battery drain

[michaeloctavia]

Hey

I just brought a used octavia II (2005). On the third day (no use, just 3 days of parking) the battery was completely drained.

I measure the drain to be 0,44 ampere on standby. This seem quite high to me. So my first question is, if anyone knows what the standby power use should be?

Second I notice, that even though the ignition is off (key removed) the radio still has power and so does the lighter-plug. Is that normal?

Thanks, great forum!

[VRStu]

There is a known issue with the Stram Radio draining the battery which can be fixed with a software update.

Power to the radio and ligher socket is normal.

[michaeloctavia]

OK thanks. Mine does not have the stram, but just a standard blaupunkt One thing less to worry about then.

[VRStu]

Sorry I made a typo there it's a Stream Radio.

[michaeloctavia]

I still wonder about the 0,44 amperes usage (which the dealer says is normal). I believe that usual standby power drain should be 0,01 - 0,05 ampere.

According to my math, 0,44 ampere drain means that the battery should be completely drained/empty after 5 days (and that can't be normal), so I hope my math is wrong.

Edited 25 August, 2008 by michaeloctavia

[thirty3]

You could find what part of the car is causing it by pulling all the fuses till the drain stops and it may help pinpoint the cause. Maybe not the exact cause but you may get a little closer.

[Jethro Tombs]

Approx 5W by my maths, Boot light staying on?

[michaeloctavia]

Yes 5W by my math too

I have looked at the glove compartment and trunk, all lights out. The fuse F8 makes the drain drop (whatever it controls/is connected too). The car is with warranty, so I just need to be sure it is not normal, then I will have the dealer take care of it.

I will also visit family on friday (they have an octavia II too). I will measure the standby on that car to see what it is.

[Rizla_0]

Myself and a few others on here had a problem with the engine cooling fan coming on whilst the engine was off - used to drain the battery very quickly. It was only noticed through chance one night, might be worth looking into.

[michaeloctavia]

Update:

I disabled the F8 fuse and the drain drops to 0,08 amperes. which seem like a "normal" value. All seems to works, except my blaupunkt radio, which I will try to unplug next, to see if it is the source (wierd though, because the blaupunkt is the standard radio in my country)

[michaeloctavia]

Okay, it is the (danish standard) blaupunkt radio that drains the battery. It constantly uses 0,4-0,5 amperes. So now I just have to connect it to some ignition controlled power source (so it does not get 12v all the time).

There is some great help here

http://briskoda.net/ice-security-insurance/ice-iso-connections/47926/

[Stevescoots]

I had this problem on my 2006 octy 2 DSG, after leaving it at heathrow 2 weeks to find the battery totally dead. took it to the dealer who said its a known issue and it should have been recalled. the recall for it was "acoustic bang" I did ask what it meant and they said it was something to do with the speaker system, not the stereo itself. anyway whatever it was it cured it.

[johnsmithmobile]

I dont know if this helps but on my Octavia Mk1 I upgraded from a Symphony to a Symphony MP3 with CD slot (of course!). The battery went dead in just over a day. To cut a very long story short it turned out to be the autochanger in the boot which I assumed was compatible with the new unit. The plugs certainly fitted. As I use the MP3 function I decided the autochanger was redundant anyway so problem solved. I found also that if you remove the CD cassette it also solved the problem. Saves disconnecting the unit.

[kiko]

Okay, it is the (danish standard) blaupunkt radio that drains the battery. It constantly uses 0,4-0,5 amperes. So now I just have to connect it to some ignition controlled power source (so it does not get 12v all the time).

There is some great help here

http://briskoda.net/ice-security-insurance/ice-iso-connections/47926/

Looking to this link, try to exchange wires between pin7 and pin4 of conector "A" then try to measure draining current with ignition on and then off...if drain stops and you not loosing memorized stations when ignition is off....it's OK