nta16

Hi, try posting in thread below and if pab567, or others, see it you should get an answer or you might see if it's already been covered in that thread.

Patrick, your post is a bit hidden here (this is for General Maintenance) you might get more response posting in the Octavia MkII section and there will be lots of other info on your car there. -https://www.briskoda.net/forums/forum/28-skoda-octavia-mk-ii-2004-2013/ I'm not technical or mechanical but I wonder if your garage are used to this make and model as if it's a crankshaft position sensor issue then it may (or may not) be a matter of using the VW/Skoda scan tool/ computer program correctly to reset it. If your garage doesn't have the access or knowledge it could mean throwing parts and work at the issue unnecessarily (but for all I know they may well have the tools and knowledge and tried).

And changing the clutch fluid - but I was thinking this wasn't a hydraulic clutch in this case.

Happens to the best of us. 😁 If only I'd thought to test the new brake light bulb before I fitted the fish-slippery taillight unit back on the car! The bulb was cosseted shed stock brand new when bought years earlier, but untested, and I should have know better as I had the exact same thing happen to me a number of years before. Assuming the batteries aren't counterfeit (so, so many items seem to be even Dealerships have been caught out in the past) then there's this to consider - "This is also relative to the conditions that the battery is stored. Ten years of life are dependent on the temperature conditions that it is stored. The battery is good for ten years if it is stored on room temperature and in relative humid weather." - https://www.large.net/news/8hu43mt.html You're sorted at very little cost so a good result, you lucky . . . 😁

What about swapping over keyfob batteries to see if the problem remains with the keyfob (or battery) - or meter the replacement battery to make sure it's not a cheap duff one or passed its 'use-by-date'.

Good points MATT0693. There are shortages or long lead times on many items now for various and combined reasons and I think it might go on for a while. I was more thinking of the annual milder short supply on the shelves as the weather here is so unpredictable (forecastable) as regards exact timings, extremes and location, severe frost in one county and mild in its neighbours. As my (self inflicted) purchase was, a car battery is often a "distress" or quick need purchase at that time rather than a considered and timely purchase so you're often in with the herd purchasing leading sometimes to less choice or availability.

K doesn't mean kit. I stand (well sit) corrected, thanks for the info.

A very good point - but with so much hassle already experienced a belt, braces, bit of string and chewing gum approach to the battery and the very invasive systems might not hurt. The vehicle being used as a taxi, depending on the type of work journeys, could throw in the old "serve" use for the battery and the rest of the car, especially if there's a lot of idling, on the engine, dpf, etc., if it's long airport runs or such then it'd be different. Perhaps that £170 Banner battery is too big to fully fill up. 🙂 As winter is approaching I've been thinking of doing a general warning thread about the battery but don't know where it'd go as it cover most models now.

Tayna - 096 AGM CAR BATTERIES - https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/types/096-agm/ ETA: I've just remembered, when I bought my battery in June there was apparently a shortage and the price was £9 higher than now (from Tayna). What are the chances of a battery shortage at the second cold snap of this autumn/winter?

Rall86 - this battery coding was all new to me and I'd no idea how invasive the stop/start battery management computer programs are on the car but as I've been driving for over 40 years I've always known the great importance of having a good battery (and connections) in good condition and state of charge. I've just exchanged posts on this subject - 12 hours ago MozzyMarr said: I know first hand about batteries and modern electronics, my previous car (a 2010 Panda) developed a lot of strange ECU issues (and loss of power steering) and wasn't happy with the battery voltages before a cold start. I replaced the battery and the ECU issues never returned :). nta16 said: I bang on about this all the time but I think a lot of owners don't understand or too readily dismiss it. With the first cold snap this year some will notice issues and the second cold snap could bring problems, and possibly breakdowns call-outs for some but it can be prevented. Good advice has been given about not using a booster charger and that a long, low, slow recharge is best (especially if that's how the discharge was) but if you don't have the time for that then prevention is better than cure by using a battery maintainer if necessary but a good battery, coded in, kept in good condition and reasonable use shouldn't need too much attention.

I bang on about this all the time but I think a lot of owners don't understand or too readily dismiss it. With the first cold snap this year some will notice issues and the second cold snap could bring problems, and possibly breakdowns call-outs for some but it can be prevented. You seem to be very much on top of things. For wear items like the brake pads don't worry about time or mileage just go on the wear. Personally I think the g/box oil should be changed especially on a city /short-distance use car. I think at 5 or so years and again the chance to use a good or better quality oil to offer better protection for longer. I changed the g/box oil on my wife's Fabia and she said she thought the gearshift feel was better for it but it's really about maintaining a higher level of protection as oils are relatively inexpensive but gearboxes ain't. For wiper blades something you might already do but some forget about is to wipe the rubber blades (elements) to remove muck/grit/grime when cleaning the car and or in between, I use cream glass cleaner on a clean cloth but there lots of alternative even just water, anything that cleans without abrasion. You sound like you have knowledge and experience that you could pass on sometimes here. Good luck.

Your car should easily be up to temperature in that time but don't just look at the 'water' temperature scroll your setting to oil temperature, you want that at 90c really to be fully warmed otherwise the oil may not be getting a full chance to do its job and be getting passed some of the stuff your engine don't want.

Low mileage is more wearing on many components and parts so annual oil & filter change is highly recommended. Stop, start traffic used to be considered "severe" conditions so more frequent servicing, more oil& filter changes but I'm with instead using a better quality oil that offers better margins of protection for longer, thus protecting your engine better. I also favour changing the plugs as, like with many other parts, just because they're working doesn't mean that they're not passed their optimum and best. Parts passed their best can make other parts and components work harder thus wearing them more and I prefer a crisp fast start to the engine and better performance (power and mpg). This brings in also as you've pointed out the importance of the battery for starting but also keeping the computers happy with sufficient power so they don't throw wobbles (and they can). Be careful about having a battery tested, it needs to be done right to be accurate. You may want to invest in a good quality battery-charger (slow is usually better than fast) that also has battery (and alternator) tester built-in. I was caught out by how invasive to the rest of the car the battery computer system is even though I've know the importance of the car battery for nearly 50 years these modern cars are even more dependant. Personally I'd replace the air filter now and perhaps again in two years time, less muck in the engine the better. Coolant I'd suggest you change at 5 years (unless its a 7 or 10 year coolant) as whilst the antifreeze part may still be good the other additives may be weakened plus draining will also remove any contaminants and debris from the cooling/heating system, again less crud to cause wear and extra work. You're obviously aware that brakes, steering, suspension - which all include tyres - and lighting and vision are more important than the engine, so yeap brake fluid and keep an eye on your tyres and wheels if the roads are anything like around here. Cabin filter is one for you and perhaps later you might want to do some of the other servicing work too. For winter I'd have a look at your wiper blades and change them yourself (to silicone ones if you can get them, something I intend to do). You've not put what gearbox you have.

No problem, let us know how you get on. It might take a while for a warning light reoccurrence, if it's going to, but if your wife notices any other improvements in the car it might be because of more battery power. Personally I'd always also resynchronise both keyfobs - and use both keyfobs alternately so that way you know where they both are and that they both work and to even out the wear on the key blades, locks and keyfob batteries. Details of key synchroising are in the 'Operating Manual' (Driver's Handbook) (see below).

The Enduroline battery is on my 1973 MG Midget (which has next to nothing electrical on it, no radio or fag socket even). The Enduroline 027 is 5 years warranty so that's good (as opposed to 3, or 4), I've no idea who makes the battery, it's weight or anything else but to be fair to Tayna they don't always give them the 'Star Buy' sticker in the selection (I think it was on the Bosch when I bought ours (at higher price than now. 😛

I meant something had to cause the warning light to come on even though it's off now, having the battery more charged might not sort why it happened (but perhaps the alternator helping the battery or a reduction in the car's electrical load at the time might have prevented whatever caused the light to come on to trigger again). I'm just looking at my thread and John510 put - "(It seems Moll went bust about a year ago, so exact replacement was not possible)" and "during a chat with The Batteryshop I was told that Varta and Bosch batteries are made in the same factory in Spain." And apparently when I was looking batteries were in short supply so prices were higher - just wait until late autumn and early winter and to Xmas and New Year, wot fun. And rum4mo correctly predicted that the previous battery coding for our car as per Skoda for the Moll battery was JCB and 1111111111 (which was just altered to Bosch and 1111111112). - - - "I think that you will either find that Skoda filled in everything okay, or it will be as VW have done over a period in time, and that means the capacity and technology are correct, but the vendor is that good old VW Group default JCB - ie Johnson Controls and the serial number is 111111111111 - which is a bit silly as the BEM label carries all the info including the serial number, regardless if the full BEM codes are not needed on these cars. HTH. Four main set of battery specs below if you really want to know. CCAspecs.pdf

ETA: DIN IIRC is the German (Europe?) system. Doesn't really matter, it's a bit like metric or Imperialist measurements, and figures are only an indicator it's how well the battery actually performs in the real world, some will keep to figures longer than others and anyway as VW proved you can get the figures you want. I should add, do bear in mind recharging your present battery or replacing it might not solve your warning light issue. If you can disconnect the existing battery and leave the car without a a battery connected for hours before connecting the new battery even that in itself might help reset some things.

If you look for the thread on here you'll see photos and details I put up or I can add a link here if you want. There are different measuring systems for battery specs (I can bore and link to those if you want) hence the 320a DIN, yours sounds like ours was the original Moll battery.

S5 A05 Bosch AGM Car Battery 12V 60Ah Type 027 S5A05 (5 year warranty) - Bosch don't make batteries it's a Varta apparantly. I got it from Tayna, usually arrives next day but you might have missed the cut off point now, I have their Enduroline battery on my car and it's been fine. But I did change the battery before I needed to as my mate's still using it but it gives my wife peace of mind (so me too) that it's done, paid hassle money, (money paid out just to avoid hassle) and it was higher priced then than it is now (with cars I often have bad luck). https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/types/027-agm/ HTH.

Depends where you get the battery from VW have their own system but if you have the tool you can do it yourself, it's what brought me to this site so details are here. Or if you have a relevant scan tool you can do it yourself, I had a site Member do mine as it was all new to me and I don't even have a (misnomer) 'smartphone'.

Get them to do a full load test and alternator test too if they do that just for the sake of it if it's free. IF it needs it now is a good time to replace the battery as the days get shorter and the weather gets colder. Most years the first cold snap highlights the weaknesses in car batteries (and home central heating systems) and the second cold snap breaks them (if the battery can't be fully recharged successfully). Unfortunately car batteries are one of the most oversold car parts because many no longer have the patience or time to charge them properly but on the other side modern cars are so dependant on them and work them hard that they don't last as long as they used to and are often best changed for new to avoid unnecessary problems and breakdown call-outs.

Yes sorry I didn't make my point very well, to put it plainer, the 'idiot lights' should not be relied on to the exclusion of using the human brain, the cars computer did show a fault but this was after my wife, who's not an idiot and an experienced driver and used to (over-priced and over-valued) cars called "classics" going faulty, had worked out there was a fault. I've always told her, if safe to do so to drive and not stop with a tyre that's deflating as she's much more valuable than any lump of metal. Luckily it was only a short distance from home and she has enough brain power, knowledge and experience to make the decision of what to do, get home, ring for recovery, abandon the car if required, it's insured.

Yes they should be, the tyres was my off tangent example of warning systems but sensors and wires are also in those areas. Something must have caused it to come on (whether it needed to or not, sometimes the computers are misled). eRoottoot is probably answering that now as I type.

e-Roottoot, TBH I can't remember what it was the tyre was flat when she got home. It was lifting a tyre 1" off the ground and it slipping from the centre before I could get a bolt in when moving the wheels around for the new tyres (I replace in pairs despite the tread left on the other) that twigged my back. F-ing wheel bolts instead of studs (so much for "German engineering"). I got about 20 minutes of sciatica that night when I went to bed and thought later how luck I was not to get more. . . . Two years later and my legs feel a bit funny and now my back is uncomfortable, sometimes just standing can be uncomfortable. I bought two screw-in rods to act as studs but too late the damage was done. F-ing wheel bolts. 😄

I feel a new battery might be suggested but do bear in mind unless it's the same battery fitted (and I think they're not available) you'll need to get it coded-in for the car's computers (or best to). Don't go for a cheaper battery, get a good quality and capacity. I got an AGM.