Hi

So currently having issues with my 1.6tdi 2010 octavia just looking for some guidance

2 days ago all of a sudden my car would not start was perfect up to this no slow cranking etc just out of no where dead jumped it left it running for an hour or two all ok then yesterday started perfect first time went to the shops came back out to the car and slow cranking but thankfully started so after this i put the battery on charge and then that night i was driving home and briefly had the abs and esc lights come on and off again maybe 5 minutes on 5 mins off etc when all of a sudden they came on lost power steering and then the car lost power lights going dim interrior lights going out warnings on dash etc pulled over quickly and went back to normal.

After this turnt off all auxileries radio full beams fan etc and drove home (maybe 30 mins) with only my dims and nothing happened again

Just wondering would this be my battery or my alternator. The indicator on my battery is half clear half black so may replace it anyway just want to gather some sort of idea on what it is before i start spending money

Thanks

Sounds like an intermittent alternator output is failing to charge the battery but I would expect the battery warning light to alert you to that, perhaps a bad battery earth.

1 minute ago, MicMac said:

Sounds like an intermittent alternator output is failing to charge the battery but I would expect the battery warning light to alert you to that, perhaps a bad battery earth.

thanks for the reply i havnt got a single battery warning light on the dash since this has all started ill double check all the connections tomorrow

do you have a multimeter? it is easy to see what is going on with the battery if you do.

48 minutes ago, seriesdriver said:

do you have a multimeter? it is easy to see what is going on with the battery if you do.

yep just took some readings there car off battery 12.13 car running nothing else 11.22 car running with ac radio lights etc 10.2 also all connectors clean

car off 12.13 is low . Running you should be getting 14.4 ish  volts so it does seem like you have an alternator issue. 

If I am interpreting correctly

Quote

 car running nothing else 11.22

is worryingly low, and is lower than when the car isn't running. That shouldn't be the case, with only idle loads on.

 

While it is just possible that some very unusual condition is causing this, the obvious explanation is that the alternator isn't doing its job of providing enough current to keep the battery topped up.

 

If you replace the alternator, you can probably get a recon one, but that may mean living without the car for longer than is convenient.

 

It may be that your only practical way forward is to get someone to do the work for you.

I would check the alternator output first. Could be votage regulator

Got it sorted guys it was simply just the 200(?) amp fuse where the wire comes into the fusebox it melted completely

12 hours ago, briand123 said:

Got it sorted guys it was simply just the 200(?) amp fuse where the wire comes into the fusebox it melted completely

Glad you sorted it, but have you checked to see why a really big rated fuse melted ? I would really want to know what caused it.

3 hours ago, seriesdriver said:

Glad you sorted it, but have you checked to see why a really big rated fuse melted ? I would really want to know what caused it.

not sure to be honest but apparently its a common problem on vag cars my mechanic had seen it a good few times exact same thing

Back when I had an Alhambra and was a member of a Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra forum, a common fault was a melted engine bay fuse box, the one with the hefty fuses. The cause was a badly crimped alternator lead that overheats and makes a mess of the fuse box.