I have a 2013 Roomster (TSI). My car broke down on the 2nd Jan. When I initially turned the ignition, the car started but all the lights on dash went off. I switched the engine off, tried to restart and got a grinding/clicking sound and the power steering light came on. When i tried again, it sounded like a.dead battery and trying to turn over, but wouldn't start. A recovery came out and put a battery booster on it and it started and said the battery was fine. I had it recovered anyway (an hr away from home in a rural area and didn't fancy breaking down). My local garage had it for a week, on one occasion they started it and had the grinding noise again and had to put the battery booster on it and again have said it is fine and unless it does it again they cannot find the fault. I used the car yesterday and made a 30min journey, stopped for 5 mins or so, got back in the car, it started but as I pulled out of my parking spot it cut out. And same thing, initial grinding noise, then second attempt battery not quite able to start. A local garage battery booster it again and said the battery was on 10v and said it my alternator. I managed to drive it back to my garage but without any power steering (and power steering light on). My garage seem reluctant to do anything because.they don't know the fault and are worried about me spending money on it that won't solve the problem. Any suggestions? (FYI I know nothing about car, but a single mum trying to get to work and school drop off)

The car is used daily and for runs of generally 20mins or more.

Thanks

Internet diagnosis is difficult.

What you have described fits in with the battery having an intermittent short circuit. A voltage of 10v is a big indicator for this. Another indicator is if the car behaves normally for a few days, then totally refuses a start but is OK for a few more days afterwards.

 

Changing the battery will be the cheapest and quickest fix. The chances of the alternator being faulty are lower than the battery causing the issue.

 

As above diagnostics over the internet are difficult, but if your garage can’t tell if it’s a faulty battery or alternator, I’d be looking for another garage that can do these simple bread n butter jobs, it’s not rocket science.

2 hours ago, Samgtill said:

My local garage had it for a week

 

Sorry to hear of your car problems. As already said the garage are not covering themselves in glory.

 

Try this: https://good-garage-guide.honestjohn.co.uk/

This is classic symptoms of a failing battery - and they usually fail in cold weather

 

 

 

 

I've spoken to my garage and they have said that the battery has been checked and it's not that. And that multimeter has proved a good charge coming from alternator?

Your garage "have said it is fine and unless it does it again they cannot find the fault." Have they run proper diagnostics on your car? Scanned for any fault codes?

 

I would still put money on it being the battery. Do you know how old the battery is? If it is the original, it will be on its very last legs at nearly 8 yrs old.

 

Next checks, earth strap needs to be checked. A decent earth is crucial.

Clean battery terminals? Terminals properly attached to the battery?

 

If your garage is out of ideas, google your area for a VW/Skoda specialist. Sadly,  I dont know of any in Pembrokeshire. You may have an auto electrician nearby that could help?

 

HTH

Ask a nice neighbour or friend if they have a multimetre to again check the battery voltage when the car is off and when the car is running. With a faulty alternator your voltage would be below 13.5V.

 

Ask again if you can borrow their battery charger.

 

Now as said above the garage needs to look abit closer! Is anything draining your battery? Are there loose contacts - earth and live?

 

5 hours ago, Samgtill said:

I've spoken to my garage and they have said that the battery has been checked and it's not that. And that multimeter has proved a good charge coming from alternator?

 

I'd still suggest changing the battery - the 10v ish reading is a potential clue. It's the time of year that they fail(cold). Is it the original battery ? if so it's about due anyway - it's also cheapish to change.

Edited 12 January, 20215 yr by bigjohn

Difficult to see how the garage can state the battery is OK with an output of 10ish volts! The only reliable battery test is to fully charge it, then put a high-rate discharge tester on it - unless it's one of the older types with removeable tops in the cells, those can be checked with a wet hydrometer, but will still need charging before testing. One of those types would probably be getting pretty old by now anyway.

A quick alternator check can be done using a multimeter - battery voltage should be at least 13.0 -13.5 VDC with the engine running at more than 1500-1800 RPM.  

6 hours ago, Westbury63 said:

Your garage "have said it is fine and unless it does it again they cannot find the fault." Have they run proper diagnostics on your car? Scanned for any fault code?

 

If your garage is out of ideas, google your area for a VW/Skoda specialist. Sadly,  I dont know of any in Pembrokeshire. You may have an auto electrician nearby that could help?

 

HTH

 

I assume they would automatically run diagnostics for fault codes?? I've had the car for 4 years, it was fairly low mileage when I bought it, so I would guess the battery hasn't been changed, certainly not since I've had it. I'm not sure I rate my local Skoda garage, I did phone them anyway for advice, they spoke about issues with my power steering failure rather than any battery issues. From reading another older forum.  Someone reported turning the key and hearing a click noise and took it to a autoelectrician and they quickly diagnosed a faulty rectifier on the alternator. So I have googled autoelectrician and there are two in Pembrokeshire so I'm going to phone them tomorrow and see if I can get it booked in with them. Either way they should be able to tell me if it is the battery (fingers crossed). Thanks for all your help, I'll keep you updated.

 

Whilst there could be another fault (which you would need the auto electrician to identify), I am in the dying battery camp.

 

The clue to me was started fine after a charge, the references to only 10v.  Not sure about the grinding but possibly slow release of something if electrical relay is being sluggish due to lower voltage.

 

If the garage tested the battery, did they do it in a warm workshop, or out in the cold, if something is dying in cold, might not show in warm

 

If the battery is 8 years old, may as we’ll change it, as probably going to have to do it sometime in next few months anyway.  A continuously strong batter and voltage might solve problems anyway.

On 12/01/2021 at 16:44, 26DIPP said:

Ask a nice neighbour or friend if they have a multimetre to again check the battery voltage when the car is off and when the car is running. With a faulty alternator your voltage would be below 13.5V.

 

Ask again if you can borrow their battery charger.

 

Now as said above the garage needs to look abit closer! Is anything draining your battery? Are there loose contacts - earth and live?

 

i had battery after battery new problems then i unclipped the obd fault elm and no more drain as i left in permanent, also if after market stereo inclip the little red/ black small connector on stereo i had this as perm live and ign off

Update:

I contacted my local autoelectrician, they felt they couldn't do any extra than my garage were doing. My garage still felt insistent that the battery was fine. After keeping it for several days, they eventually found that the alternator was only "kicking in" (hope that's the right phrase) if he rev'd the car to the red line. So I agreed to change the alternator. When I went to collect the car, they were just driving it out of the garage as I arrived, I paid and went to jump in my car. I started it and again the power assist light came on and the car wouldn't pull forward. I turned it off and back on again and it wouldn't start and I had the same clicking/grinding noise. Obviously I went back in and they boosted it again and did a few checks. He said it may have been the battery that wasn't fully charged. So I left it with them to charge and have another check. They said that they took it for a spin and it backfired. The backfire error message disappeared when they reset it. I authorized them to spend an hour or so looking over it, but didn't want to throw money at it if they couldn't find a fault. They eventually found a frayed lead (I think the earth cable to the battery- they didn't charge me for that) I picked it up yesterday (after 3 weeks without the car) and so far so good, fingers crossed. Thanks everyone for your help.

If you still have problems, in the past I have had to replace power steering hydro/electric pumps that cause the battery to discharge over night. Iv'e been lucky that on the 2 occasions this has happened I got good replacements from breakers yards. If you have a power steering leak from a corroded pipe you will see the fluid level is quite a bit lower than it should be but may not see an obvious leak.

 

There's also no harm in swapping a 4+? year old battery for a new decent one anyway.  This one sounds like it had a hard time.