Battery Drain :-(

[LTReed]

Hi everyone,

 

It seems I am the latest victim of the famous Octavia battery drain.  

Firstly a few months ago my car wouldn't start, after charging, still wouldn't, battery was completely dead so a new one was bought. This seemed to fix the issue until just before Christmas when it wouldn't start once again,  this time the battery charged okay to start the car but out of worry I decided to borrow a clamp meter to check for any drain issues. It showed a ~2A draw when the car was off and locked.  Knowing the radio based drain issues i pulled the 15A fuse for the radio (F8 i believe) and the current flow dropped to 0.

 

So, unless I am mistaken (wouldn't be the first time) it seems the radio is causing the battery drain, however I am on firmware version 4024, which I didn't think was related to any drain issues.  Could it be that I need a new canbus gateway?  I don't fully understand it all but have read that this is sometimes necessary.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

[J306TD]

What year is your car? if it's an early 07 or before then you so need the newer gateway

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[LTReed]

Its a 2008 (built end of 2007)

I believe the columbus unit fitted is a fairly early model, I upgraded to version 4024 and had to fit a new HDD as the old one died

[J306TD]

Oh same as mine then. Will be a 1Z0 A unit then. But strange as mines ok

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[LTReed]

hmm, could i be wrong about it being the cause of the drain? seems unlikely as the current draw disappeared when i pulled the radio fuse, but i'm certainly no expert

[Phil-E]

You should have the right version of CAN adapter in that age car to avoid the battery drain but you never know.

 

My car is a 57plate but an MY08 model and has the lowest version CAN gateway to avoid the battery drain.

 

Best way is to get a scan of the car or get a look at the gateway to see the part number.

 

Phil

[LTReed]

and what am i looking for in the scan? (have a friend with vcds) is there a particular number above which I should be ok?

[dstev2000]

Look for controller 19: CAN gateway and open it. Then you want the controller number in the 'VAG number' box, this'll tell you the part number and any revision of said part (A,B,C etc.). 

 

Post the gateway part number here. Too early a revision and sometimes incorrect coding can cause a drainage issue, especially if the gateway is looking for something that isn't there. 

 

I'm going back to my Columbus retrofitting days on this one......

[Phil-E]

If you just access controller 19-Can Gateway then in one of the boxes at the top of the page (VAG Number) it should give you the park number;

 

[LTReed]

cheers, will get the scan done asap and post the results

[Rustynuts]

If you updated the firmware then effectively you've given the unit a firmware which is not compatible with your old canbus gateway.  The unit as it was would be okay and no battery drain, but the update has complicated it and made it work differently. Either downgrade the firmware to the original, replace the canbus gateway, or there's a software fix to make it work correctly.

Personally, I would replace the gateway then it's done.

[LTReed]

Look for controller 19: CAN gateway and open it. Then you want the controller number in the 'VAG number' box, this'll tell you the part number and any revision of said part (A,B,C etc.). 

 

Post the gateway part number here. Too early a revision and sometimes incorrect coding can cause a drainage issue, especially if the gateway is looking for something that isn't there. 

 

I'm going back to my Columbus retrofitting days on this one......

 

I have been sent the following information from the scan done on monday

 

Part No SW: 1K0 907 530 P

HW: 1K0 907 951

Revision H16

 

Make sense?

 

If you updated the firmware then effectively you've given the unit a firmware which is not compatible with your old canbus gateway.  The unit as it was would be okay and no battery drain, but the update has complicated it and made it work differently. Either downgrade the firmware to the original, replace the canbus gateway, or there's a software fix to make it work correctly.

Personally, I would replace the gateway then it's done.

 

I wondered if this was the case, however some people seem to have upgraded without issue.  If this is the case, how do I know what gateway to get and best place to get one from?

 

Thanks for all the help

[Rustynuts]

1K0 907 530 P is not compatible I'm afraid.

 

See here...

 

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Navigation_System_%28RNS510%29_Retrofitting

[LTReed]

Ok so new can bus gateway it is. Where's the best place to get one and how do I know which one to get?

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[Rustynuts]

You might contact Eddie NL on here. He'll sort you out.

[Rustynuts]

Mike, if you have the software fix then you won't get the battery drain. But that doesn't make your gateway compatible, just means it's not an issue.

[Rustynuts]

It's an oddity that version P is the only one after K which is not compatible. L and after would be, except for P and software versions 0191 and 0192. Yours is clearly Version P and 0191 and is okay, while the OP is version P and not okay.

[langers2k]

Normally anything from L is fine but I believe that some P rev's have issues.

 

Given that I can't find any information about SW versions on P rev's then it might be luck of the draw rather than linked to a particular SW version as it is on K rev's.

 

Still, given you can probably pick a good one up for £20-30 on eBay and have a friend with VCDS who can code it, it's a cheap and easy thing to rule out.

[Phil-E]

There are loads on ebay going pretty cheap. Or you could get one from the likes of Eddie-NL who will also pre-programme it for you if you give him the details of the car then when you receive it you literally just have to swap it over... I say literally just swap it over but it's a pain to get to!

 

Really confused now. 

Mines a 0191 P which is listed on Ross Tech as incompatible, but all is fine..............

 

You would have to be the odd one out/exception to the rule wouldn't you mike!? :p

 

It's maybe your combination of software on the Columbus too that has avoided any problems.

 

Or does installing the maxidot fix (I assume it's the same one I had to install to avoid getting stuck in the maxidot menus) inadvertently fix the battery drain problem perhaps? I dunno. Just an idea.

[TOMSD]

Hi there,

 

I have just inherited my grandmother's 05 Octavia 1.6 fsi. She owned it from new and in the last few years it started suffering from this flat battery issue.

 

My father, through the process of elimination (and this forum), deduced that it was the STREAM Mp3 radio that was causing the drain and pulled the fuse and now the battery drain issue has gone away. Happy days.

 

However now that this lovely car has fallen into my hands I would like to resolve this issue as I would like to listen to the radio and in the near future upgrade it to an aftermarket unit. 

 

Does anyone have any tips on solving this? I read above that it might need a new gateway? Can anyone advise on what part number this is, how to go about fixing it and how to future proof it for an imminent upgrade?

 

Thanks in advanced!