So, I bought my car in August 2011. September last year, battery was dead, totally.

 

I bought a new one. Been fine since.

 

October 2014, I started cycling to work so the car has mainly been getting an 80 mile round trip to my dad's about once a fortnight.

 

Go to start the car earlier, dead. Battery is flat as a pancake.

 

I bought a 5 year BOSCH £130 battery, so I'm surprised it's dead already, I suppose my main question is - is 80 miles a fortnight enough? (Obviously not!) But should it be dying? Do I need to use the car more?

You might put a smart trickle charger on there if you can.

 

I would think that 80km/fortnight should be OK though.

 

Battery is under warranty so make a claim - maybe it's just a one-off dud.

Brad's suggestion of a smart trickle charger is a good idea. Take advantage of the fact that the Octavia's cigarette lighter socket is a permanent live connection, and plug it in there.

A solar trickle charger might be a good idea but you have to get to the root of problem. A fully charged battery should not go completely flat after two or three weeks. I have a classic VW Karmann Ghia and I sometimes don't start it for a month or two and the battery is five years old. It seems that some where you have a drain on battery. The first step is to take battery off and have it checked . BEFORE DOING THIS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE RADIO CODE. If battery is OK check the following. There is a live feed to radio but that will not cause the problem that you have, but is radio switching off when ignition key is removed. On my Octavia radio can be switched on with key out but switches off after 1 hour. A few of things to check. 1- Is the boot light going out when lid closed. Get some one some one to help you and get inside and close hatch and see if light goes out. 2- Does your glove box have a light inside , is it going out when lid closed.3- Have the interior lights been switch on and left on by mistake. During summer weather and light nights we some times don't notice this.Again a thing we sometime don't notice during summer months, if indicator switch is left on left or right side and tail lights are switched on. If all else fails and until you find problem you could fit an isolator switch to battery but again before doing so make sure you have radio code. Keep us informed as someone else may have same problem as you in future.

Robert

Edited 15 September, 201510 yr by dustrat

Is there a spark when you connect or disconnect it? Check the current draw, My wifes A3 had one of the diodes in the rectifier fail causing a drain on the battery. I removed the wire to the rest of the car and just connected the battery to the alternator with the engine off to check this. 2 minute check.

1- Is the boot light going out when lid closed. Get some one some one to help you and get inside and close hatch and see if light goes out. 2- Does your glove box have a light inside , is it going out when lid closed.3- Have the interior lights been switch on and left on by mistake.

 

You should certainly check these things. My father once had aproblem with his car. After a week of no driving he wasn't able to start it. It was obviously an empty battery and he didn't understand what was the cause of that. Then he left the car in a garage and after turning off light he saw some minor light from the inside of the car. It was the glove box light... somehow it was almost closed (looked closed, though) but the light remained on.

If you wish to check the lighting then try some dark place

Yes whitep, that's a good idea, never thought of that. I had a Citroen GS years ago and battery drained and it turned out to be diode in Alternator.

 Robert

Is there a spark when you connect or disconnect it? Check the current draw, My wifes A3 had one of the diodes in the rectifier fail causing a drain on the battery. I removed the wire to the rest of the car and just connected the battery to the alternator with the engine off to check this. 2 minute check.

The connectors will always give a spark when connected due to the alarm and immobiliser electronics. connecting an ammeter between the terminal and connector would give a rough idea whether it's normal or more than normal current

Edited 15 September, 201510 yr by KaranSran

Hi all,

 

Thanks for the suggestions. My dad has a spare battery, and charger, so first job will be to get those so I can at least get my car going. I will check the other items mentioned, and report back. Thanks.

If you want to check the light in the glovebox, boot, fridge etc then you can use the video camera on your phone. Turn it on, put it inside, close the door, open the door, take it out, look at video.

 

I have this same problem with dead battery now. I thought I had nailed it with a new battery but I am now suspecting there is a current draw somewhere.

Was reading the latest edition of AP Tech (Andrew Page motor factors magazine) this morning and there was an article on the latest Smart Charge system being fitted to Peugeot/Citroen cars. It says that when you eventually have to change the battery, then the new battery has to be coded to the car, otherwise the car won't recognise it and won't charge it, and that the normal charge voltage for the battery is 12.7 volts !!! I dare say that VAG will be adopting something similar soon ???

The connectors will always give a spark when connected due to the alarm and immobiliser electronics. connecting an ammeter between the terminal and connector would give a rough idea whether it's normal or more than normal current

 

they will only spark if the caps have fully discharged so its not something which will always happen

Is there a spark when you connect or disconnect it? Check the current draw, My wifes A3 had one of the diodes in the rectifier fail causing a drain on the battery. I removed the wire to the rest of the car and just connected the battery to the alternator with the engine off to check this. 2 minute check.

 

What terminal on the alternator did you connect the battery to without connecting anything else? I wouldn't mind trying that before I buy an alternator.

there is only one terminal (earth is through the engine). You can check its the positive by using a multimeter

All of the above make sense. There will be more current draw on a modern motor than an older vintage vehicle, but I do agree it should not be flat after two weeks though.

Find and cure the fault, and then still use a small 4watt solar charger to protect your investment. It will protect your battery from getting frostbite (dying) when our inevitable winter kicks in.

the solar idea is good but make sure you get a regulated one. None regulated chargers can kill batteries

 

Most certainly need to find the problem though, something is definetly draining the battery.

Was reading the latest edition of AP Tech (Andrew Page motor factors magazine) this morning and there was an article on the latest Smart Charge system being fitted to Peugeot/Citroen cars. It says that when you eventually have to change the battery, then the new battery has to be coded to the car, otherwise the car won't recognise it and won't charge it, and that the normal charge voltage for the battery is 12.7 volts !!! I dare say that VAG will be adopting something similar soon ???

That's related to the stop/start function - yes, it's already happened

Was reading the latest edition of AP Tech (Andrew Page motor factors magazine) this morning and there was an article on the latest Smart Charge system being fitted to Peugeot/Citroen cars. It says that when you eventually have to change the battery, then the new battery has to be coded to the car, otherwise the car won't recognise it and won't charge it, and that the normal charge voltage for the battery is 12.7 volts !!! I dare say that VAG will be adopting something similar soon ???

Sounds like another money maker for the dealers to rip us off with !!!

Check for water in the fuse box, I had this as the box is located directly under the bonnet/wing gap, water was bridging connections meaning my radiator fans come on while the car was switched off throughout the night, get up in the morn, flat battery. Just a thought.

My Defender does approximately 50/100 miles a month over one or two trips if its lucky, sometimes does not go anywhere for 6 weeks and since 2007, it has had 2 x batteries. Changed around 2008 and again around 2014.

No trickle charger, I know I have a really big battery on mine compared to the one you have, not too sure how big a battery you can get on the Octavia and once my ignition is off, nothing is drawing anything, provided I unplug the face off my stereo.

There are still things drawing minuet current on a modern car when off but worth sticking a meter on and seeing what the quiescent current draw is, it may be excessive, then its trace the fault.

Philip, normal charge voltage is 14.4v and when they start using decent agm batteries it needs to be closer to 14.7

My works van has stop/start (bloody awful idea!). Done nearly 70k in over 3.5 years without a single battery issue. Im always charging stuff in it, ipad, phone, pda etc so its not like i dont use it for anything bar driving.

I pulled my (newish) battery out yesterday and found it had cracked open - I am guessing that it where my fault lies

most definetly

After SWMBO repeatedly flattened her 8 1/2 yo petrol Hyundai Getz battery by leaving doors and boot ajar I thought I'd check my 6 1/2 yo battery voltage after a good run. Only 12.2V whereas SWMBO car showed 12.6V (after charging). The Getz is still OK months later and I have switched the internal courtesy light off pro tem.

My diesel Octavia annual mileage has now decreased and I noted that it was getting slightly less keen to crank over. Yesterday the Octavia refused to crank over at all. Charged it up and then bought a 'calcium' battery from Halfords with a four-year warranty at £85 fitted. I'm happy with the price and swift and competent fitting.

How long can the OE Hyundai battery last- this is a record long life in my experience.

How long can the OE Hyundai battery last- this is a record long life in my experience.

The originial battery for my fathers petrol Octavia will become 10 years old in February. It's not as good as it was in the beginning. The car doesn't start in 0,5 seconds but it takes maybe 1,5 seconds to start