Ok. new to this board so hello everybody

 

Bought a Skoda Fabia back in June of last year. as soon as the weather started to turn cold I began to have problems with the battery. every time I could hear it struggling  little more each time i started it no matter the length of the journey before it. eventually it wouldn't start at all and a friend of mine said winter is hard on batteries and mine was probably on its way out. So off I go to Halfords and buy myself a new battery, car starts up fine , happy days... until.

 

Early last month I began noticing the same problem and my car once again failed to start. I was just about to leave for work so i just got a jump and hoped the 37 mile motorway journey to work would give it enough charge to get me home again. I parked up at the gatehouse to my work , turn the engine off, grab some paper work and get back in my car ... flat only tuned over once before giving up completely.

 

My very limited knowledge led me to believe either Halfords have sold me a faulty battery, or my alternator is packing in. Cheapest option first, so I went to Halfords and told them I think they've sold me a faulty battery. the guy grabs his tester and and hooks it up the the battery and  tests

 

Before startup

starting up

all lights and electrical equipment on

and back off again

 

All voltages and currents are exactly as they should be he says , nothing wrong with alternator or battery it just needs charging. Well somethings wrong i thought , so i got a trickle charger and charged it for around 18 hours over 3 days. Again, ok for a while , now its acting up again... if the battery is ok and the alternator is charging it , why isn't it charging,even with a 37 mile trip to work  which i take on a 4 on 4 off basis. 

 

so the car:

 

2011 Skoda Fabia Estate Elegance 1.6tdi 105bhp

Cruise control, Climate Control , everything else standard

 

The battery i have in it at the moment is Halfords 

HCB013

540CCA 

60AH

Calcium

 

something that may or may not be connected.

 

If its cold and I take the car out, the fans on Climate control will sometimes cut out and the screen will flicker if you move the fan control knob. Also sometimes if I try to turn the rear screen heater on(again if its cold outside), the button will just flash orange and the heater wont turn on.

 

Sorry if I've waffled on, I just wanted to give as much info as I could.

 

Thanks in advance 

 

 

have a proper autoelectrician have a look, just because the voltage is ok doesn't necessarily mean it is charging at the correct current

 

check the battery terminals are tight

 

check the earth point the negative lead goes to is not showing corrosion

 

check the earth off of the engine block is ok and not corroded

 

the old mkI's used to have a brown or blue wire if I remember correct that could tell the alternator to charge at a higher rate, and it used to break, resulting in similar symptoms you have

Battery while engine is  running should show 13 to 13.5 volts at the terminals with a voltmeter, that should be enough to keep battery topped up.

If it's only just showing over 12 volts there might be a problem with your alternator also recheck all connections to the battery and earth on car as sometimes these can cause charging issues if not clean and tight

 

The only 100% way of checking a battery is a drop test, it's a meter with 2 large prongs with a voltage meter in the middle joined by a large strip of aluminium  that basically shorts  the battery but will show any problems with the battery as it has been know for a new battery to have a faulty cell which does not show up with a normal meter.

Have bumped 'Battery Drain' thread which might just be similar problems to yours.

Mine still works fine on the electrical front.

Best of luck!