8 minutes ago, superbdreams said:

where can I get a copy of this diagram and does it cover the 2102 models?

 

ErWin Skoda is the only legal source I know of. You pay 7 euros plus VAT for an hour's access, during which you can either seek out info just about your exact car (using VIN input) or download general documents that cover all variants of a model, via a different tab.

The 'Vehicle specific information' tab takes you to the former stuff, the 'Individual vehicle information' tab the latter. For the vehicle specific info, you can view or print but not download the files. For the individual vehicle info you can download whole pdfs, including all the wiring info. 

It may not be up-to-date enough to cover the 2102 models, but I think I know what you mean.

Edited 2 March, 20188 yr by Wino

haha... Don't you just love whisky!

Thank you

Could of course print to pdf...

59 minutes ago, snowathlete said:

 

 

My car has the "sound package" but not the "digital sound package" according to the cars specific info I downloaded, though I do have the ten speaker system so maybe I do have it after all, not sure about that.

 

Active Subwoofer?

8 minutes ago, superbdreams said:

Could of course print to pdf...

Yep, that's the usual workaround for those that only want the info about their own car.

I think I've got most everything I'm going to need for my car with the one hour access. There's repair manuals for various components/areas of your car, engine, bodywork, interior stuff, 4wd, gearbox, heating, webasco, wiring info, etc. Also quite a lot of Skoda training modules. It's cleared up for me how the coolant system works which is slightly different to how I thought it did before. It's all good information, basically.

1 hour ago, bigjohn said:

 

Active Subwoofer?

 

Could be, I'm not sure how to check. I do have an amp under the seat if that's any indication.

We removed the Columbus unit and left the car for several hours and the battery voltage did not drop at all, which is the first time it hasn't plummeted. So the cause of the drain is the Columbus unit.

 

I guess we'll need to try updating the Columbus firmware and hope that resolves it. I'm a bit worried about the risk of downloading a new firmware version and hoping it doesn't brick our unit which apart from the battery drain is brilliant. Where is a safe place to get the new firmware and what version can my unit handle? I guess a dealership would charge and it would be a pain to drive there as it's not that local.

 

The unit part number is: 3T0 035 686 C

I'll have to check the version by plugging it back in but the sticker claims its:

HW: H10

SW: 5238

On 02/03/2018 at 11:57, Wino said:

They all seem to show a fuse within (or maybe just close to?) the units themselves; designated S258, and either 10A or 20A 'depending on equipment'.

 

BTW, this is on the back of the unit itself, where the main wiring connection attaches. 20A fuse in this case, but because of where it's no help, you may as well just disconnect the unit.

If rustynuts doesn't pop up regarding this then send him a private message (pm) he will know the answer.

snowathlete
My firmware was a "modified" one that lets you use Video In Motion as I was going to get 2  headrest monitors for it.
So will not be any use to yourself.
As above pm Rustynuts he will sort you out

Something else I've noticed, which may be of interest to @superbdreams is that the TV tuner fan runs independently of the Columbus unit. I know because it runs even though I've removed the Columbus. Not only does it run when the boot is opened, it's actually if any of the doors are opened. And it runs after engine off several times. I tried sitting in the car with the engine off, having opened and shut the door and it went off half a dozen times over the next twenty minutes. After a further ten minutes I left the car so I don't know if it does it non stop, and I also don't know how much it does it if the alarm is enabled, and for how long.

 

I don't know much of a drain this puts on the battery. I'm not too worried about it as it appears to be the Columbus unit itself that is the real problem, in my case at least.

I plugged in the unit and it looks like it still has the original 5238 firmware on it. Starting to think it's unlikely that car has had this problem with the firmware for four years since it was built though.

 

Could it be the CAN system instead? I understand that earlier models of the car had problems when more recent Columbus units were fitted by their owners, as the CAN gateway was too old. This could be resolved by upgrading the CAN gateway. Now my CAN gateway from 2014 shouldn't suffer this same problem, yet the symptom is the same so it seems to be. Could it be that my CAN gateway (or something else in the CAN system) is faulty and needs to be replaced?

 

I'm a bit out of my depth here to be honest, but at the moment I have a car without a Columbus unit, which isn't cool at all. At this stage I'm not really convinced upgrading my Columbus firmware is going to fix this. I could take it to Skoda or to an auto electrician but I'm not convinced they'd get to the bottom of things either. Any helpful suggestions would be most welcome.

I wish I could be categorical and you are right to remain sceptical. re fit the Columbus and you may find the problem has gone away for a while.

In fact you should do just that, then if the problem is there straight away you are going to be more certain you have found it.

I'm 90% certain that I've identified the source of the problem - it's not the Columbus unit itself, it's the tv tuner in the boot. The drain only happened when the columbus was plugged in but my feeling was that the columbus unit itself may not be the problem. More likely to be something connected to it. The columbus gets info from canbus on a bunch of stuff that it displays but I'm guessing that for most stuff it is one way, the columbus is not controlling it. I looked at the wiring diagrams and this is the electrical circuit, so maybe it does control some of this stuff:

 

SB8 fuse in engine bay > voltage stabilizer > SC18 fuse in dash > telephone bluetooth control unit  (I already tried unplugging this and it made no difference)

                                                                            > Radio > control unit (presumably in the columbus unit itself?) > TV tuner

                                                                            > SC19 fuse in dash > steering column electric control unit

                                                                                                                > heated windscreen relay

                                                                                                                > control unit in dash panel insert

 

Process of elimination. I figured the most likely was the tv tuner as that was suggested as a problem by @Danny 57 (thanks Danny!) and the fan is blowing every time a door is opened (I know this happened on @superbdreamscar too, who also has a battery drain, but I'm not sure if it is normal behavior, or not). Anyway, I got access to the back to unplug it not by buying the official VW tool but by using the butt end of a jigsaw blade which fits pretty perfectly. Unplugged and the drain appears to have gone. Columbus unit is plugged in but the battery is holding, so far at 12.7 volts after a full recharge and settle. I've had to recharge it a few times trying various things out and it's always dropped pretty quickly so it does look likely it's the TV tuner. Proof will be in the pudding tomorrow when I check the battery voltage again though. By the way, when I unplugged the tv tuner it was noticeably a little warm even though I had not been watching TV which further suggests it's faulty.

Edited 8 March, 20188 yr by snowathlete

In the process of the above and a faulty Columbus/tv unit I have had both replaced under warranty. It did not cure the tv freezing every now and again and having to wait 7 minutes for it to reboot. Just glad I did not have the cost of the two units which approaches £4k!. Good investment the five year warranty.

Wish mine had a 5 year warranty, but unfortunately not.

 

It certainly seems that with the TV tuner disconnected the battery is not draining anywhere near as fast but not all is ok still. There is still an parasitic load leaving the battery. Again the fuses all look normal though. So I've started looking at the alternator. My multi-meter has a diode test setting. I disconnected the alternator cable at the battery as well as the small wire controller and ran the test both ways through the alternator. One way I get about 2V and the other way I get 0.4V. I haven't performed this test before but am I right that I should be getting zero on the second reading, and the fact I'm not means one of the diode packs is faulty?

A bad alternator won't cause battery drain when the car is switched off.

 

If you've downloaded the service manuals from erWin, the test procedure for the alternator should be in there somewhere. Since it's fitted with stop-start, normal guidelines for checking the alternator will probably not apply; even without stop-start, the Superb has variable output charging, depending on the charge state of the battery.

1 hour ago, chimaera said:

A bad alternator won't cause battery drain when the car is switched off.

 

If you've downloaded the service manuals from erWin, the test procedure for the alternator should be in there somewhere. Since it's fitted with stop-start, normal guidelines for checking the alternator will probably not apply; even without stop-start, the Superb has variable output charging, depending on the charge state of the battery.

 

I looked in all the erWin guides, I think I got all the ones that are relevant for my car, but I couldn't find anything about the alternator other than how to install/remove it.

 

I don't think there is anything wrong with the alternator in terms of charging the battery, I'm only concerned if it is causing a drain. I thought a faulty diode could drain a car battery when the engine is off, but if not then I won't need to worry about the alternator because the drain is when the engine is off.

Edited 10 March, 20188 yr by snowathlete

you have a towbar?

 

Got to be honest every time i have had electrical issues its been down to faulty towbar wiring usually an earth has corroded or internal corrosion is creating a short and allowing power to the plug for fridge etc in the caravan thats not there pull the towbar fuse if fitted especially the split charger if it has one.

1 hour ago, cssuk said:

you have a towbar?

 

Got to be honest every time i have had electrical issues its been down to faulty towbar wiring usually an earth has corroded or internal corrosion is creating a short and allowing power to the plug for fridge etc in the caravan thats not there pull the towbar fuse if fitted especially the split charger if it has one.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a good idea. The car does have a towbar fitted. Strangely the paperwork shows that a previous owner had one fitted to the car in 2014 and then a second one 15 months later. Maybe there were issues with it. Or damage? Bit odd though. Anyway, it's a detachable with 13 pin socket. Does not look like it's been wired in as it would have been at the factory because none of the towbar fuses aren't used. I presume that it's just piggybacked in on some other circuit in the boot. Wouldn't that cause a voltage drop to show up on whatever circuit was used though? Whatever the case, it's got to be worth checking, though I don't know exactly where it's wired in.

 

edit: think the towbar was only fitted once actually. Just have the paperwork on a towbar fitted to another car as well.

Edited 12 March, 20188 yr by snowathlete

14 hours ago, snowathlete said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a good idea. The car does have a towbar fitted. Strangely the paperwork shows that a previous owner had one fitted to the car in 2014 and then a second one 15 months later. Maybe there were issues with it. Or damage? Bit odd though. Anyway, it's a detachable with 13 pin socket. Does not look like it's been wired in as it would have been at the factory because none of the towbar fuses aren't used. I presume that it's just piggybacked in on some other circuit in the boot. Wouldn't that cause a voltage drop to show up on whatever circuit was used though? Whatever the case, it's got to be worth checking, though I don't know exactly where it's wired in.

 

edit: think the towbar was only fitted once actually. Just have the paperwork on a towbar fitted to another car as well.

If it's a Skoda wiring kit, or one from the more reputable aftermarket manufacturers, the three fuses in the dash fuse panel should be present. There should also be a control module in the boot, on the right hand side near the boot opening. If you plug in VCDS, you can check for it by querying module 69: the Skoda one will definitely respond to VCDS and give you some options for setting it up. I posted here about my experience of fitting the OE setup - some of it may help you:

 

I think you may need to remove the boot side panels for a closer look at how it's been installed. If it's been hacked onto the other wiring back there it would certainly cause problems with the electrical system.

20 hours ago, snowathlete said:

 

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a good idea. The car does have a towbar fitted. Strangely the paperwork shows that a previous owner had one fitted to the car in 2014 and then a second one 15 months later. Maybe there were issues with it. Or damage? Bit odd though. Anyway, it's a detachable with 13 pin socket. Does not look like it's been wired in as it would have been at the factory because none of the towbar fuses aren't used. I presume that it's just piggybacked in on some other circuit in the boot. Wouldn't that cause a voltage drop to show up on whatever circuit was used though? Whatever the case, it's got to be worth checking, though I don't know exactly where it's wired in.

 

edit: think the towbar was only fitted once actually. Just have the paperwork on a towbar fitted to another car as well.

I would be very suspect about the second tow bar not for electrics but just in case its been walloped and had to be changed that sort of thing can make a mess of the chassis not trying to stir things up but towbar fitting is not cheap and it tends to be a fit and forget exercise

1 hour ago, cssuk said:

I would be very suspect about the second tow bar not for electrics but just in case its been walloped and had to be changed that sort of thing can make a mess of the chassis not trying to stir things up but towbar fitting is not cheap and it tends to be a fit and forget exercise

 

it was a false alarm, I have two invoices in the service history I was given but one is there by mistake as it belongs to a different Skoda Superb. I think the car was a demonstrator initially and there's obviously been some mix up.

I’ve just experienced a totally dead battery on my Octavia. It was so dead the roadside guy had to charge it to be able to print a diagnostic ticket off! Considering I have made several long distance journeys in the last week and had a service less than a week ago I was pretty surprised. 

 

He he told me that this is a known issue with VW group cars made in the last year or two where they’ve fitted cheap batteries. So much so that there is actually a shortage of the replacement batteries at present. This is probably exacerbated by the weather getting a bit colder this last week or two. 

 

To be fair, Skoda have been fine in replacing the battery so hopefully no more issues of this ilk. 

 

Apologies if I’m repeating anything others have said already.