Hey all happy new year sorry it's a belated one been very busy etc and not been on the forum in quite some time.

 

Ok, not really the start I wanted to 2019 but here goes. Basically, went to get car out of the garage like I normally do to find the immobiliser would not unlock car.

 

Had to access it manually. Tried ignition and DRL's come on but nothing on dash. No engine warning symbol or anything.

 

There's no clicking sound it literally is doing nothing apart from the rear wiper tracking very slowly with a motor drone even with stalk set to off.

 

Tried to start it multiple times but kept getting the above scenario. My concern is getting to the front of the car (parked very tight in) to access battery to see if I can jump her.

 

I may have to (with great difficulty) roll it out and just dab the brake to get it where I can properly inspect it.

 

It's never done this ever and the battery is only 3 years old. Could it just be a case of a dead battery?

 

Hasn't been left idle for ages and I did check once getting in the car no interior lights etc had been left on.

 

Car is VRS TDI CR 170 2011 plate

 

Hope it's not the start of electrical gremlins or an ECU issue...

Contrast that with a 5 year old battery in daily use which showed absolutely no signs of getting tired until it died suddenly over the course of a  working day in the hot summer of 2018, leaving the driver stranded at work.

 

It was replaced and subsequent off-vehicle charging failed to revive it. It showed 12-13v but didn't even have the current to light a 55w headlight bulb.  Electrolyte levels were good so heavy sulphating in the cells seems likely.

 

The moral being, things sometimes fail unexpectedly!

Your battery has reached a voltage level where it will never recover to full capacity. 

Replace the battery and then look for something that is still drawing current after the 10 minutes grace period from withdrawing the key and locking the car.

First thing is to do is to put a voltmeter on the replacement battery and see the rate of decline of battery volts once locked. Note that the bonnet must be fully closed for everything to turn off after the grace period.

Hi agree with above, hopefully it is just the battery I parked a car up once jumped in it an hour later and click click click it wouldnt start so it can just be instant with batteries. 

 

2 hours ago, pikpilot said:

Your battery has reached a voltage level where it will never recover to full capacity. 

Replace the battery and then look for something that is still drawing current after the 10 minutes grace period from withdrawing the key and locking the car.

First thing is to do is to put a voltmeter on the replacement battery and see the rate of decline of battery volts once locked. Note that the bonnet must be fully closed for everything to turn off after the grace period.

 

The first part highlighted in blue may not necessarily be true, I would always charge a battery and try again keeping a watchfull eye over it in the following weeks.

 

Agree with the rest of the text and it should be done even if the charged battery starts the engine fine.

Just a thought. Could my Columbus sat nav be the issue? Having said that, this was swapped out (member on here btw) and all coded etc well over 18 months ago.

 

If it 'was' that, I'd assume it'd go flat instantly?

 

I'm going to have to get it out of the garage at some point and check the battery. I'll try to get hold of a multimeter and see if my neighbour has some jump leads.

 

Not what I wanted at all really :/

 

 

If I remember correctly there was an issue with some sat nav causing the battery to drain. But since you've fitted it over 18 months ago...  you would have noticed this much earlier.

 

My guess is the battery. (or maybe alternator or something). I had mine fail after 5,5 years (Died last summer due to the heat, just in front of a toll booth on a Polish highway....)

 

And yes, mine did die also suddenly... Just wouldn't start anymore. I verified this by jumpstarting using another car, car started immediatly, and battery charging voltage was fine. Bought a new battery at a local DIY store (Google ftw), installed it on the parking lot and didn't have any problems since.

(Only some people wondering why the f*ck a Dutch guy was replacing its car battery on the parking lot of a Polish DIY store...)

 

Hey all got an update I know it's been ages but I've been spinning many plates lately.

 

Basically, a kind neighbour loaned me his battery charger and hooked it up last night. Turns out the battery was flatter than a witches ***.

 

Car started up ok this morning and let it run for 20 mins or so. 

 

My concern is the amber steering light on the dash is now illuminated and won't go out. Is this an electrical adaptation controller issue or simply because the battery went flat?

 

I'd hate to think my pride & joy is starting to get electrical gremlins. I also need to find the reset code for the columbus sat nav.

 

In the meantime I'll monitor the battery and see if ot dies again. If that's the case then a new one will be in order.

 

Considering it's only 3 years old, is it common for one to die in that time period? Seems very short to me.

 

Would the use of VCDS help determine a possible root cause of excess battery drain? Although, I don't have access to any.

The steering light should go out when you've driven a few metres or so. If not, you'll need to reset it with VCDS.

 

Edit: Your Coluimbus shouldn't need the code again unless something went wrong and the car has lost the pairing. Unusual though.

Edited 12 February, 20197 yr by Rustynuts