Been hijacking mellyboy's "Frustrating starting issues" thread for the last week so thought I'd start my own

12 plate 140 TDI elegance combi had a new heated windscreen fitted in late November to fix a water leak in the passenger footwell. Ever since (in hindsight) I've noticed that it's been a bit slow to fire up in the morning sometimes taking a couple of laboured cranks but at the time I put it down to a combination of short journeys and the cold weather. However for the last 10 days its been really bad and was totally dead on Christmas eve needing a jump start from the RAC (via Skoda Assist). At midday today I nipped out and it started OK but not great. SWMBO has just gone to start it up and it's barely turning over. Checked the battery and it's at 10.8v. Will check again in the morning to see if it drops further before calling Skoda again - presumably a drain, probably related to the heated windscreen wiring.

Only plus is I'm now missing out on New Year's day dinner at the in-laws......every cloud.... ;-)

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Can you be sure there is an unwelcome battery drain?

 

It's quite well documented that the factory supplied batteries aren't up to the job and have a tendency to fail prematurely.

Would be quite pleased is it's just a duff battery - swap for new one, bad connection conjures fears of lots of faffing around at the dealer, searching for faults.

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Have you tried the parasitic draw test I mentioned in the other thread (post #20)?

Artichoke - no, I'll give it a shot in the morning.

Cheers, Chris

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Just watched that video link. Very useful, will give it a shot tomorrow if we get a break in the rain.

Chris

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You probably read I gave up with don't need a battery, and fitted a Bosch S5008 . is great at the moment .

Does it fit into the battery box - is it the same overall size as the current Skoda battery?

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Does it fit into the battery box - is it the same overall size as the current Skoda battery?

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Yes ,  I bought it myself dealer fitted it for free .

Just checked battery, after 15hrs, battery's still at 10.8v. Looks like duff battery rather than a drain. Need to work out what the deal is with battery warranty on a used Skoda Approved car. Read Mellyboy's post about it not being covered.

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Just checked battery, after 15hrs, battery's still at 10.8v. Looks like duff battery rather than a drain. Need to work out what the deal is with battery warranty on a used Skoda Approved car. Read Mellyboy's post about it not being covered.

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I  was told that if the battery had a manufacturing  fault it would be covered . As battery has already done four years  service it would be  difficult to prove that.  If my car starts as it should now money well spent.

RAC guy came out and spent 20mins checking for a drain before giving me a jump start. Pretty decent of him I thought, especially since it was pouring down.

Anyway he's sure that there's no drain and it's a knackered battery. Called Skoda Customer Services, at 15 months old they'd replace the battery if it's at fault but I need to leave it with a dealer for 48 hrs to let them do a 24hr "deep charge" and then 24hrs diagnostics.

To be continued............

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Frustrating, especially as Skoda are aware of the battery issues on Superb's.

Yeah, naively hoped they might just run a quick check and swap it out. What's worse, our dealer only has Citigos and Fabias as courtesy cars - I can already hear the kids whinging about the legroom......

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Yeah, naively hoped they might just run a quick check and swap it out. What's worse, our dealer only has Citigos and Fabias as courtesy cars - I can already hear the kids whinging about the legroom......

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Batteries have a guarantee of three, four, five years  so it is logical to think that the batteries supplied to Skoda have a minimum three year guarantee. I did not see mine off the car so i did not see manufacturer ,worth chasing this up.

dropped the superb off at the dealer yesterday morning, got a 63 plate 1.6tdi octavia estate - very nice. Anyway, was expecting a 48hr process to charge the batery and test it but 4 hrs later they called to say that the battery was definitely at fault and would be replaced under warranty.

 

reckon it's been knackered for a while - we got the car in June and the interior lights are now the brightest they've ever been. Garage gave it a wash and a hoover out too.

dropped the superb off at the dealer yesterday morning, got a 63 plate 1.6tdi octavia estate - very nice. Anyway, was expecting a 48hr process to charge the batery and test it but 4 hrs later they called to say that the battery was definitely at fault and would be replaced under warranty.

 

reckon it's been knackered for a while - we got the car in June and the interior lights are now the brightest they've ever been. Garage gave it a wash and a hoover out 

flat battery again for me this morning,as soon as the weather gets frosty,she struggles.had all the back to the dealer crap last winter,"theres nothing wrong with the battery sir"this is the forth time ill be back to the dealers in 2years with flat battery!!why do you alway get a flat battery when your in a hurry   hope new car comes with a spare lol...........

4 hrs later they called to say that the battery was definitely at fault and would be replaced under warranty.

 

Result!

 

I wonder if they are replacing it with the same spec battery or whether they now fit higher specification battery's to prevent the same thing happening again?

flat battery again for me this morning,as soon as the weather gets frosty,she struggles.had all the back to the dealer crap last winter,"theres nothing wrong with the battery sir"this is the forth time ill be back to the dealers in 2years with flat battery!!why do you alway get a flat battery when your in a hurry   hope new car comes with a spare lol...........

 

The dealer is fobbing you off.

 

Tell them the issue of under-specificed batteries being fitted to the Superb is well documented and that you'd like them to replace it.

flat battery again for me this morning,as soon as the weather gets frosty,she struggles.had all the back to the dealer crap last winter,"theres nothing wrong with the battery sir"this is the forth time ill be back to the dealers in 2years with flat battery!!why do you alway get a flat battery when your in a hurry hope new car comes with a spare lol...........

What is the Ah capacity and the CCA on your battery?

After Been told on five occasions that their was no probs with my electrics , then with my car not starting again over Xmas I have fitted a Bosch silver 5S008 77ah Battery at the moment its great ,starts every time with a minimum of cranks. I did post about this and my conclusion is although the tests states the Battery is good maybe, but in fact the Battery is NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR THE JOB ON THE SUPERB

Just checked and the new battery is 72ah. Agree with mellyboy, much better now turning over with higher output battery.

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just been out and had a look at my battery on my superb (13plate elegance 170 4x4 estate) and it has a 340A 70aH battery fitted, Must admit if its been stood a few days it does struggle so will be finding out what it should have fitted tommorow.

just been out and had a look at my battery on my superb (13plate elegance 170 4x4 estate) and it has a 340A 70aH battery fitted, Must admit if its been stood a few days it does struggle so will be finding out what it should have fitted tommorow.

The spec on my BOSCH  S5008 Battery is  12v capacity 77AH  CCA(EN)780 A

The spec on my BOSCH  S5008 Battery is  12v capacity 77AH  CCA(EN)780 A

Thats far better as it is the CCA value which is the one to bear in mind during winter. Cold cranking amperes (CCA) is the amount of current a battery can provide at 0 °F (-18 °C)

Edited 13 January, 201412 yr by HoneyMonster65