StopStart not working

[twoladies]

I hate stopstart so this doesn't really concern me.  However, I hate when something doesn't work on my car.  Seems to have started when I used the 'spare' key for a few days.  Coincidence?

 

Is this a problem?  You guys have saved me numerous trips to the Dealership and I am very grateful to you.  (I am sure the Dealership is also grateful😁).

[gumdrop]

My stop start was interrupted by a low battery condition.

[twoladies]

15 hours ago, gumdrop said:

My stop start was interrupted by a low battery condition.

Uh oh...dont want to be stranded in the winter..how do I know if it needs a new battery without waiting to be stranded!  3 years old 2.5k miles.  Thx

[Llanigraham]

50 minutes ago, twoladies said:

Uh oh...dont want to be stranded in the winter..how do I know if it needs a new battery without waiting to be stranded!  3 years old 2.5k miles.  Thx

 

You go to a reputable Tyre & Battery place (NOT Halfords) and ask them to do a "drop test" of the battery.
And because you have Stop/Start the car needs to be re-programmed when the battery is fitted.
Expect a bill somewhere around £100; I've just replaced mine, so I know.

[gumdrop]

I started to put my car battery on charge, when not in use, (I used a C-tek smart charger)

Skoda always said there was nothing wrong with the battery or charging circuit,

It should not fully charge the battery for some reason, even after a long run.

Edited 8 February, 2020 by gumdrop

[twoladies]

1 hour ago, Llanigraham said:

 

You go to a reputable Tyre & Battery place (NOT Halfords) and ask them to do a "drop test" of the battery.
And because you have Stop/Start the car needs to be re-programmed when the battery is fitted.
Expect a bill somewhere around £100; I've just replaced mine, so I know.

Did the 100 include the battery and can the tyre place reprogramme?

[Expatman]

Are you driving with heated seats or other high load items on? Stop/start won't work if there is high demand on electric systems. Alternatively lots of short runs will deplete battery gradually until stop/start stops working. A good long run will sort that out or use a battery conditioner every week or so to keep battery in top shape.

[Urrell]

2 hours ago, gumdrop said:

Skoda always said there was nothing wrong with the battery or charging circuit,

It should not fully charge the battery for some reason, even after a long run.

 

Someone is having you on.

[gumdrop]

38 minutes ago, Urrell said:

 

Someone is having you on.

Skoda is simply clever, eh!

[AGFalco]

38 minutes ago, Urrell said:

Someone is having you on.

 

Stop start batteries are NOT fully charged by the car.

This is so the battery can take a ( faster/higher ) charge when you brake.

The alternator does not work if the battery is charged enough.

 

3 hours ago, twoladies said:

3 years old 2.5k miles. 

 

Lack of use, you will want to Smart charge your battery.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[Llanigraham]

3 hours ago, twoladies said:

Did the 100 include the battery and can the tyre place reprogramme?

The tyre place I went to, Newtown (Powys) Tyres fitted the new battery and reprogrammed it, but I spoke to 2 other tyre places locally first and they could not do it.
It was just under £100 for the battery and recoding.

[twoladies]

Well I never did!!!  I changed from the diesel 'cos I do short journeys!!  Now you tell me I must do a long trip - not gonna happen!!😁

 

Lots of short trips - for reasons that just can't be helped at the moment.  Still confused.  One answer made it look like there is a separate battery for stopstart. 

 

Does the whole car need to be reprogrammed or just the stopstart? 

 

Please speak in easy to understand Ingerlish as I am not only a female, but also not in the first flush of youth!!  I just want a car I switch on, it goes without a problem, put petrol in when needed and take it in for an annual service.  Didn't want a computer thank you very much - already have one!! hehehe

[Paul52]

22 hours ago, twoladies said:

Seems to have started when I used the 'spare' key for a few days.  Coincidence?

 

Have you tried using both keys and does the stop-start work with one and not the other? I haven't got it on my Yeti (thankfully) but others will know whether you can switch it off completely somehow and whether if you can is it key dependent, as some of the other functions are. If the answer to both is "yes" then that could be your problem. 

[Expatman]

Simple answers:

 

1. There is only one battery.

2. Doing lots of short trips will eventually cause the stop/start to stop working because the continual use of the starter motor means you are using more power from the battery than you are putting into it.

3. Don’t worry - that is the way it is supposed to work! if the electronics detect that the battery is being depleted then it switches off the stop/start and the engine keeps running when you come to a halt. That way the engine is charging the battery all the time it’s running.

4. If you want to you can get the battery checked, otherwise, just keep driving and ignore it - I assume at some time you are likely to do a 20+ mile drive which should restore the full health.

5. If you are up-tight (like some of us on this forum) you can use a battery conditioner (about £70) to keep the battery in peak charge. Easy to use and can’t connect it wrongly.

 

In your position I would just ignore it and keep on driving!

 

 

[Robjon]

13 minutes ago, Expatman said:

In your position I would just ignore it and keep on driving!

 

^^^This! 

 

Incidentally, onset with use of the spare key fob is coincidental.

Edited 8 February, 2020 by Robjon

[Ootohere]

As well as battery condition and demand on the cars battery there are the other things that stop stop/start from functioning.

That can be the difference in the cars heater setting and the ambient temp.  I think maybe 16 degrees difference in the Yeti. (someone might correct that.)

 

Seeing as this is a mild winter pretty much and maybe not an issue in Hertfordshire likely irrelevant.

[Urrell]

4 hours ago, AGFalco said:

Stop start batteries are NOT fully charged by the car.

This is so the battery can take a ( faster/higher ) charge when you brake.

The alternator does not work if the battery is charged enough.

So the normal charging on a stop/start car leaves the battery low enough that it stops various systems from working!

I'll say again "Someone is having you on"!

[rarrar]

On my 2011 1.6 Diesel Greenline the Stop/Start worked absolutely fine for the 5 years I had it, whatever the conditions.

On my 1.4 L&K, worked fine 1st year then became reluctant to go into Stop/Start mode unless battery was really charged ( after a very long run) and outside temp above 12C !

Does seem very sensitive to battery condition.

 

I think you could disable the Stop/Start from the MFD options, so  it is possible one key is programmed with Stop/Start disabled.

[Urrell]

53 minutes ago, rarrar said:

I think you could disable the Stop/Start from the MFD options,

No not possible.

[Expatman]

37 minutes ago, Urrell said:

No not possible.

If you want to turn it off just press the stop/start button (left hand button on bottom row of buttons) once you have started the car - button illuminates. You have to do so every time you start as it re-sets itself when the engine is turned off

 

Twoladies should really just ignore all this and keep on driving like they are doing and enjoy the car!

[Llanigraham]

Ignore!

Edited 8 February, 2020 by Llanigraham

[bigjohn]

2 hours ago, rarrar said:

 

I think you could disable the Stop/Start from the MFD options

 

Nope - but it is posible using VCDS by setting a battery voltage that can't  be achieved.

 

Myself - I don't mind stop/start doing it's stuff if I'm going to be stopped for a while - if I don't want it to turn off the engine I just leave the clutch pedal depressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twoladies]

1 hour ago, Expatman said:

If you want to turn it off just press the stop/start button (left hand button on bottom row of buttons) once you have started the car - button illuminates. You have to do so every time you start as it re-sets itself when the engine is turned off  Have been doing this - now don't have to - which is good - just don't want to get stuck on the road somewhere!

 

Twoladies should really just ignore all this and keep on driving like they are doing and enjoy the car!  Thank you - becoming quite technical!!  I will ignore it for now as It suits me the way it is.

Thank you everyone - great help as always.

Edited 8 February, 2020 by twoladies

[Stubod]

My 1.4 is exactly the same re stop start rarely working,. Initially it seemed to work OK, (purchased at 2 years old), but after a couple of months it hardly ever seemed to work. This suited me as if I remember I always turn it off anyway.

While it was under warranty I asked them to have a look at it as I thought it may be a low battery, they advised the battery was fine and played around with some settings (battery voltage limits I think?) It then worked a little more consistently for a while but has now gone back to only working after we have done either a very long trip, or several trips over a few days.

ike the above I therefore assume its a battery voltage level issue, although the battery seems fine in all other conditions even when left over a 2 weeks holiday?

[twoladies]

29 minutes ago, Stubod said:

My 1.4 is exactly the same re stop start rarely working,. Initially it seemed to work OK, (purchased at 2 years old), but after a couple of months it hardly ever seemed to work. This suited me as if I remember I always turn it off anyway.  Me too - hate it.  Aaaand I was told years ago that a car uses more petrol when it starts - so how is stopstart more economical?

While it was under warranty I asked them to have a look at it as I thought it may be a low battery, they advised the battery was fine and played around with some settings (battery voltage limits I think?) It then worked a little more consistently for a while but has now gone back to only working after we have done either a very long trip, or several trips over a few days.

ike the above I therefore assume its a battery voltage level issue, although the battery seems fine in all other conditions even when left over a 2 weeks holiday?  So....I am not the only one!!  Makes me feel better. 

Any idea how long a battery should last?  Or is it a piece of string?