Battery Issues

[ACWarwick]

I am after a bit of advice please.

 

Back in the summer, we were at Fairford for the air show and left the car next to the caravan for a few days. On the first day we were told that the alarm had gone off but everything was fine and didn't think anymore about it. When we tried to start the car the following day it would not start and called Skoda Assist who came out.

 

Then a week ago, when the car was parked outside the house for a couple of days and not used, the battery was again flat. The AA came this time and tested the battery and said it failed, so Skoda Assist booked it in to have the battery replaced by the local dealer.

 

Took the car in as arranged and after about an hour they said the car was ready. On speaking to the guy on the service desk, he tells me that they had tested the battery and found no faults. He then says that it is difficult to get hold of a replacement battery, even though they had said they had one at the start and that it is difficult to get Skoda to authorise a replacement. The car is 20 months old with 63000 on the clock.

 

His comment was that I had a lot plugged into the cigarette lighter. I have a dash cam and two leads for mobile phones, which are only ever used when driving.

 

So his suggestion was to avoid using the chargers / dash cam and see if it happens again. I told him that it already had.

 

Well today, I drove from home to the office (40 min) and then to my first appointment (2 1/2 hours) and then to my second appointment (30 min). Once I had finished this call I got back in the car to catch up on emails and phone calls only to get a message to say the battery was low. It would not start first attempt but managed it second time.

 

Was then OK for the rest of the day.

 

For those with a more technical background, do the dash cam and chargers drain that much from the battery and is this a battery issue or am I doing something wrong?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[rtj70]

I know from my car the 12v socket in the boot is live all the time. I suspect the one in the front is too. Easy to check.

 

If they are always live then the camera is always drawing power. 

[Alan_P]

I have been using a Lukas LK-290 power supply for several years (in various cars) with no issues. It runs two dash cams (low draw without screens) and in warmer weather they run on for around 6-12 hours... getting about 4-8 hours at the moment. I have it on the highest 12.4v setting so the battery doesn’t deep cycle, but you can set 12.2v, 12v and right down to 11.8v if you want. It also has 12/24/36/48 hour timer modes too.

Not sure if you use stop-start (it won’t help), but constantly running cams and a battery that’s been (potentially) deep cycled regularly could easily be on the way out due to the colder weather.

They also do the LK-350 model and plenty of other makes/types of constant dash cam power supplies are available too. Some use a power bank type setup so you don’t use the car battery at all.

[Ootohere]

They guy on the service desk was just a blether, maybe had a NVQ in some office management or similar.

maybe using the drinks machine is difficult for him.

[daveo138]

If you're only using the 12v socket when the car is running, this won't be having any effect on the battery, as the alternator will be providing power. 

 

If you leave your dashcam running when the car is parked, this will be using battery power, but the amount will be fairly negligible, particularly if you turn off the screen. 

[FelisBengalensis]

I have already had my main battery replaced with less than 30K on the clock.  At least one cell shorted out.  The AA came out and confirmed the battery was giving just 5V!  Could be a bad batch, or a growing issue with AGM types on Start/Stop Cars.  Replaced under warranty.  Dealer had one in stock so I was up and running in less than 30 mins from arriving there.

 

Beware that if it does fail, the car alarm will sound and it has its own battery.  Read the manual to learn the way to get into the car if the battery fails.  The only way to shut the alarm off is to get power on the car and then unlock it with the key (on KESSY equipped cars).  The alarm system thinks a battery failure is an attempted theft!

Edited 28 November, 2017 by FelisBengalensis

[splinter]

Hi

Do you have electric seats?

If so go to  Superb 2 forum for"Battery Drain Superb 2"

Look for comments from me (Splinter)

I had a problem with battery drain also and it was seat switches that had water in them!

Hope this helps

[ACWarwick]

Thanks for all your help.

 

Not had a problem since but will look at your suggestions. 

 

 

[daveo138]

Mine struggles to turn over on some mornings. It's just 11 months old with 20k on the clock. 

 

I've just been away for a week, so it hasn't been run. I thought it wasn't going to start this morning, as it was slower than it had ever been, but it did get there in the end. 

 

I disabled stop/start about 4 months ago, so at least that isn't draining the battery. 

[nicklouse]

On 11/28/2017 at 01:40, rtj70 said:

I know from my car the 12v socket in the boot is live all the time. I suspect the one in the front is too. Easy to check.

 

If they are always live then the camera is always drawing power. 

 

The 12v sockets stay live all the time??  Surely they should turn shortly (within a few minutes) of ignition being turned off?