Former

No and think yourself lucky in some ways that yours aren't the later VW computer over-complex, intertwined, over-intrusive programs - but you would like the fuel consumption and the 600+ (or is it 900+, I forget) data points from the engine electronics. I see some amazing fuel figures posted for the model and often think I might put in the figures from my wife's car just to bring the average down and show some more modern life real-world consumption figures. Were those 5w and 10w mineral oils though? MAHLE (KNECHT/MAHLE) OC 986 and OC 986 A - Mann equivalent - https://catalog.mann-filter.com/EU/eng/catalog/MANN-FILTER Katalog Europa/Oil Filter/W 610~3

I generally only keep manuals of stuff I or friends and neighbours have so it took me a few minutes to remember where to look on t'net but below is a pdf of the Lidl ULGD 5.0 C1 (IAN 383685_2110 only) charger. IAN 383685_2110.pdf ETA: you have to fool it if the 12v battery is at or below 7.5v but as these things aren't that smart it's easy to do.

The simple maths gives you an idea of time but doesn't allow for the variables so it takes as long as it takes and as gregoir doesn't use his car much he has the time for very long charges, if he wanted to, the car is just sitting there and it's not difficult work. @fabdavravI didn't even blink at the pre-edit as I've had a few 48+ hour recharges of neighbours or friends batteries. 😄

Isn't your engine basically from then or before, what differences, extra or improvements did VW make to the actual engine by the time yours was made, again not testing you just asking. Off on a tangent - you would not like VW's 1.2 TSI engine then as the computers are just about fully in charge and I used to hear all sorts of different noises from the engine bay until I stopped listening. See below for just one example, I am not sure any of the figures given are accurate but I have never checked I just wait for it to pass or just drive off.

@Thefeliciahackerhave you cut open the relevant Mann, Mahle Knecht or Hengst to see what the differences are? ETA: I'm not testing you, just asking. Almost all the videos I've seen for this sort of thing are about filters in the US of A so probably some are sourced from different countries to the ones we might get in Europe, I can remember if they even see those brands but I might be wrong. IIRC some different grands are made on the same machines, hopefully using different specifics but I don't know.

Only posted as one example graph 7 stage from one example of an instruction leaflet - from a Lidl (ULGD 5.0 C1) charger instruction leaflet. -

Or is it more that you don't like the 15w-50 (Total Quartz mineral 15w-50), which is fine it is your car and your choice. That makes sense, 5w-40 (and synthetic(?)) against a thicker 15w-50 (mineral) car running at night too when presumably colder and not in hot city traffic or demanding mountain run.

Looking back to the start of the thread (2019 fitted EFB replacement battery) and gregoir's posts I can see and agree that sorting the battery when you're not fully well is even more of a hassle than when fully well. By what is put in the posts it seems like the alternator is doing its job and if the plug-in volts readings are correct or there about and the battery charger readings are correct or there about and having looked at the instruction manual - assuming (not always a good idea) the model is the ZXY - J30, then. @gregoir don't be offended as I'm just checking, could you you have perhaps set the charger to "REPAIR" "Repair Mode (18 hours)" or "CAR/TRUCK" "For big batteries (Fast Charge)" ["max. 8A"] ? At +10c and below temperature it should also be showing "Win. *" in LCD display. - https://nzgrab.com/scan/2513-1.pdf

Could be a lot of things but unlikely to be disconnecting and reconnecting the battery unless the battery wasn't secured properly and/or the battery post clamp(s) aren't tight. I'd guess more likely to be a minor ignition issue or failing part - but could be lots of other things. Your lucky to have a garage that can get you in that quick particularly this time of year. Let us know how things go on.

Fair enough, your colleagues are more likely to have worked in Norfolk than Northamptonshire then (I don't know about Bristol) and perhaps in an area or community more likely to be around classic Skoda as for more years than I can remember I can't remember seeing an Estelle (and almost none Favorits or Felecias) anywhere in the UK other than at the NEC classic car shows that I went to for 20+ years. This year I did se a Favorit Estate parked up fairly locally and a bright green Felicia coming out of a local industrial estate possibly leaving work. I was born in England and have lived here all my life and have driven for work and leisure throughout the county and nationally and internationally to Scotland, Wales and ("the island of") Ireland for over four decades and in the last three or decades having an interest in "classic" cars and being the age I am I do tend to notice "classic" cars actually being driven on roads. But I don't mix with criminals or live on a rough housing estates anymore so perhaps I'm too far out of touch with the subject.

Doesn't the "intelligent" charger switch to maintenance mode after it has finished charging? If you have or can borrow a multimeter to check the battery reading on the actual battery posts the next day after the charging has finished this will check any other digital reading from the plug-in device and give you an idea of how much the battery retains its charge with just the car parked and locked up. I take a battery posts reading from unlocking the car, open the bonnet and leave the car unlocked and bonnet up for about half a hour hoping that's long enough for all the systems to go back to rest and take a reading then, or if you want straight from unlocking the car and opening the bonnet then perhaps allow for up to about or around 0.2v being used by the car. On my wife's Fabia she has no added devices like camera(s) or other plug-ins using the electric on the car. If you don't use the car I'd suggest you take another reading in two or three or more days from the last to see if there is any difference, as long as you are consistent in how you take the readings they should offer reasonable information on the battery and a bit of advanced warning of when you want/need to replace it. Below VW figures for the battery state of charge - 12.7v – 100% 12.5v – 80% 12.3v – 60% 12.1v – 40% 11.9v – 20% 11.7v – 0%

Sounds like your Ctek might be a bit more than my 4-amp "smart" charger and maintainer that took IIRC 14+ hours to get to "FUL" on my the Fabia's 60ah AGM that wasn't that low anyway and the leads and battery didn't seem warm. Of course this was, as in the photo previously posted, car and charger outside on the hard (luck) standing with weather a bit below and above freezing overnight. 😄 I've never owned a Ctek but a mate has had two of them for a few years (but not decade(s) and they don't look as good as (I think) I remember from many years before.

Yes my examples were for general car stealing, classic Skodas are certainly not stolen to be shown off, used for bank robberies, for parts or generally as a whole car. I am not saying anyone should not fit an alarm if they want but I would advise also using a something like a steering wheel lock as a full visual deterrent. I don't know how long ago you were working in Spain with your British colleague and how long before that he was working in Britain and whether he worked in Northamptonshire or Bristol but unless he worked in a Skoda garage or near the importer in the mid-1980s and earlier 1990s (when we owned four new Skodas), he'd hardly see a Skoda as they were a tiny fraction of car sales in the UK. Until VW put the brand in with the VW Dealerships Skoda Dealerships were small back street concerns (and perhaps better for that). Because Skodas were such good value they were the subject of great ridicule in the very powerful press here, in the mid-80s particularly, causing great stigma to the brand it wasn't until this century that I actually knew someone else that had a new Skoda. I have lived in England all my life and for a number of years lived on rough council estates where some of the neighbours would perhaps break into cars or steal them or other things (not as bad as today or organised at all). in the 1990s we have had a 1974 car stolen, we got it back, it ran out of petrol, if they had looked in the boot there was a full gallon can, also had another car broken into and paper tax disc stolen and three weeks later the paper tax disc stolen from an open car (no roof or doors). This thread is proof that in the Bristol area at least thieves will try to steal a classic Skoda, I could be wrong but around Northampton I think it more likely that, like many cars, it would be broken into, often very crudely, to steal any items left in the car. The people doing this often are after stuff to easily sell on to feed their need for drugs so not "professional" car thieves as such. Many "classic" car owners just fit a hidden "kill switch" to stop the whole car being taken, this of course does not a break in and the damage this may cause. Whatever, it's not a nice feeling when someone have violated your property, as above I have personal experience, so I do sympathise.

Sensor(s), gauge, electric connections, electric wires, computer or computer program issues - as Rooted has put mention it before the car goes in. You could see if your car has any (admitted by VW) Recalls, you can do an online check here. - https://www.skoda-auto.com/services/recall-campaigns

or more, or a lot more

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, I'm not suggesting that anyone doesn't fit a car alarm if they want to though the old devices of steering wheel and gear lever locks may be more of a visual deterrent. There may be certain types that will steal sturdy very old cars for special banger races, I don’t think we have much trouble around here despite having the longest serving short oval track in the UK, Northamptonshire is very much into motorsport in the past and present. I've no idea about the criminals of the Dominican Republic or Bristol but around here an old car is about 10 years old not 30+ and they're stolen for their parts or parts taken off the car whilst it's parked, alarm or not. Unless the owner or a good neighbour is around a car, and home, alarms are just considered a nuisance because of all the false activations and taken little notice of. Elsewhere catalytic converters are a popular item for thieves, they just raise one side of the car and cut them off in no time or with higher set vehicles they don’t even need to raise them. For ram raids bigger heavier vehicles are used like Range Rover, or JCB diggers for cash-machines. Joyriding would be faster cars and not always by someone who has stolen the car. Innocuous older cars, but not 30 years old, may be taken and used as pool cars, shared by those they don’t bother with legal niceties like driving license, insurance, road tax for themselves and sometimes only kept until the fuel tank is empty. Cosmetically good and higher value “classic” cars may be targeted but very good running and mechanical ”classics” that are not very high show finish generally are left alone unless they are something very special in some way. Old fashion joy riding is rarer now. But as I put that is all around here, near me I don’t know generally or nationally in UK. The most stolen cars in the UK (2022) - https://www.whatcar.com/news/the-most-stolen-cars-in-the-uk/n21162 High value cars stripped down for parts and sold online or taken via ferry to Lithuania -https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-57786062 String of cars stripped of parts in Birmingham city centre - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-64568353

I'd not loose any sleep over it - and, if you didn't do so beforehand, despite what some think it is not illegal or immoral for a man to read an instruction book before using something. 😉

In the UK back in the day the Skoda badge was enough, now as then a lot of ignorant snobby people live on the isles, particularly England (or Ingerlund as some chant.

Forgot, my wife's Favorit had a boot light that was a detachable torch rechargeable torch, that was when Skoda really did have Clever ideas. Was just about to go for my winter bath (don't tell the Water Board they've not Sunday cover for this) but on seeing the 105 another quick one of my many car stories - I was once lent the (proper) Skoda garages starship of the fleet a very used and abused 105 mk1 which they said they couldn't kill, it took a little while to build up speed but once it got going it went well, heavy steering even for its day. I was told to ignore the petrol gauge, as I went sailing a car on a dual-carriageway I then had to pull in and stop as the petrol had run out, garage co-owners said when I told him "I didn't say to ignore the warning light". 😄 Lost it now but I did have a digital photo of the front cover of Auto Car(?) where they put something like " what's as good as a Golf GTi at half the price" showing IIRC a black Rapid 136 which I used to tease Porsche 911 owners I later knew, and didn't know, with as I used to say the Estelle (Rapid) was like the Porsche, and the Estelle was used in a kit as the basis of a Porsche Spyder. ETA: 1979/80 1980/81 is a newish car to me as I had various British "classics" (overpriced and overvalued old) cars as daily drivers for 30 years until last year.

Complete with 80s style sunroof. One of my (new then) Estelle 2s had that style sunroof with IIRC the radio aerial in in, a great Skoda idea that other manufacturers cars didn't have IIRC. My Rapid Estelle 2 had the aerial in the rear screen, good idea until you turned the heated screen switch IIRC, I can't remember if it was that feature or another that was shared with only any car which was a supercar of the time. I had three Estelle 2s in the mid to late 80s so I knew every joke, the sheep like, The Sun readers told, I also added the grille mounted spotlights, and hanging from bumper fogs to one of them.

Wezzlers will know better having the actual wires in daylight but just as conformation to what has been put earlier, on my PC monitor, to me eyes and brain, allowing for camera and image colours - 1 = Orange (reddish looking here) 2 = Red 3 = Red (very pinkish looking here)

Personally I'd not use the Pulse Repair setting unless the battery was really low (at or beyond "death's door") and I've no idea how much the VW computer program would like it. Up to you what you do but I would just have it on the normal 12v setting and let the charger do its stuff (connected as per charger manual and car's Owner's Manual). Note the Owner's Manual has 0.1 or lower for charging so an 8-amp (or lower) charger for say a 79 (aH) capacity battery, going a bit over isn't the end of the world particularly with a "smart" charger and maintainer, going lower will take longer (but I believe is better) . I personally prefer to go lower and charge for long as I've found over decades of charging my neighbour's car batteries, some of them "dead" (for a couple of years in the garage for one) that a very lower and very slow charge goes deeper and extends the battery's use and life longer. Some (well one) disputes this but you can look up battery manufacturer's recommendations for yourself, I put my decades of experience but perhaps I'm wrong and fooling myself as over that time I have failed to revive a couple of very "dead" batteries, one with buckled plates in one cell. I've only once IIRC needed to recharge a battery on one of my cars - then my wife bought this VW product and things changed a bit and I bought (another) new "smart" charger (I already had a 20 year old 1.8-amp Optimate and 30 year old 4-amp Bradex chargers) as the car does lots of short journeys so I do a few preventative chargers with (too late on one as battery start/stop illuminated, I won't let that happen again.

I no longer have the original photo so I've had to crop from the one I lifted off this site and posted earlier in the thread. It's not a very clear image now and didn't show that the battery charger/maintainer negative clip is connected to battery to body cable where it's retained by a painted nut on my wife's car (brown arrow). Circled in orange is the battery monitor thingy thing (forget what it's called).

I think what ApertureS might be getting at, and apologies if I'm wrong, is that it might not be telling the computer program that the battery is being charged as it's not connected (as in Owner's Manual) to the "ground point of the engine" before the battery and the black connector at the negative battery post that monitors battery charging and as you do such short infrequent journeys the program, isn't able to pick up on the charging or battery state (if the programing does this "learning"). A = the post Images from 2016/5 Octavia III Owner's Manual

Well you're certainly not all memory otherwise you'd remember I'm not answering your trolling questions - but as you're not being your usual obnoxious self to me, for that one post at least, and only being sarcastic, and I don't mind sarcasm, even from you, despite the fact you can dish it out but not receive it, perhaps having all those ears taking up some of your emotional brain space, well in that case I can tell you . . . . . . to go and find out for yourself as you never believe me. 😁