Superb II Auto Estate first reg Oct 2012, 38k miles.

 

One month ago found battery was flat after standing for 4 days in garage.  Put it on charge and took the wife's car.  6 hours later Multimeter showed 12.8 so took it off charge and all seemed OK.

 

Left it at the airport for a week and the battery was flat again.  Power pack start, drove 100 miles home and checked with Multimeter - 12.2.  

 

Put it on charge and after 24 hours the meter reading was 12.8 and 14.4 with the engine running

 

24 hours later meter reading was 12.6, car not used.

 

24 hours later meter reading was 12.3, car not used.

 

6 hours later meter reading was 12.3 and started OK.  

 

Internet has numerous stories about earth strap problems and the occasional horror story requiring new Columbus Sat Nav.Has anyone any ideas?

Unfortunately these days voltage is not always an indicator as very few places use the high discharge tongs. These would give the battery a discharge as a starter would do and clearly indicate whether the battery had enough ommph in it still. So voltage is a good indicator but not always so.

My car is also a 12 plate and has had an update due to the Columbus unit not completely shutting down, it would continue to draw 5-6A for quite some time but not annoyingly always, thereby a discharged battery. I ended up with a new battery as well as the update under warranty. This was just under the car being three years old.

Edited 9 February, 201610 yr by Danny 57

Superb II Auto Estate first reg Oct 2012, 38k miles.

 

One month ago found battery was flat after standing for 4 days in garage.  Put it on charge and took the wife's car.  6 hours later Multimeter showed 12.8 so took it off charge and all seemed OK.

 

Left it at the airport for a week and the battery was flat again.  Power pack start, drove 100 miles home and checked with Multimeter - 12.2.  

 

Put it on charge and after 24 hours the meter reading was 12.8 and 14.4 with the engine running

 

24 hours later meter reading was 12.6, car not used.

 

24 hours later meter reading was 12.3, car not used.

 

6 hours later meter reading was 12.3 and started OK.  

 

Internet has numerous stories about earth strap problems and the occasional horror story requiring new Columbus Sat Nav.Has anyone any ideas?

If you're a member of the RAC or AA, and you have home start, get them to come out and they can test for a current drain. Is the car under warranty? If so, get it to a dealer ASAP.

Get the battery drop tested first to make sure its in good health to ensure your not chasing non existent battery drain problems.

 

I'm guessing after its been flat a couple of times and if it is the original battery you will need a new one regardless of if there is battery drain issues

Edited 9 February, 201610 yr by SuperbTWM

Get the battery drop tested first to make sure its in good health to ensure your not chasing non existent battery drain problems.

 

I'm guessing after its been flat a couple of times and if it is the original battery you will need a new one regardless of if there is battery drain issues

Yeah, good advise. There's been a few threads in the past re the battery on the Superb, not being up to the job. Ours does sometimes struggle on cold mornings. I think it won't be long before it'll need to be replaced..

My battery failed recently. When it failed it dropped to 4v under cranking condition. Off the car it was 12.2v. They don't fail like they used to. A cell fails bit its not obvious at idle.

A new battery didn't help on mine. It seems there is just far too much drain for the size of the battery and far too much turns on with just the doors open/unlocked.

Simply having the doors open for an hour to clean the interior was enough to prevent a subsequent start.

I replaced all interior bulbs and puddle bulbs with leds and bought a jump starter. I also shut down the dashcam on exit as even with a power magic the thing wont start if allowed to drain to 11.8 and then left overnight.

For elegance owners keep an eye on "rain closing" as I suspect this feature is the biggest culprit though not proven yet. Close sunroof blind and all windows to prevent rain closing staying active and draining power.

 

I am told by an independent mechanic that a lot of modern cars have this issue with battery capacity. 

Seems we have gone back in time with cars that can not be relied upon to start every time.

Was checked under warranty with no faults found. Well if that can be trusted which is dubious.

A new battery didn't help on mine. It seems there is just far too much drain for the size of the battery and far too much turns on with just the doors open/unlocked.

Simply having the doors open for an hour to clean the interior was enough to prevent a subsequent start.

I replaced all interior bulbs and puddle bulbs with leds and bought a jump starter. I also shut down the dashcam on exit as even with a power magic the thing wont start if allowed to drain to 11.8 and then left overnight.

For elegance owners keep an eye on "rain closing" as I suspect this feature is the biggest culprit though not proven yet. Close sunroof blind and all windows to prevent rain closing staying active and draining power.

 

I am told by an independent mechanic that a lot of modern cars have this issue with battery capacity. 

Seems we have gone back in time with cars that can not be relied upon to start every time.

Was checked under warranty with no faults found. Well if that can be trusted which is dubious.

So why not just get a higher capacity version of that size battery if you feel the standard one isn't capable enough and you are replacing the battery anyway....

The dealer replaced the one in mine before I bought the car and it has been fine since then (nearly two years now). Once it needs replacing I will probably pay the extra few quid for a higher capacity battery.

Mine is an elegance with all the normal extra gadgets and I've never had issues with the car starting.

A new battery didn't help on mine. It seems there is just far too much drain for the size of the battery and far too much turns on with just the doors open/unlocked.

Simply having the doors open for an hour to clean the interior was enough to prevent a subsequent start.....

 

I thought the interior lights go off after 10 mins or so with the doors open, as do the front door warning lights - see the Interior Lights Section of the manual?

Edited 10 February, 201610 yr by numskull

I thought the interior lights go off after 10 mins or so with the doors open, as do the front door warning lights - see the Interior Lights Section of the manual?

Yep they do on mine.... I know this from doing map updates on the Columbus when it was going dark outside.

I think just about everything goes off after around ten minutes..... Interior lights, Columbus, etc.......

Yep they do on mine.... I know this from doing map updates on the Columbus when it was going dark outside.

I think just about everything goes off after around ten minutes..... Interior lights, Columbus, etc.......

Yup, thought so....

Unfortunately these days voltage is not always an indicator as very few places use the high discharge tongs. These would give the battery a discharge as a starter would do and clearly indicate whether the battery had enough ommph in it still. So voltage is a good indicator but not always so.

My car is also a 12 plate and has had an update due to the Columbus unit not completely shutting down, it would continue to draw 5-6A for quite some time but not annoyingly always, thereby a discharged battery. I ended up with a new battery as well as the update under warranty. This was just under the car being three years old.

 

+1.

Had to bump start mine again , had a new battery 6 months ago, flat as a pancake this morning! Grr Who said Skoda's were reliable? These cars must have some software fault that drains the battery

Edited 27 February, 20188 yr by terrytowelling