Hi all I have an x reg 1.4 fabia (70,000 miles one owner full service history)  I have replaced the alternator and battery but every morning when I come to start it the battery is nearly flat. I have taken to removing the earth lead when I get home now and with the ignition switched of I get a spark from the lead either when taking it off or putting it on. I have removed the alternator wires and removed all of the fuses to try and stop this but to no avail  any help please would be appreciated.   The next issue i have is shes only doing 25 to the gallon and has no power and has fault codes 441 evap and 1570 cont mod                help help help please as I love the little thing but cannot rely on her!

Please tell us which engine you have, it could be an 8 valve or a 16 valve, the engine code is on a sticker under the boot carpet. It sounds like your starter motor may be tired or the battery isn't being charged properly.

You need to do a systematic check starting with the engine running, check the voltage both across the alternator terminals and again across the battery terminals.  Across the alternator I think you should be seeing around 14.7v, and slightly less across the battery (but still above 14V charge voltage).  If the voltage is more than that across the battery, you could have a fault with the diode rectifier for the alternator; if it's less at the battery (say 12V or under) but above 14 at the alternator, then you may have a short to ground somewhere on the electrical circuit.  If you do have a short, this could explain the battery draining overnight.

 

To check the battery, as long as it's charging at 14v+, remove from the car, charge off the car and do a drop test over 3 days or so.  It should hold around 12.4v. If it drops below 12V after 3 days, there's a problem with it.

 

The other option as hinted at above is that something else is draining the battery way too much in operation.  The starter solenoid can cause issues if the impedance rises across the contacts, causing the battery to drain quickly. The solenoid would get quite hot it this were the case.  I've had this on a few motorbikes but not on my car.  The solution was to install a new (higher rated) starter solenoid.  

 

The starter motor should spin freely and quickly with a healthy battery. If it doesn't even with the battery charged, then there's possibly a fault with the starter or starter solenoid,.

 

It could be any number of things though so best to see if you can find evidence of a short circuit somewhere once you've ruled out the alternator and battery as the problems.

Edited 29 November, 201411 yr by SEVrs

It is an 8 valve engine and the car is a base model with no optional extras   The alternator is chucking 14.75 volts into the battery and the alternator is new as is the battery the starter performs well.  I run it to work and back 18 miles and the battery shows 14 + volts when switched off then in the morning if I leave the battery lead on I have less than 9 volts if I take the lead off the battery stays charged...........  when I put on or remove either the positive or negative lead on the battery it sparks very heavily.       power steering issues? wiring loom knackered are there any relays on the junk?    any help welcome

you need an ammeter between the batt+ and it's lead then start pulling fuses until the major drain falls off then proceed from there

Your new battery could be duff. There was someone on here who had three bad batteries in a row from their supplier.

I have done the ammeter and fuses out test and the battery has been drop tested all today and still no joy ????

Have you also tried pulling the fuses in the battery cover? Might narrow down where to look.

I have had all of the fuses removed including the ones in the battery cover i have disconnected the stereo alternator and trailer hitch and still a loud crack and spark when i put the battery lead on !

Don't go blind on the electrc stuff .... use a multimeter to measure the amps that are being 'sucked' from the battery with the engine off, all doors closed and locked. A battery should be near at it's 100% capacity after 18miles. Do you have an aftermarket alarm system installed .. or at least a central locking one ? If you said you've disconnected the stereo and you still have that problem, you should scan it with a vag-com interface. If there is a short in the circuit, it should say something about it. 

Edited 2 December, 201411 yr by Alexandru

Would say go buy an ammeter or a multimeter.... Or best, both a decent multimeter and a clamp style ammeter.

 

Any optional extras fitted to the car? Hifi head units, amplifiers etc?

 

Found a wiring diagram online through a site called electrotanya?!?! it's for a 1.2, though to some degree, a 1.4 will be similar. Only 2 main live wires. red to the fuse plate on the battery cover, black, feed to the starter. If you pull plate fuses F1 and F2, there's little else that could be causing problems other than the starter. Unles someone's been tinkering and added a non-standard take off from the battery positive or any feeds to the plate fuses.

Few years ago,I had battery failure. New battery  in, and I got  a spark. So ,in circuit went the meter on 10A range. Less than1 A initial dropping to a low reading. Then tried volt to battery on charge- idle about 13v, then on rev ,should increase. Then swich on things likke headlamps/ hearter/ rear screen heater etc/etc, and volts should still stay high ( 13.8 +) .After that battery check. All good- then it's long slog of looking for theleak .

My suggestion, take it to a garage for a full electrics diagnostic check telling them everything you have tried etc.

Will save second guessing and a lot of frustration too..?

Did you manage to find out the problem for this as my car is doing a similar thing and is very annoying

I have a battery forsale: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/325650-exide-excel-096-battery-fabia-spec-71ah-670a-12v-genuine-vag-brand-new/

I have been through everything the only thing i have not checked is the starter motor I now have a new alternator (even though the old one was ok a new) battery (and the old one was ok) all new relays the wiring has been checked and there is not a boot light to run the battery down every thing has been disconnected apart from the battery and it  still goes flat over night my neighbour has exactly the same problem with his octavia and if we cant sort the problem by the end of this week we are going to send both cars to where they belong!  

So it's not looking promising :(