Hi all

Very similar but strange one for me that i cant get to the bottom of. 

Starts 1st time every time even on cold mornings no problems while driving. 

 

The only issue i get is when parked up and im cleaning car out or stopped with engine off for say max 10 minutes which is enough to give me a non start. 

 

I can sit in the car for an hour with the key out of the ignition it will be fine. 

 

So mine seems to only do it if doors are open or key in the ignition. 

 

I even switch the interior light switch to off to prevent a drain

 

Battery according to halfords checked out as a good battery. 

 

All my tests with a voltmeter show 12.9v even 2 hours after switching off and car in sleep. Alternator is charging fine at 13.9v

 

Now if a battery has ever gone on me its been poor cold starts or simply not holding charge after a run, but this ones a strange one for me. 

 

It is however a 61ah 580cca battery genuine vw/skoda battery which in my opinion is too small and will change to a varta 77ah with 780cca. 

 

 

 

On 25/03/2021 at 22:20, jim_d said:

this is really useful info, thank you for sharing this. i will give this a go. have MkII superb and it is a FANTASTIC vehicle. bought it last week. smooth, high MPG acres of space, but keeps draining the battery. alternator seems OK, battery is brand new. i will give the firmware upgrade a go.

It was a short lived cure sorry. that is an old old post.

the eventual cure was adding a cable from the negative terminal of the battery to the engine.

No diagnostic pointed to it but an old time mechanic said it was worth a try and he was right, the factory earth strap must be poorly fitted or missing.

16 hours ago, superbdreams said:

It was a short lived cure sorry. that is an old old post.

the eventual cure was adding a cable from the negative terminal of the battery to the engine.

No diagnostic pointed to it but an old time mechanic said it was worth a try and he was right, the factory earth strap must be poorly fitted or missing.

'superb' advice. Picked up 2 60cm negative cables from Halfords this morning. Took off the air box and battery tray. 

Cleaned up the earthing points underneath and ran a cable to the bell housing stud and one to existing stud. 

 

I am so hoping this works but so far best bit of advice as it makes so much sense. 

 

To top things of I always had a very sloppy gearknob and every now and then 1st gear was hard to engage, found the selector nut to be totally loose, tightened that up and oh my god, what smoothness i got back from gear changes. 

Another thing whenever i touched the clutch i got a ticking sound that coupled with the hard 1st gear i had put down to a possibly failing dmf, all it was is the pipe coming out of gearbox the hydraulic line was sitting loose, so cabled tied that up and now no noise either. Win win win today. Just hope this battery issue is resolved 

Edited 28 March, 20215 yr by foru2justnv

Unfortunately short lived for me too. 

Battery went flat after doing 15 odd miles having stopped for fuel. 

Anyhow connected a multimeter and was showing 12.2v but had tried 2 times to start although it started and cut out which was a new one. 

5 minutes later 12.63v. Opened the door and immediately dropped to 10.3v for 5-7minutes then starting rising first to 11.33v then 12.63v. Ignition on and it dropped to 9.94v and during crank 6.6v.

 

Grrrrr

 

I think you have proved something is draining.

Wish i could point you to it!

I personally think its the battery now. I took it out and charged it and its been fine since. So probably where ive been jump starting it, the battery needed a good charge. Also i have to factor in its 61amp battery with only 540cca on a fully loaded car which i think is the real issue. Going to order a 77ah 780cca varta or exide for 75odd online. 

 

Grrre. Went flat again yesterday. Its never in the morning ie 1st cold start. Its alway when its been running and off for a few minutes. 

I have already added 2 extra negative cables from the battery to chassis and bell housing. 

 

Just don't wanna buy a new battrry and it be flat again. 

Took battery off again this morning to look for this engine earth strap and couldn't find it. 

 

Battery was at 12.77v off the car whic says its good, but i wonder whether its just too weak in size as its not even a 096 battery which is what im supposed to have. Its a smaller 61amp battery. 

 

Someone pls point me in the direction of this earth strap. 

Also my boot has been playing up ie not fully closing after a slam and have checked the wiring loom all seems good and none of the repairs are loose or undone. 

What battery has everyone else got in they're Superbs. Apparently i should have an agm is that right? 

Pls let me know what sizes you have 

On 02/04/2021 at 13:23, foru2justnv said:

What battery has everyone else got in they're Superbs. Apparently i should have an agm is that right? 

Pls let me know what sizes you have 

If your car has stop-start then it should be an AGM battery. Otherwise any good regular battery should suffice. I have a Bosch S5 in my car.

Thanks, not stop start. ordered a new battery 096 77ah 780cca yesterday. I just really hope thats the end of the problem. 

On 02/04/2021 at 12:30, foru2justnv said:

Also my boot has been playing up ie not fully closing after a slam and have checked the wiring loom all seems good and none of the repairs are loose or undone. 

Could this be leaving the boot light on which is then flattening the battery.

Try taking the boot light bulb out of the holder.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Yes and no. 

As im over cautious when locking the car if maxidot shows anything open. 

If boot does play up i sort it immediately and then lock the car. It just takes a really heavy thump to close fully and i cant workout why. 

 

4 hours ago, foru2justnv said:

really heavy thump to close fully

Does the catch need adjusting. The catch that the boot lid clips on to can sometimes be adjusted.

Is there some bolts holding the catch on to the bodywork that you can undo, then reposition the catch, and then do back up again.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Doesn't look like there is any adjustment. 

 

On a side note went flat last night again. The really weird thing is for the next 20 odd restarts it absolutely fine then out the blue flat, jump start and turn off even 5 minutes later and it will be fine for next 20 odd restarts

A battery either failes to holf charge or holds it. 

It does not do it intermittently

Is there a cover over the bolts that you need to move first to see them?

 

Are the battery terminals both tight?

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Yes i opened that trim up a week or so ago and looked ta the locking mechanism and its just a screw on screw off latching. 

 

Bolts are tight

Can you undo the bolts and then mover the catch towards the back if the car.

The holes can sometimes be enlarged so you can move it around a little.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

Mmm ok will try that tomorrow thank you

If it's not latching, check the bump stops at the edges of the boot lid. If they're tight, you'll have trouble closing the boot properly.

What do u mean tight

They're height adjustable - if they're set too high, you'll have trouble shutting the boot properly.

On 03/04/2021 at 18:59, foru2justnv said:

On a side note went flat last night again. The really weird thing is for the next 20 odd restarts it absolutely fine then out the blue flat

aRE YOU QUITE SURE IT is lack of juice in the battery and not an intermittent starter motor issue?

If i immediately jump it then it starts straight away. 

A start would click or spin. 

This is flat battery noises

On 27/03/2021 at 21:41, superbdreams said:

It was a short lived cure sorry. that is an old old post.

the eventual cure was adding a cable from the negative terminal of the battery to the engine.

No diagnostic pointed to it but an old time mechanic said it was worth a try and he was right, the factory earth strap must be poorly fitted or missing.

Hello!

 

May I know on what cable you purchased and where exactly you bolted this in?

Thanks  

Hi

Mine was just a battery in the end. If you look down by the air filter on top of starter motor there is a stud, i just put it on there with a 13mm nut