Battery replacement advice?

[xman]

I can't comment on your Sealey charger's reconditioning mode. These modes are used to try and recover deeply discharged and sulphated batteries using high voltages and pulse techniques to do so.

 

Without knowing much about your charger, I would not risk using this mode while the battery is connected to the car due to the real possibility of damage to the car's electronics.

 

First check your charger (instruction manual) is designed for use with the battery type that is fitted. Your car will be fitted with either an EFB (enhanced flooded battery) or an AGM (Adavanced Glass Mat) type. Usually it's printed on the top of the battery  If not specifically referenced in the manual, your charger may be designed only for conventional flooded batteries, and may not be safe to use on your battery in this mode.

 

If you decide to give it a try, you should disconnect the battery from the car, say unfasten the negative lead, tie it safely out the way and connect the charger directly to the battery terminals. Then try the reconditioning mode. Follow the instructions and heed any warnings. If the battery starts to gas (bubbling sound) or the battery starts heating up, switch off the charger immediately. Do not remove the charger leads until you have switched off the charger to avoid the possibility of a spark that might ignite any vented gas.

 

Have you an AGM or EFB battery? Capacity? What is your charger model number?

 

Edited 16 April, 2021 by xman

[RSB]

The battery is an EFB version 69AH. The charger is an Autocharge 650HF. I bought it on the back of Auto Express’ recommendation. In there test they make no mention of EFB or AGM batteries which I find surprising. The Sealey instructions mention conventional batteries and their website lists a few charges for intelligent versions. There is no warning anywhere about possible damage.

 

As I type the charger is 10 hours into a Recon cycle so I have my fingers crossed. Thanks again for all the information.

[unclerichy]

I was expecting to have to change mine this year (2016 car) as I had the 12v warning even a few days after a full charge though never to the degree that it failed to start. The last time I charged it I left it for a few days past the "I'm charged" stage rather than unplugging it when it said it was done and I've not had a problem since.  Stop/start is also working happily.

 

Mine's the CTEK 3.8 charger.

[Ed-Preston]

Reviving this thread a bit.

 

My 2017 Diesel Superb was completely dead this morning, had to use the emergency key to get in to it.  It was fine last night after driving it for 28 miles and about 60 miles on Sunday after it had been sat untouched for a week.

 

Had Green Flag out and the chap has tested the battery and his little Ancel gadget has come back saying it's got a bad cell and is only operating at about 24% of it's original rated spec.  Looking at replacing the battery and confused by the apparent options available.

 

The current battery, which I believe is the original, is a Moll 5TA 915 105 B 'EFB+' Simpsons Skoda in Preston are quoting me £213.53 (fitted) for a replacement of the same type, well an 'FC' suffix, rather than the 'B' mine has.  I can get a Bosch S5 A08 for £138.95 from Costco (not fitted), which is an AGM battery, rather than EFB/EFB+, which most places I read seem to suggest is an improvement over the original.

 

My concern is whether things will need reprogramming as I'm changing battery types, or whether this won't matter/have any affect? My local Protyre garage has said they could do the necessary if needed for £30 as I'm not buying the battery from them.  Any advice as always would be gratefully received.

 

Cheers,

Ed

[Warrior193]

Hello Ed, you will definitely need to code the new battery into the BMS if you are changing from EFB to AGM. Even if you replace exactly like for like you should have the new battery coded in with at least a new serial number as the BMS will have made allowances for any faults in the old one, failure to do this can cause issues with the new battery, which could affect its performance and life. 

Edited 2 November, 2021 by Warrior193
repetition

[RSB]

I had to change mine a few months ago. I use a very competitive local source and can confirm you must have the battery coded to the car. I changed from the original type to an AGM on their advice. It cost me nearly £200.

 

I was amazed the car needed a new battery so soon as my BMWs have lasted 8-10 years. Apparently the auto stop start knackers them quite quickly. nice little earner for battery and starter motor manufacturers!

[paddywack1878]

3 hours ago, Ed-Preston said:

Reviving this thread a bit.

 

My 2017 Diesel Superb was completely dead this morning, had to use the emergency key to get in to it.  It was fine last night after driving it for 28 miles and about 60 miles on Sunday after it had been sat untouched for a week.

 

Had Green Flag out and the chap has tested the battery and his little Ancel gadget has come back saying it's got a bad cell and is only operating at about 24% of it's original rated spec.  Looking at replacing the battery and confused by the apparent options available.

 

The current battery, which I believe is the original, is a Moll 5TA 915 105 B 'EFB+' Simpsons Skoda in Preston are quoting me £213.53 (fitted) for a replacement of the same type, well an 'FC' suffix, rather than the 'B' mine has.  I can get a Bosch S5 A08 for £138.95 from Costco (not fitted), which is an AGM battery, rather than EFB/EFB+, which most places I read seem to suggest is an improvement over the original.

 

My concern is whether things will need reprogramming as I'm changing battery types, or whether this won't matter/have any affect? My local Protyre garage has said they could do the necessary if needed for £30 as I'm not buying the battery from them.  Any advice as always would be gratefully received.

 

Cheers,

Ed

try and get a like for like battery Ed, any new battery you buy will need programing anyway or you will knacker up the new one, I have a 20 plate and mine is a EFB exide battery which some days shows a standing charge of 12.2-3v, which is a bit worrying so i took it to a specialist who said its ok, it gets serviced in about 4 weeks i am going to ask the dealer to do a proper test on it. 

[Ed-Preston]

Thanks for the replies and advice folks, the new battery is sat in the garage at the moment, the car of course seemed to start perfectly twice after Green Flag had charged it and jump started me yesterday, but the new one's ready to go next time it fails.

I'll look to see if there's anywhere else local I can get the battery coded in.  It's one of those 'hidden' jobs, so not easy to find on people's websites - more ringing around required. 

[paddywack1878]

8 hours ago, Ed-Preston said:

Thanks for the replies and advice folks, the new battery is sat in the garage at the moment, the car of course seemed to start perfectly twice after Green Flag had charged it and jump started me yesterday, but the new one's ready to go next time it fails.

I'll look to see if there's anywhere else local I can get the battery coded in.  It's one of those 'hidden' jobs, so not easy to find on people's websites - more ringing around required. 

I suppose you could ring one of those mobile tune up guys they will all have the pad with that software you need or are you in the AA or RAC...if it wont start again ring them and they will do it.

[unclerichy]

I had to change the battery yesterday (5.5 years old, few miles and short journeys for the last two years). I pulled forwards a couple of feet to get better access to the boot before stopping the car again. When I came to restart I had a dashboard full of lights and a half a crank before it all died. I also had the "12v low. Charge by driving" warning which was too little too late.

 

The local Green Flag garage came out and jump started me then it was off to Halfords to get a replacement fitted and coded. Not happy about paying more than necessary but the whole dead-to-alive episode lasted less than three hours including being the call-out and being stuck in traffic en-route to the fitting.

 

Worryingly the lad who came out was insistent that a new battery wouldn't need coding ("as we never do on any cars we have in") and I should charge the battery without using the BCM earth tag 😬

[paddywack1878]

the RAC guys no all about coding and the earth tag....he must have been an apprentice

[fabdavrav]

For reference you need to tell the BCM the AH of the battery, the battery construction, & also force the BCM to forget the previous learnt values by changing at least one digit of the serial number.

 

I wrote a thread back in early 2015 on retro fitting a bigger battery to an MQB platform car....all info in the first post here:-

 

How to retro-fit a bigger capacity battery to a Mk7 Golf | GOLFMK7 - VW GTI MKVII Forum / VW Golf R Forum / VW Golf MKVII Forum

 

[DavesMan]

Hello... seems like some of you tried replacing battery already. Is replacement (dead car during that process) and then recoding battery in #19 CAN gateway sufficient? Superb 3 does not need backup power supply during replacement? To prevent radio (infotainment) lock-out for example? I know I can re-pair it using VCP but I'm just asking about pitfalls...

Thanks

[unclerichy]

Loss of power shouldn't be an issue. When mine was swapped the dashboard errors cleared by turning the wheel full left to right and back followed by a short drive and restarting the car at the end. Only thing lost was current trip computer stats.

[paddywack1878]

On 19/02/2022 at 18:48, unclerichy said:

Loss of power shouldn't be an issue. When mine was swapped the dashboard errors cleared by turning the wheel full left to right and back followed by a short drive and restarting the car at the end. Only thing lost was current trip computer stats.

what does turning the wheel left to right do to the system?

[unclerichy]

49 minutes ago, paddywack1878 said:

what does turning the wheel left to right do to the system?

 

When I started the car after the battery swap the dashboard lit up like Blackpool illuminations (well, a couple of lights came on including the steering symbol). The fitter had me turn the wheel full let lock then full right lock and back to centre and it cleared all the errors. I presume it re-calibrated the steering position once it had been told the extremes.

 

I then had a stop/start error whilst driving home but that cleared once I stopped the car and then restarted it.

[J.R.]

All the warning lights will clear after a short drive of less than 100m without ever turning from lock to lock or even using full lock in one direction, I expect it probably needs to see some steering motion, unless you disconnect the battery on a dead straight road without having pulled over then it will never be put to the test.

 

 

[ApertureS]

The purpose of turning the wheel lock to lock is just to recalibrate the steering angle sensor. Hence all the faults on the dash when a battery is changed.

[paddywack1878]

Thanks for that lads,   does the radio need a code for it to come back on after a battery swap.

[ApertureS]

2 hours ago, paddywack1878 said:

Thanks for that lads,   does the radio need a code for it to come back on after a battery swap.

Nope, they use a different system to secure the radio and should need any codes or anything. If it did, youve got bigger issues 

[paddywack1878]

12 minutes ago, ApertureS said:

Nope, they use a different system to secure the radio and should need any codes or anything. If it did, youve got bigger issues 

Good to know

[Ed-Preston]

On 03/11/2021 at 08:45, Ed-Preston said:

Thanks for the replies and advice folks, the new battery is sat in the garage at the moment, the car of course seemed to start perfectly twice after Green Flag had charged it and jump started me yesterday, but the new one's ready to go next time it fails.

I'll look to see if there's anywhere else local I can get the battery coded in.  It's one of those 'hidden' jobs, so not easy to find on people's websites - more ringing around required. 

Update number 2.  Original battery seems to have been fine throughout the winter, so a while ago I returned the new (unused) battery a little while ago for a refund. 
 

Yesterday I’d been away from home for a night, went back to the car the following morning and battery almost completely drained. Enough unlock the doors, light up the dash when the ignition was on and slightly try to start the engine, but not enough to turn it over and get it running. Green Flag to the rescue again for a jump start, back hoe after a 60 mile drive and on charge for the rest of the day at home.

 

Now it’s happened to me twice there does seem to be a bit of a common theme to what’s happening. I’ve noticed for a few days before it’s been flat a few odd things happening with the car, the main one being that the main cooling fan continuing to run on excessively when I park up after a journey. The distance, outside temperature or how I’ve been driving make no difference - 15 mile commute home from work, only about 10 degrees C temp, or as per Friday a 60 mile+, motorway, dual carriageway then country lane drive. Fan was running when I parked up. Came back to the car an hour or two later to get some stuff out of it, fan had stopped, but when walking away from the car the fan started up again. I suspect it’s cut in and out throughout the afternoon, night and following morning, draining the battery. Another odd thing is that the keyless entry hasn’t been recognising my hand next to the handle to unlock either.

 

I think there might be a duff sensor somewhere telling the car that engine/coolant temperature is high and it needs to run the fan to cool it down. Does anybody have any suggestions? I’ve got a Carista since last time, so will plug it in and run a check. Any clues would be gratefully received.

[freelunch]

On 02/05/2022 at 13:59, Ed-Preston said:

Any clues would be gratefully received.

If I read your post right, you're still on the original 5-year-old battery. Sounds like it's time to replace it.

 

I noticed my infotainment system was very slow to start up, slow to load navigation and media. The hand on the door wouldn't work on occasion and I'd have to use the key. Also, stop/start wouldn't kick in until I'd driven for about 20 minutes. Then, the car wouldn't start. I had a home start, then drove straight to Halfords. They coded in a new battery and all the things I mentioned above were cured.

 

I thought five years out of a car battery was pretty good, especially as it will sit for two weeks at a time without being started.

[Ed-Preston]

Still searching around lokoing for a solution.  Some places suggest this is mid-dpf regen, but I don't think so as that seems to be one period of the fan running until everything cools down 10-20 mins, something like that.

 

The situation I'm getting ever so often is the fan runs for 30+ mins, maybe an hour, stopping then restarting again, for hours at a time, so that by the morning the battery is flat.

 

The descriptio  here: Skoda Superb Engine Fan Running (even when car hasn't been used) sounds exactly like what I'm experiencing. Their final post was:

Quote

The car ended up on the back of a tow truck to Skoda, and it turns out there was a faulty fan relay. It couldn't turn off.

 

Does anyone know where the fan relay is and if there's a fairly straightforward way of checking it's working properly?  ...also what part number I might be looking for and how much it's likely to cost if I do it myself?

[J.R.]

I think its a fan controller issue rather than a relay, its highly unlikely that relay contacts would close without the coil current being applied by the controller, theoretically possible if the contact spring broke but it would remain in that state.

 

I think I have read that the fan controller is part of the fans assembly and is somewhat exposed to the elements leading to intermittent operation and failure.

 

I suggest you google for Skoda cooling fan controller problems.