Hi all,

 

I know this has probably been done to death but I cannot seem to find a definitive answer. I have a 2010 Octavia 1.9 TDI Elegance with the Bolero head unit. I got the car on the 16th September from a dealer (used car non franchised) only after they had indentified an issue with the battery draining. They checked various thing, replaced the battery, removed the head unit overnight (so they tell me) before sending it (supposedly) to a Skoda dealer to look at with the diagnosis that it was a fuse box fault which they replaced. The reason I say "supposedly" is because the dealer has not firm proof the car ever went there. They confirm that converse occured regarding the issue but cannot confirm that they looked at the car. This was all prior to me actually picking it up. Now then, after having had it for eleven days it wouldn't start this morning. I went to Halfords (once I got going) and they did a battery check test including alternator function test and determined all was well (apart from the fact that my battery could do with a charge). I phoned the selling dealer who instucted me to take it to a Skoda dealer/specialist near where I live and get them to do a report. I made a booking with the skoda dealer not far from me and recounted the tale. It seems to me that the issue they said they had solved was, in fact, not solved. Hopefully they can find the problem and fix it before it has to go back and I have to start the search for another one as I really love the car. It drives spot on, one owner from new, service history etc. and ticks all the boxes. My question really is this, has anyone got to the bottom of this issue definitely.

Had a similar problem with my last Octavia. Turned out to be the fans working all the time! Even when the car had been standing overnight and the key out and doors locked!

Try disconnecting the battery and let the car stand over night. In the morning pop the battery back on and see if anything starts up!

Charged the battery at work and put it back on. Car started fine next morning and again when leaving work. Don't know how true it is but a mate who has spent his life working on diesels told me that you need the specific battery for my car not an aftermarket one as it needs to be "connected" to the car to tell the car what battery is fitted. Thanks for replying, hoping that the dealer can sort it out or going to have to return it and look for another one.

I think your mate is pulling your leg....................or you are pulling ours. No offence.

 

The car needs scanning. It sounds like the fault has been found yet "not solved" as you put it. 

Was it worked on and yet not solved or was it just not worked on.

Do you have any receipts for parts fitted ie fuse box, and if not i would ask for one.

 

Was it the Skoda dealer that you took it to saying that the Skoda dealer that your seller took it to, did not do the work that you were told had been done?

Maybe, maybe not as I did find reference (actually on this forum I think) that on the later models the battery information has to be entered into the battery monitoring module in order for it to charge correctly or something like that (he's been working on the blood transfusion services Skoda's this week in fact). I definitely wouldn't pull anyones leg as I see that as a waste of time and a little silly when it comes to this sort of thing. As to the issue of whether or not it went to the first Skoda dealer this is the story. The selling used car dealer told me that they were taking it to the Skoda dealer near them to find out what was wrong. They even told me when I rang them early one morning that they were literally just about to go there. Now then, I personally phoned said Skoda dealer (the day that the car wouldn't start) who confirmed that they had taken part in dialogue regarding the issue with the battery draining and, that they had a preliminary booking in their service department for the 11th September. They also (the skoda dealer) told me that they had no more information and the job could either have been invoiced as a zero invoice or that the car may not have actually been there, they couldn't say definitively either way other than the booking was closed. The used car dealer told me that "they" (not sure if it was Skoda or them as they didn't quantify who found it) had found the issue and it was something to do with one of the fuse boxes. The selling dealer told me that they had replaced the fuse box and all was well. The car was fine for the following week then on Sunday 24th it struggled to start but did. I went for a longish drive (as you do with a new toy to play with) and all was well (I put the difficult starting down to me having the boot and doors open whilst I cleaned it inside and out. On Wednesday the 27th, the car wouldn't start and the battery was showing 10.87v. I got a jump start from a neighbour who's a recovery driver and went off to work. I had the batter/ alternator and starting systems checked at Halfords who said all was find apart from the fact that the battery could do with a re-charge. As I said, I charged the battery off the car at work and it was reading 13.96 when taken off charge. The car has been started Wednesday evening, Thursday morning and evening, and, Friday morning. After putting my multi meter on it at dinnertime today it was reading 12.08v. Something is not right so hopefully the Skoda dealer that I'm taking it too can find it and sort it out. I have a receipt for the new batter the selling dealer put on but nothing else.

Sounds like the battery is starting to fail. Put the multimeater across the battery when the engine is running. What voltage you getting?

 

Hi there,

 

The battery is two weeks old (although this means nothing as they can be on the shelf for ages). I'm getting 14.10v when engine running @ around 2000 rpm and 13.96 at tickover. I tested it with a multimeter at three this afternoon just after having done a short drive and it was registering 12.28. I'm going to test it tomorrow morning and see what it is holding. Whilst I appreciate my daily commute isn't that far, no other car of the last five I've had whilst at this job has done this. All my other cars have done this journey followed by two or three round town trips with no adverse effect on them starting. The thing is, since the skoda dealer that it was supposed to have been taken to before I got it cannot confirm that it actually went there and I've no proof the fuse box was changed I'm wary of the initial fault being fixed. At least once it's been to this Skoda dealer with me, I will know that it's either right or wrong. This is happening on the 12th October so until then I'll just have to keep a good eye on it.

Edited 30 September, 20178 yr by Guest

The Skoda garage must know wether they took the car in or not, surely. If not then they are a very poorly ran service IMO.

 

Anyway, seems you at least have a few options for a jump start if necessary short term but in the meantime maybe wise to purchase a solar charger, something like 4 watt minimum, or connect a trickle charger if not too inconvenient.

 

Note - entering the battery information into a battery monitoring module is not the same as requiring a specific battery for your car, as you first described. This was the reason for my comment about leg pulling, Lol. 

 

Hopefully the garage you take it to can get to the bottom of the problem, however this may mean you will end up footing the bill. Hopefully not. 

 

Good luck.

All I can take is what the Skoda garage near the selling dealer has said and that was that they couldn't say if it was invoiced out at no charge or if the car never went there. They did confirm that they had a conversation but that's all.

 

I have a solar charger which is a 2.4w one, this might not be enough over a seven hour day (don't have the option of a trickle charger as no power near by).

 

The bit my mate was on about may well have been just that, entering the details as opposed to a specific battery.

 

As for me footing the bill, that's not an option. If need be I will back it to the selling dealer (after all, the fault was there before I took the car) with the support of my finance company as not fit for purpose. After all there's no way a battery should go flat that quick and as I've said, no other car I've owned has done this. Either it will be fixed or it will go back as there is a six month RAC Platinum Warranty on it.

Ahh, now you mention a warranty, not too much to worry about then...........apart from the hassle.

Sometimes the rectifier in the Alternator fails and causes a battery drain. Sometimes you can hear a feint noise coming from the alternator when the engine is off obviously. It's like a high pitch ticking noise. You can get a long screwdriver and jamb the handle against your ear and the blade against the body of the alternator to amplify the noise.

True I've had that happen before. Until Skoda look at it there's not much else I can do. I'm hoping that it's an easy fix as I don't really want to have to back it to the selling dealer and look for another one unless I have to.

 

Okay so an update. It's at the dealers being looked at and it would appear that the new battery some four weeks ago is in fact, knackered. It is not holding a charge according to the main dealer and the selling dealer has authorised a new battery (a Skoda one this time hopefully). I am starting to suspect that the "new" battery may have been bounced in transit or was a faulty one from the outset and this is why it's died so quickly. Fingers crossed that this is the issue and I can have my car back by the weekend. On a plus side, the selling dealer is paying for my out of pocket expenses including the charger I had to buy which I can't complain at.

Skoda do not manufacture batteries afaik.

 

Most go with a Bosch S5 or similar Varta or the like, i believe. I purchased an S5 for mine, no issues.

I appreciate that, what I meant was a battery that Skoda would use rather than just any old battery of the same specification. Fingers crossed that tomorrow is a positive result and the battery doesn't drain.

Okay, another update. Skoda came back with it being the control module for the tow bar electrics. However, having fitted a new one it seems the system is still not shutting down as it should. So at this point in time I'll have to wait till Monday to find out what's happening. With the bill currently at a grand I'm glad I'm not paying and won't be even if it rises. D-day is Monday, either they come back with a definitive answer or I'm backing the car through the finance company as not fit for purpose.

Hi,     I have been suffering from the same problem, since buying  my used Octavia 1.6 FSI.    Finally took it to an Auto Electrical outfit this week and they discovered that in the past a black box had been fitted and this turned out to be the culprit that was draining my battery, even though it was no longer supposed to be active.  Having now checked online it seems that a lot of people have had problems with battery discharge after having black boxes fitted.   The company removed the black box and now have reported that the battery is discharging at a much lower acceptable rate.     Just thought I would share this as I was taken by surprise with the result.

Hi and thanks for replying. This is the final update on this car. As of Thursday 26th October the car was returned as not fit for purpose. The skoda dealer did some more investigation on the Monday (23rd) and informed me that they had found two fuses missing. Upon replacing these fuses every warning light on the dash lit up and woulnd't go out once the engine was running. At that point in time I stopped them working on it and phoned the finance company. I had lost all faith in the vehicle and was not prepared to continue any longer. The selling dealer was informed on the Monday as well as the finance company. The salesman met me at the Skoda dealers (on the 26th) to take back the vehicle but needed a jump start to leave. They paid the £991 bill without a quibble and eventually this week the finance was settled and cancelled. I have since gone out and bought another car (not a Skoda) so at least I'll have transport again. Thanks for all the helpful advice and comments on this they were all appreciated. Seems I have had a very lucky escape from a car that has major electrical issues. Just hope no one else gets stuck with it.

Edited 5 November, 20178 yr by Guest

2 hours ago, Harleypete said:

Hi and thanks for replying. This is the final update on this car. As of Thursday 26th October the car was returned as not fit for purpose. The skoda dealer did some more investigation on the Monday (23rd) and informed me that they had found two fuses missing. Upon replacing these fuses every warning light on the dash lit up and woulnd't go out once the engine was running. At that point in time I stopped them working on it and phoned the finance company. I had lost all faith in the vehicle and was not prepared to continue any longer. The selling dealer was informed on the Monday as well as the finance company. The salesman met me at the Skoda dealers (on the 26th) to take back the vehicle but needed a jump start to leave. They paid the £991 bill without a quibble and eventually this week the finance was settled and cancelled. I have since gone out and bought another car (not a Skoda) so at least I'll have transport again. Thanks for all the helpful advice and comments on this they were all appreciated. Seems I have had a very lucky escape from a car that has major electrical issues. Just hope no one else gets stuck with it.

 

If you name and shame the garage and car registration, you could possibly help someone out with this information.

The Reg Number was GU60 YJW Octavia Elegance. I suspect it will end up going to the auctions to be sold with faults but who knows. I purchased it from a used car dealer called Northstar Premier in Portslade near Brighton. I won't say they were a terrible dealer but will say that maybe they had the bad luck to purchase a car that was faulty in the first place, who knows.

Edited 5 November, 20178 yr by Guest

Just popped back to say that the garage (NorthStar Premier) has the car back up for sale for £100 more than I was going to buy it for. Can't help wondering if the work that would have been required has been done or not. GU60 YJW.

Hi, Just to say I had the same problem with my octavia ambient , it was driving me nuts .  Finally took it to an Auto Electrical place and they found that the previous owner had a black box fitted, and it had been fitted wrong.  Needless to say they removed the box and I have had no problem since .

Hi,  Update.    The problem is back again and I am near to tearing my hair out now, having paid the Auto Electrical place and believed it was sorted, but it is not !!