Radio weirdness

[Cornish_Lad]

Hi folks,

 

Got a rather strange problem with my Octavia MkII 1.9tdi - specifically the Stream radio unit, in that it likes to turn itself on, all by itself, very frequently throughout the day and night :(

Personally I think it's the (relatively new, purchased in Feb 2017) Bosch battery on the way out - here's why ..

 

Until Jan 2018 the car was in daily use, with a 20 mile round trip (commute) at least 5 days a week.  Then in Jan 2018 I moved office, and now walk the 1/2 mile to work each day.  So - the Octavia has been idle most days, except for maybe once at the weekends (two Skoda's in the household, the other one, a Fabia get's used daily by the other half).

 

I've come out of the house to find the radio on (very frequently, two or three times a day that I know of) and on one occasion the electric window down 1/2 way ...

The other day the car wouldn't start (flat battery) so I went out and bought one of those 'Smart' Lidl Car Battery Chargers (Ultimate Speed ULGD 3.8 B1 model) which supposedly analyses the battery before charging.  Out of a possible 4 bars for battery health, my Bosch battery only had 1 bar - so I left it plugged in to charge.  This took approx 24hrs and all was well.

Unfortunately some 5 days later the Octavia refused to start again (flat battery symptoms) so I used a battery jump starter power pack (think portable power bank, but slightly bigger) ... again started immediately once connected.

 

Any thoughts ... certainly looks like the battery, which understandably would be 'flat' after some 9 months of very intermittent use (despite a long run to Bristol Airport and Plymouth / Exterminates in between).  I'm happy to return to Euro Car Parts under the Bosch 3yr battery guarantee ... and get a replacement ..

However I'm more concerned about the Stream head unit turning itself on at frequent/random times. But I also know that the Octavia is very finicky when it comes to battery voltage and can display certain silly things (like windows coming down of it's own accord etc) ..

A fault code scan picks nothing up ..

 

I'll get a multimeter across the terminals in the next 24hrs to see what the standing voltage is / charging voltage is ... and post later.

 

Appreciate any comments though !

[MikeTheThinker]

I have the same age and model of Octy (although mine's only a humble Ambiente )and have recently gone through odd behaviour and ended up replacing the battery.

 

I also bought one of the Lidl smart top-up chargers and it was by examining the reported battery voltage that led me to the problem - two of the 2v cells in my battery had died so I was only getting 8v or so reported by the charger.

 

I didn't experience the extended anomalies as you have but certainly had problems a drivers window that opened itself and then wouldn't close together with some central locking (or not) and radio oddities.

 

I know batteries lose voltage as they discharge but also recover to a degree once the load is removed. I also know digital systems are very particular about minimum supply voltages.  My Stream remembers its prior state when switched off or de-powered (ie. off, on without ignition or on with ignition) so my theory is (ahem) that the battery voltage recovers whilst off load to the cutoff level at which point the car computers restart, restoring the radio state and sometimes causing side-effects like windows part-opening   Once the load has been restored the battery voltage again drops over time to the cutoff point when everything shuts down.  Then rinse and repeat until the battery becomes sufficiently moribund as to not wake the car at all.

 

I would bet heavily on your battery being the primary cause - even though it is relatively young - and would suggest charging it until the charger says it's done then checking the voltage.  A healthy fully-charged battery should be in the region of 13.4 volts; anything less suggest lack of full charge (or loss of ability to hold a full charge) or a load somewhere draining the battery.  Just in case, is your battery one which allows you to check and top up the fluid level?  Low fluid level can also lead to poor battery performance.

 

Good luck!

 

Edited 21 October, 2018 by StickyMicky
tidy up

[Cornish_Lad]

Cheers Mike,

 

You've more or less confirmed my thoughts about the battery voltage etc ..

Applied the multimeter this morning to the battery, which was measuring 11.9v at rest (battery has been resting for approx 28hrs) and 14.2v whilst engine was running.  No measurable voltage drop when lights etc were stitched on, so guessing that alternator etc is fine.

 

The Bosch battery is a sealed / maintenance free unit (there might be accessible reservoir caps under the stickers, but haven't peeled them off just yet) ... 

 

I think tomorrow I'll stick the battery on charge again with the Lidl Smart Charger, and give it another charge.

Thanks for your thoughts so far though, appreciate it.

[Cornish_Lad]

Cheers Mike,

 

You've more or less confirmed my thoughts about the battery voltage etc ..

Applied the multimeter this morning to the battery, which was measuring 11.9v at rest (battery has been resting for approx 28hrs) and 14.2v whilst engine was running.  No measurable voltage drop when lights etc were stitched on, so guessing that alternator etc is fine.  **Edit - just checked the text I sent my friend after the battery was charged last weekend, and at that stage it was showing 13.4v - so for it to drop to a resting voltage of 11.9v after approx 5 days and a 40 mile trip suggests a possible knackered battery**

 

The Bosch battery is a sealed / maintenance free unit (there might be accessible reservoir caps under the stickers, but haven't peeled them off just yet) ... 

 

I think tomorrow I'll stick the battery on charge again with the Lidl Smart Charger, and give it another charge. Anyone know what ECP are like at taking back batteries under warranty ?

Thanks for your thoughts so far though, appreciate it.

Edited 22 October, 2018 by Cornish_Lad
additional info

[Cornish_Lad]

Ok, quick update - have also posted on another thread ..

 

Decided to scan with Carista earlier this afternoon, and picked up no fewer than 28 electrical trouble codes (kinda ironic when I'm having major battery drain issues). Anyway, I cleared them all, and took the car out for a decent spin ..

 

Some 3hrs later I scanned again, and they hadn't returned. I'm guessing they were all historic from when the original OEM battery was replaced by me a good few months ago, and never cleared.

 

I've seen a couple of posts elsewhere in the web, stating that these un-cleared fault codes have been known (especially in VW vehicles) to confuse the CANBus systems to an extent that battery drain is present until they've been cleared, regardless of the condition of the battery and alternator.

 

Well, here's hoping, fingers crossed it's that simple eh 

 

 

[Spartacus50]

On 21/10/2018 at 16:58, Cornish_Lad said:

Got a rather strange problem with my Octavia MkII 1.9tdi - specifically the Stream radio unit, in that it likes to turn itself on, all by itself, very frequently throughout the day and night :(

 

I have this problem too (with my 2007 Octavia Mk II Stream Mp3).  I've replaced the battery (last week) - as the car had been standing a few weeks due to ill health.  The radio comes on of it's own accord, without the key inserted.  My wife has had this happen to her on several occasions and is scared of driving the car in case she comes back to a flattened battery.  Any ideas?

 

The fuse (F19, I believe)  is correctly seated.....

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Adrian

Edited 17 January, 2019 by Spartacus50