good evening people here is a problem i need solving, it started 2-3 months ago i attempted to start my 2011 2.0 tdi turned ignition key and i had a tcs deactivated warning and a car skidding symbol on the right hand side  dial,i attempted to start car and it would not start, turned ignition key to off and attempted a second time and the car started no problem this has gone on for 3 months,it does not happen all the time only when i leave the car for 2 days if i use it every day it does not happen???. have taken car to garage and they could not find any fault codes,they have taken the ecu out but could not find anything wrong checked wires but nothing they was going to send ecu off for repair but they was told it could not be tested because it does not happen all the time and they need the ecu to be broken permanently to be able to fix it has anyone had any problems like this? or any suggestions of what to do next???

Battery failing, needs replacing.

 

The key is where you say that it would not start the first attempt.

 

My Yeti needs a new battery, the original was dead and I have replaced it with one I took off my last car a year ago and its only just managing, was doing some towbar wiring work on it today, interior lights discharged the battery, it failed to start and its brought up the warning lights that you have as it has done every time before, they go out after driving a few hundred meters, when I did a VCDS scan it was comms failures with the ABS module caused by the low voltage.

 

Would be fairly certain yours is the same problem, if the battery is recent get it load tested.

 

Shamefull that a garage would not instantly suspect the battery from what you presumably related to them, shamefull that they found no fault codes, probably using a generic OBD reader which Joe public can buy for under £20, something better and more expensive like VCDS is needed and a garage should have that.

 

Shamefull that you have presumably paid for them to remove ECU etc, lucky that they were not allowed to send it away.

Edited 7 January, 20206 yr by J.R.

the garage had my car for 4 days and the are no signs of the battery being the problem i,m sure they checked battery thank you for trying to help 👍

6 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Battery failing, needs replacing.

 

The key is where you say that it would not start the first attempt.

 

My Yeti needs a new battery, the original was dead and I have replaced it with one I took off my last car a year ago and its only just managing, was doing some towbar wiring work on it today, interior lights discharged the battery, it failed to start and its brought up the warning lights that you have as it has done every time before, they go out after driving a few hundred meters, when I did a VCDS scan it was comms failures with the ABS module caused by the low voltage.

 

Would be fairly certain yours is the same problem, if the battery is recent get it load tested.

 

the garage i used was a volvo and audi specialist and i think they have been very good and only charge my £48 for taking out the ecu and trying to find the fault and they said to me! they would not send it away because they was advised by the ecu specialist that they would not be able to test an ecu that works????? (but not all the time)😁 

With respect, an Octavia failing to start and generating the fault codes that you have is every sign that the battery was either failing or discharged.

 

That your vehicle does not exhibit the fault when used every day but will do so after 2 days is further indication of a failing battery or possibly very short winter journeys with lights, heated rear screen etc working and not enough running to recharge the battery.

 

Would your car start after a week?

 

Would the engine crank over briskly for several minutes with the injector loom disconnected?

 

Is it the original battery?

 

Perhaps I have misundersood you, when you say it wouldn't start and it does it every time now do you mean that it will crank briskly but not fire but will always fire when the ignition is cycled the second time?

Edited 7 January, 20206 yr by J.R.

2 minutes ago, 2011scott said:

they was advised by the ecu specialist that they would not be able to test an ecu that works

Which is why we come to the suggestion of testing the battery.

TBH, a garage that says there were no fault codes (and make no mistake there will have been) and then jumps straight to "it must be the ECU, we will send it away" does not inspire confidence.

 

A VAG specialist or any garage with experience would say "usually when this happens its either X, Y or Z in our experience" "the number one suspect is the battery but we have checked that and the charging system, the next thing to do is check Y" etc,  the ECU would be the very last resort unless its a known failure on that model which it isn't.

i have been thinking about what you have been saying and i will look into getting a load test on battery the battery in the car is a varta year 2016 there are no fault codes and yes i was thinking the same thing about leaving the car for two days but i have not tried leaving it for a week but i will, but when i try to start the car for the first time the car turns over normaly not laboured but will not start, then i try a second time starts straight away with out any hesitation all very confusing thanks for all you suggestions i will look into what you have said👍😁

 

It's the battery. The reason it starts the second time is because the first attempt has started to circulate oil and has overcome any sticktion.

The second attempt takes less current from the battery so the voltage is slightly higher, allowing the starter to reach minimum starting revs. Quite common on older cars without electronics.

 

 

Edited 9 January, 20206 yr by pikpilot
System merged two versions during editing

i put multimeter in battery and the volts was 12.8 volts started the car and the volts went to 10.4 volts second attempt at starting and the volts went to 9.6 volts is this normal?? or is everyone right and it is the battery and was the garage wrong by ripping out the ecu???? but i would of thought that would be the first thing the garage would of done 🤔🤔🤔🤔 not sure what to do it makes sense its the battery any thoughts would be appreciated cheers

9.6 volts should be the minimum cranking voltage but it should be able to maintain that while cranking for a couple of minutes, My Octavia throws no end of fault codes where modules cannot communicate over the canbus if the voltage dips to 9.6v even momentarily, it shouldn't but they are all like that.

 

I invested in a £20 electronic battery tester from Ebay, it came yesterday and is very very good indeed, I already have a proper load tester but with its 24v scale its very hard to see if you have 12.7v (fully charged) or 12.0v (too discharged to test) or to see if it drops to 10v or 9.6v.

 

The new tester does it all for you and will work with a partially discharged battery, it will tell you the remaining CCA a capacity and also show remaining life as a percentage, for instance I have an old battery on the Yeti temporarily, it will start it every time but will discharge quickly with interior lights on, on the Octavia it starts (she always starts on 1/4 turn) but will throw a fault code on a cold morning or after a couple of days not being used.

 

Its capacity when new was 640 amps CCA (lion 096 battery) and the tester showed it has 300 remaining and only 20% remaining life, on the Yeti it would be good for a while, on the Octavia it gives the same fault codes as yours after a cold start.

 

OK its 1/4 of the price of a new battery but if it means you can confidently keep a battery for an extra year or avoid a breakdown by changing one that needs changing its worth the money.

cheers mate, i will keep an eye on the battery and look more into the battery as the days go on to see if the battery volts drops after a couple of days of not using it or take a risk and buy a new battery with a higher cca.

The battery uses a chemical process so likely to fail if it gets colder. You don't need to buy a battery with a higher cranking capacity, just a new one the same cca as fitted now.

i know have another problem my autolocking has stopped working when i drive off and a red light has come on the drivers side bottom pillar and i,m sure the car was unlocked when i pressed the unlock on the remote but i,m not sure as it all happend too quick and it was too early in the morning ha ha any help would be appreciated.