Hi everyone,

 

I have a 1.6 diesel Octavia 2011.

 

Driving this evening the car shudders slightly before swiftly reducing RPM until the engine cuts out, with no prior warning lights or previous issues with the engine cutting out. After this the battery light came on and the car will not restart, had to get towed to a friends house near by.

 

I have tested the battery and this is fine, even with jump leads the car will now not start at all, it sounds like the starter motor isn't getting enough power as it sounds slow and it will just keep turning over without starting.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for what this issue could be?

 

I have ordered a basic diagnostics tool to check for any error codes and I will be checking the fuse box tomorrow for any obvious issues but due to it not starting when on jump leads I can't see the issue being the battery at all.

 

Possibly the alternator? How would I test this?

 

Any similar experiences with this issue?

 

Many thanks.

 

Jack

If the battery tests good voltage-wise it could still be faulty and not deliver the necessary current, any jump start will usually fail as the battery is such a drain that the starter doesn't get enough power, probably worse these days with electronics expecting a certain engine rpm to start, bump starting MAY work.

 

1. Do the headlights shine brightly on main beam?

2. Do they dim when you crank the engine over?

 

If yes to 1 the alternator/battery SHOULD be good, check for good grounding in the wiring. If no the battery is discharged/faulty. Test charge it to check for loss of alternator output.

 

If yes to 2 the starter is drawing current properly but battery output insufficient for starting. Test charge it to check for loss of alternator output, if there is no change suspect bad battery. Try starting another car with your battery.

 

If no to 2 the starter isn't drawing enough power, check wring to starter.

 

If a bump start/replacement battery gets it going a fault with the charging system should display a red battery warning indicator, you can verify the charging with a multimeter across the battery posts, with the engine running and all electrical loads on it should show 14v.

 

I suspect from your description that the battery has just given up.

 

I hope this helps.

Edited 24 January, 20206 yr by MicMac

Thanks mate,

 

Now I have tried my battery in 2 other cars, both started fine. I have then used a battery taken from another car which did not start my car.

 

So my battery is fine, any ideas on what the issue could be.

 

Many thanks.

 

Jack 

Wiring to the starter, starter brushes worn, those would explain lazy starter.

 

However as you stated the engine died without warning I can't think of anything off the top of my head, at least not with an empty/grumbling tum.

 

A scan may shed some light.

Yeah it's an unusual one, I will be picking up a basic diagnostics kit tomorrow to see if any fault codes come up, hopefully it will shed some light.

 

Many thanks.

 

Jack

 

 

20 hours ago, Jaroctavia said:

Hi everyone,

 

I have a 1.6 diesel Octavia 2011.

 

Driving this evening the car shudders slightly before swiftly reducing RPM until the engine cuts out, with no prior warning lights or previous issues with the engine cutting out. After this the battery light came on and the car will not restart, had to get towed to a friends house near by.

 

I have tested the battery and this is fine, even with jump leads the car will now not start at all, it sounds like the starter motor isn't getting enough power as it sounds slow and it will just keep turning over without starting.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions for what this issue could be?

 

I have ordered a basic diagnostics tool to check for any error codes and I will be checking the fuse box tomorrow for any obvious issues but due to it not starting when on jump leads I can't see the issue being the battery at all.

 

Possibly the alternator? How would I test this?

 

Any similar experiences with this issue?

 

Many thanks.

 

Jack

I wouldn't spend time battery/ alternator / starter motor, I would look into the reason the motor stopped after the shudder. When was the cam belt last replaced?

Oh dear, probably not what the OP wants to hear but that does sound very plausible 🙁

To be honest I am not sure when it was last replaced, I will need to check the cars history as I've only had it for 2 months.

 

I sincerely hope that isn't the case however, but I will further investigate tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Jack

 

 

5 hours ago, Jaroctavia said:

To be honest I am not sure when it was last replaced, I will need to check the cars history as I've only had it for 2 months.

 

I sincerely hope that isn't the case however, but I will further investigate tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Jack

 

 

I'm hoping that I'm wrong, but if the starter motor is struggling to turn the motor then that suggests there is a mechanical tightness. 

On 24/01/2020 at 22:39, Jaroctavia said:

To be honest I am not sure when it was last replaced, I will need to check the cars history as I've only had it for 2 months.

 

I sincerely hope that isn't the case however, but I will further investigate tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Jack

 

 

Did you find out what the problem is yet?

Unfortunately not, the cam belt however is fully intact and the belt and water pump were both replaced in March 2019.

 

Which is a relief, but I'm at a loss as to what this issue is now.

 

My diagnostics check came up clear, with no fault codes whatsoever.

 

So I think my next course of action will be to take the car to a garage, unless anyone has any further suggestions?

 

Thanks.

 

Jack

You didn't say if the headlights dimmed when you try to crank the engine.

Sounds like it could possibly be HPFP failure, I would advise against prolonged cranking as you could be sending metal shards throughout your entire fuel system. I'd reccomend checking the fuel pump by removing the two bolts that hold the sensor down on the top and looking in with a torch. If the fuel has tiny specks of metal in it then this will be the cause.

They do dim when cranking the engine yes.

 

Ok thanks I will check the fuel pump too.

Would the HPFP failure not trigger a warning light in the dashboard, as I only have the battery and now power steering light on the dash.

 

Thanks.

The extra warning light is a result of low battery voltage and will clear on driving a few meters.

 

I'm still thinking a poor earth connection is your problem, it'd be the cheapest/easiest to fix by checking the heavy wiring and slackening/retightening all connections.

1 hour ago, Jaroctavia said:

Unfortunately not, the cam belt however is fully intact and the belt and water pump were both replaced in March 2019.

 

Which is a relief, but I'm at a loss as to what this issue is now.

 

My diagnostics check came up clear, with no fault codes whatsoever.

 

So I think my next course of action will be to take the car to a garage, unless anyone has any further suggestions?

 

Thanks.

 

Jack

Well good news on the cam belt, but I can't see why the motor cut out in the first place. I would have expected a warm engine to fire up even if the starter was a bit slower than usual. You could check the engine earth back to the battery earth with a meter to measure if there is any resistance.

On 26/01/2020 at 16:18, Jaroctavia said:

Unfortunately not, the cam belt however is fully intact and the belt and water pump were both replaced in March 2019.

 

Which is a relief, but I'm at a loss as to what this issue is now.

 

My diagnostics check came up clear, with no fault codes whatsoever.

 

So I think my next course of action will be to take the car to a garage, unless anyone has any further suggestions?

 

Thanks.

 

Jack

Have you managed to get the car sorted out yet? 

Yes I have thank you, sorry I forgot to update you all.

 

It turns out the issue was the camshaft sensor connection, it had simply shaken loose, I called a mobile mechanic and he was able to rule out the battery being at fault by recharging it and his diagnostics computer picked up the code for the sensor fault.

 

He says it is very unusual that the car should stop running altogether as usually this sensor fault would simply cause a car to run rough and it would be clear you had an issue, but on the Mk2 Octavia it causes the car to stop running and will not restart, only displaying the battery light in the dash.

 

It is in a very awkward spot to get too as you can't see the connector but you can get a spanner or similar sized tool in behind it to push the connector back on.

 

And just like that it started first time without delay. A very frustrating fault caused by the simplest of things, but I am glad I now know about this and hopefully this thread will help someone else with the same issue one day.