Have '55 Petrol 1.2 Fabia.

 

Previously had problems with battery seeming to drain overnight (car starts fine on journey home from work; next morning battery flat)

 

New battery earlier this year seemed to solve problem.

 

Car has just been serviced.

 

Yesterday evening, start seemed a bit sluggish.  This morning, would not start.

 

I've got a decent (not Halford's cheapo etc.) battery pack jump starter, which usually does the trick (when had problems before, wife leaves lights on in her Jazz etc.)  Wouldn't start it this morning (possibly because Battery has been completely drained).

 

Car has been doing a mix of short and longer trips recently (often just short to nursery and back each day)

 

I am certain i didn't leave anything on last night.

 

QUESTION:

 

Possible electrical fault draining the battery?

 

Have others experienced this kind of problem with Fabia of this vintage?

 

If so, was it wiring loom or something else (e.g. water ingress to light housings etc.)

 

 

Been a dry Sept / Oct so far, but wet weather suddenly arrived ... could be a factor?

 

Car literally just been serviced.

 

Planning on getting (trusted) backstreet garage to put the meter on it to check for faults.

 

Any advice / experience in advance welcome though.

 

Can't have this unreliability in winter with childcare responsibility.  Car will have to go if becomes regular problem / can't fix.

 

Cheers.

You are right, having a car doing this is crap as it sounds like it is needed daily, I have a similar problem with my daughter's late 2009 Ibiza 1.4 SC, but cars of that type and that build date were thought to have been fitted with incorrectly programed BCM which can lead to some supplies being left "on" while the car is not in use - these supplies should "go to sleep" within a short period of the car being stopped, and as such, the standard drain from the battery should be 5.5ma - daughter's Ibiza is actually 4.45ma when it is behaving.

That was just a round up of what can happen, in your case I'd think that some thing else is wrong, what about boot light if fitted, I unplugged that on Ibiza as soon as I started to have problems? Next thing might be to check the main charging leads and earths, if you can not do either of these things, you will need to leave it up to the garage.

If using a car on short journeys long term, it is always best to buy a really good "quality" battery as they are usually higher capacity so will survive this "abuse" for longer periods of time.

 

Edit:- one thing, and not normally a petrol engine car problem, does the charge warning light come on when you switch on the ignition and does it go out when the engine is running?

Edited 7 October, 201510 yr by rum4mo

Are you sure that something is flattening the battery - a common fault simply stops the alternator from charging the battery.

Suggest you charge the battery the start the car and measure the battery voltage - 12v means it is not charging, you need to see 13.6v to 14 volts when the engine is running.

 

If you have a charging problem, this is often due to a wiring break near a plug low down on the passenger side of the engine bay - google it.

Are you sure that something is flattening the battery - a common fault simply stops the alternator from charging the battery.

Suggest you charge the battery the start the car and measure the battery voltage - 12v means it is not charging, you need to see 13.6v to 14 volts when the engine is running.

 

If you have a charging problem, this is often due to a wiring break near a plug low down on the passenger side of the engine bay - google it.

 

Yes, could be the battery isn't charging properly.

 

then If i'm doing short trip(s) with the lights, radio, air con, wipers on etc, that drains what charge there is and then it won't start.

 

Thanks for the advice, will check those things.

You are right, having a car doing this is crap as it sounds like it is needed daily, I have a similar problem with my daughter's late 2009 Ibiza 1.4 SC, but cars of that type and that build date were thought to have been fitted with incorrectly programed BCM which can lead to some supplies being left "on" while the car is not in use - these supplies should "go to sleep" within a short period of the car being stopped, and as such, the standard drain from the battery should be 5.5ma - daughter's Ibiza is actually 4.45ma when it is behaving.

That was just a round up of what can happen, in your case I'd think that some thing else is wrong, what about boot light if fitted, I unplugged that on Ibiza as soon as I started to have problems? Next thing might be to check the main charging leads and earths, if you can not do either of these things, you will need to leave it up to the garage.

If using a car on short journeys long term, it is always best to buy a really good "quality" battery as they are usually higher capacity so will survive this "abuse" for longer periods of time.

 

Edit:- one thing, and not normally a petrol engine car problem, does the charge warning light come on when you switch on the ignition and does it go out when the engine is running?

 

Thanks for the advice, will look into those / mention to garage.

Charge warning light does come on at ignition (with the rest) but it does go out when engine is running.

Not had any warning lights, or flickering, or error messages or anything like that.

I had a "not charging" problem with a Fabia TDI and the red ignition light acted normally - I think the light is driven by the ECU or convenience unit - not straight from the alternator field coil as with early alternator arrangements.

Are you sure that something is flattening the battery - a common fault simply stops the alternator from charging the battery.

Suggest you charge the battery the start the car and measure the battery voltage - 12v means it is not charging, you need to see 13.6v to 14 volts when the engine is running.

 

If you have a charging problem, this is often due to a wiring break near a plug low down on the passenger side of the engine bay - google it.

 

It was this!  AA man fixing it was we speak.

 

Cheers