Hi everyone,

 

Thanks in advance for any help you might be able to offer! I’m afraid I don’t know much about cars so any help is much appreciated.

 

Will go into more detail below, but a short summary is that my Skoda is draining the battery within a week, even after fitting a new battery. Any idea why? I only drive short journeys, but surely a new battery shouldn’t die so quickly?

 

Generally I do one trip to the supermarket every week, 15 mins town driving there & back.

 

Details:

 

A few months ago I purchased a Skoda Fabia Comfort 2004 reg, in really good condition for it’s age. I don’t need to drive a huge amount, but need a car for the occasional long journey & trip to the shops, so it gets driven once a week or so.

 

When we got it, the garage said the battery had died (blamed someone for leaving the lights on) but they’d recharged it & it was all good. Not long after getting it, I didn’t drive for a fortnight & the battery went  completely dead. The garage replaced the battery, and everything seemed to be fine.
 

A month or so later, I didn’t drive for a fortnight again & the battery died again. Luckily my neighbour has a charger, so we charged it up & then he ran some some tests on the battery & it was draining a lot from somewhere. We removed a few fuses but couldn’t find what was draining it, so it went back to the garage.

 

They couldn’t find the issue either, but they thought maybe the radio so they rewired it to be safe.

 

I drove it every day for a week or so, although only short journeys as I live in town, but all the dashboard lights were staying on & flickering, and occasionally something randomly starts beeping whilst driving, sounds like handbrake warning sound. Then it died after a week of not driving. Garage took it in a second time, still couldn’t find the problem, so just said to drive it more often. I also got a cheap solar panel charger to see if that might help.

 

A few weeks later, the same thing happens again, after a week of not driving. Garage fitted another new battery, to be sure it wasn’t a problem with that. Drove it a week later, the dashboard lights are flickering. Four days later, it’s dead again. 
 

Does anyone have any idea what might be draining the battery? 

 

And secondly, do you think there is a fault or is it just that I need to be driving it more? From what I can tell from reading online, a new battery shouldn’t go dead within a week, even if it’s only been driven for short journeys. Is that correct?

 

Thanks for reading!

Starting point is this check, free and easy:

 

Though it doesn't sound like it's your problem, it's such a common one it's worth checking anyway.

 

Do you have or can you borrow a multimeter?  That might be useful for some DIY detective work that I can maybe walk you through.

 

Oh, by the way, which engine type does your Fabia have?

 

Edited 7 December, 20205 yr by Wino

Does the alternator have a freewheel clutch? Sounds pretty obvious but is it charging properly. As mentioned a multimeter can tell if its charging.

2 hours ago, Wino said:

Starting point is this check, free and easy:

 

Though it doesn't sound like it's your problem, it's such a common one it's worth checking anyway.

 

Do you have or can you borrow a multimeter?  That might be useful for some DIY detective work that I can maybe walk you through.

 

Oh, by the way, which engine type does your Fabia have?

 

Thank you for replying so quickly!

 

It’s a 1.2 petrol engine.

 

I’ve just doubled checked and the battery light comes on when I have the key in the ignition. I haven’t seen the ASR light come on at all, but I will keep an eye out.
 

From as soon as I set off, other dashboard lights flicker when I’m driving, and every now and again there’s a random beeping, sounds like a seatbelt warning or handbrake warning.
 

Also, I’ve noticed the battery, steering, seatbelt and airbag lights stay on very faintly after removing the key from the ignition (battery constantly, the others come and go). Not sure how long for, I’ve been watching for about 10 mins but I’m wondering if they’re on constantly.

 

I should be able to get hold of a multimeter- it would be amazing if you could talk me through what to check, thank you! Just to note, I have checked all the fuses with using a multimeter, and I believe the garage have done the same.

 

Thanks again!

2 hours ago, paulkennedy said:

Does the alternator have a freewheel clutch? Sounds pretty obvious but is it charging properly. As mentioned a multimeter can tell if its charging.

Thanks for replying so quickly! 
 

I’m not sure if the alternator has a freewheel clutch, how would find this out? Sorry I’m a total novice with cars! 

 

When I first started having problems with the battery my neighbour checked the battery with a multimeter & he said it was draining really quickly from somewhere, but we tried removing the fuses & couldn’t find where from.

 

The garage ran a more comprehensive check & again couldn’t find the source either.

 

I will get hold of a multimeter & I can run some checks if you think I might be able to find the source of the problem. 

I think it will have a clutch on the alternator. I'd start by checking the voltage with the engine running it should show around 14.4 volts. If thats ok leave the bonnet open, engine off and doors closed and check the voltage after about 10 minutes it should be a little over 12 volts. If the running voltage is lower than 14 volts you might have a problem with the alternator or the alternator clutch.  If you have full voltage check the earth straps are clean where they meet the body and engine

Have a look at the inside of the pulley of the alternator, I think it'll look like this with just a simple nut in there, that's the non-clutch version: 

 

 

 

On 07/12/2020 at 13:31, paulkennedy said:

I think it will have a clutch on the alternator. I'd start by checking the voltage with the engine running it should show around 14.4 volts. If thats ok leave the bonnet open, engine off and doors closed and check the voltage after about 10 minutes it should be a little over 12 volts. If the running voltage is lower than 14 volts you might have a problem with the alternator or the alternator clutch.  If you have full voltage check the earth straps are clean where they meet the body and engine

The voltage of the engine was running fine, around 14.4 then just over 12.

 

All of the earth wires looked clean, apart from one at the front left of the motor / bonnet which has gone green (like it’s oxidised). I’ve attached a photo to show whereabouts it is.

 

I’ve been keeping an eye on the dashboard for the past few days, and the battery light stays on the constantly. The seatbelt & air bag lights are also on, but fainter. They stay on when the cars off, when the keys in the igntition, and when the car is running. I’ve attached photos, with different lights on to show how bright/faint they are.

 

Any idea what might be causing that to happen? The only way I got them to turn off was by removing the instrument cluster fuse.

It's very easy to remove the instrument cluster. I would try taking the two plugs and and off a few times and then spraying the cluster pins and plugs with contact cleaner spray. From my own experience I have found the cluster plug connections to be a bit fussy. There's also the possiblity of dry solder joints inside the cluster but I would try the plugs first. Why the battery is draining I don't know, though.

 

I would clean that earth up too.

 

This video is about the immobiliser but shows how to pull the cluster out and remove the plugs. For 20 mins work you have nothing to lose...

 

 

Edited 11 December, 20205 yr by TMB

I’ve got an update on this!

 

I ended up taking the car back to the garage, and they sent it to a car electrician. It looks like they’ve found the fault, a previous owner had fitted a black box for the insurance, and it was draining 80% of the battery apparently.

 

They’ve removed it & it looks like it’s running fine now, fingers crossed!

 

The mechanic said something about replacing the autometer (?) which I think might be to do with the dashboard lights being on, but I’m not entirely sure.

 

Thanks everyone who replied for your help, I really appreciate it! 

2 hours ago, FGuest said:

The mechanic said something about replacing the autometer (?) which I think might be to do with the dashboard lights being on, but I’m not entirely sure.

 

Alternator?