12.2v, then things started turning off with it reading 11.9v. I checked connections and earth and all good. Between neutral on the battery and the alternator case is 2 Ohms resistance, between positive battery and positive output of the alternator was floating between 200 Ohm and 500 Ohm but I'm guessing that is normal with capacitors, switches and what not in the way. I've totally forgotten to do the direct voltage output of the alternator when the issues are showing but when it's running 'fine' it is putting out 13.2V which to me says the alternator is dodgey and it's just coincidence that 2 alternators in a row have been bad... I've contacted the garage that did it again and they are having the car back to investigate Rusty

No I haven't to be honest, I will next time the issue crops up. As you say I would hope that the garage would have cleaned up the earth and all connections however I will find time to get in and check them. If they are corroded that could explain the dropping power. Especially if they are over heating over time. Yes I agree the charging voltage is low, it wasn't when first installed but does seem to have dropped a lot. I've not tested 2k RMP charging since the new alternator. I do find it strange that even at motorway speeds/revs (3K ish) though it seems to be dropping even then which does tie into a bad connection. I have a logging multimeter somewhere so I may hock that up across the battery and see what it is there during a run then find a way to secure it carefully around the alternator and record it there on a run too. Thanks all it's given me a few other thoughts, unfortunately I'm away till Friday so can't test any of these now, but the Mrs has been using it all day today and has reported no issues at all.

Ha I'll take that as a very unlikely possibility then! Oh well something to cross off the list

Evening all, sorry to bump an old post but it turns out I haven't fixed the power issues after all 😞 and am a little lost on where to look. So the car has been happier with a new alternator but I'm still having power issues, I thought maybe where the alternator was dieing it had damaged the newish battery so bought yet another but the problems continue. So a bit of a catchup; It's had a new alternator (last 5 months) and new battery (1 month ago) but it's continuing to shut down systems while I'm driving. Last night we were on a long drive ( 2 hours+ 80 miles) The car started fine, no battery lights or the audio warning of low battery. Drove for 1.5H with headlights on and then the dash cam turned off and wouldn't turn on again. A few min later the AC turned down from half blower strength to quarter then down to fully off and wouldn't turn on again. We got home with no dashcam or AC/heater etc on but headlights still working fine. I dumped the car as couldn't be bothered to look at it last night. This morning dashcam turns on fine, AC and blower go all the way to full power and stay on with the headlights and everything else still on, I didn't charge it over night or anything! I feel like it's not a battery drain issue while turned off as this morning it seems to once again have plenty of power but last night not enough, it's like there is a huge draw on the battery/alternator after a while and the car is turning stuff off to save power but once reset after a few hours it's all normal. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to check? I'll do a current draw test when I have a bit more time as per this guide below. The charge voltage at idle is 13. 57V and drops to 12.95v when idling with headlights, AC and blower on. One other thought someone at work said was a Power management relay failing.... anyone know where this is and how to test it? Cheers once again all Rusty

Not going to lie J.R only just seen you reply! I got a garage to swap it for me in the end. I could have done as you said above, and 5 years ago I would have, but in the end I just didn't have time/ could not be bothered to mess around! On the upside, the car has is charging at idle, the AC works full time and the dash cam isn't turning off randomly. The very slight mis fire i had at startup idle has also gone which when thinking about it does make sense so overall i know it cost more but it's worth it for peace of mind. Will swap and sell on the old one though as the case just needs a wire brush, a bit of blasting and protection put on to fight another day, plus new parts obviously. Rusty

I've had a look around and can find a few rebuild kits and tutorials, however this car is the work horse of the house, so I'm going to buy a new one to save time and any other issues popping up while rebuilding. Depending on the condition of the case I may rebuild and sell on or keep as a backup in the future. Cheers.

Thanks TheClient, I hadn't even thought of that / looked into that but yes it would appear you are correct after a quick google! Well that makes it easier, I'll swap the alternator and in the process be changing the regulator too! Rusty

Hey all, 2009/2010 Skoda VRS MK2 FL 120000 miles petrol Hoping someone can sanity check me; Driving earlier today the AC was on full blast for 10min with no issues, then the fan speed dropped to 2/3rd in output and on the display, 5 min later it dropped to ½ , 5min later 1/3rd then finally off. Stopped for 20min and turned back on, AC came on no issues but started to drop again as I got near home. No warning on dash or anything. At the same time the dash cam was coming on and off. It’s been doing this more and more recently. So I’ve done a few checks and these are the results; Tested battery voltage turned off = 12.15v Tested battery voltage turned running = 12.37v Gave it a good rev, back at idle = 12.70v Under high load, full beams and full AC = 11.90V I’m thinking it’s the alternator purely on the running idle voltage, however a friend said it was possibly the voltage regulator. Anyone have an idea how to check regulator vs alternator? It’s not had a new alternator or regulator before but the battery is only 1.5 years old. Or any other thoughts? Cheers Rusty

The car is an ex air ambulance rapid response car so could well have been where lights/kit had been wired in. (google EJ59 ZKT for some pics) Over the years I’ve owned it I’ve found a few random switches and button which now unfortunately do nothing!

Thank you to all the people who have posted, I've finally got round to looking at the earth points today and found one very corroded contact and wire, looks like some water has got in at some point. Cut that out and replaced and everything is working well. I would say the rear wiper has more power now too. Thank you all!

I did look at those today but couldn't see any easy way to pull back the rubber, but I did only have a quick look at them so will look again tomorrow more closely.

Thank you Micky, I'll get the multimeter out tomorrow! I don't have the CD changer in the back but I'm guessing the earth point should still be there even without the changer.

Hello all, Apologies if this has been covered somewhere before, I've searched but nothing has come back with quite the same issues I'm getting. So the car is an Mk2 Octavia FL 2009 VRS. Problem: Bulb failure light came on today Neither the 3rd brake light nor the number plate down lights are working. (Both MOT failures which is coming up in 15 days) When I unlock the car the boot electronic button/handle works, once I've turned on lights the electronic button handle does not work and I can no longer open the boot from there.. However it does still work if I hold down the button on the key fob! Both sets of rear cluster lights are all working correctly Things I've tried: Checked all the fuses in box next to the driver. (None blown) Taken the rear panel off the boot lining and checked the connector for corrosion but there doesn't seem to be any. I'm not sure where to go from here. Has anyone got any other ideas on where to check/common issues? Or does anyone has a detailed wiring diagram for the boot? Cheers all