Skoda Octavia Mk 3 will not start

[Eddie5768]

Can't find how to reply to a specific comment WhatsApp style. What am I missing? 

[Eddie5768]

Heard a true story from a mechanic yesterday about a guy with an Audi who had a new battery fitted after a couple of years owning the car. He brought the car back because he thought there was something wrong with his seats which were moving weirdly. Turns out he had wrap around seats which he didn't know about and which only started working after the new battery was fitted. No logic there.

[nta16]

But Eddie5768 are you now a believer in the computers need of battery power?  Give it longer for a full test, let this new battery drain to confirm. 🙂

 

 

14 minutes ago, Eddie5768 said:

I am calibrated every day by my wife 😄 

Soon she may have to consider going to twice a day, perhaps not quite yet as this has helped revive you but bear it in mind for future. 🤣

 

All being well this could be the end of this issue for you - and you can get on to the next. 🙂

 

Cheers.

 

[nta16]

4 hours ago, Eddie5768 said:

Can't find how to reply to a specific comment WhatsApp style. What am I missing? 

Quote

 

But the site, or Google, or whatever might be playing up today - it's all computer programs so nobody really knows for sure, even if they pretend to.

[nta16]

4 hours ago, Eddie5768 said:

Heard a true story from a mechanic yesterday about a guy with an Audi who had a new battery fitted after a couple of years owning the car. He brought the car back because he thought there was something wrong with his seats which were moving weirdly. Turns out he had wrap around seats which he didn't know about and which only started working after the new battery was fitted. No logic there.

An Aldi.  And you didn't believe in low battery and evil VW programs! 🤣

 

[Eddie5768]

So I drove to Sainsbury's today (2miles) and it happened again. Dash lit up like a Christmas tree and then closed down completely. After shopping the car wouldn't start. Called Green Flag and waited for over an hour. When Crouch recovery arrived the car started itself without any intervention. New battery measured fine, but charging only at 12.4v. I opened the door to switch on lights, radio, blower and aircon and as soon as I opened the door charging went up to well over 13v. Charging was fine with everything switched for full load. Drove home without any problems. 

 

I'm pretty sure there must be an intermittent short to earth somewhere, maybe even in the driver's door. There I go applying logic again - I'll never learn! Finding it is going to be a nightmare unless it can be connected to diagnostics with the problem happening. Local garage will take a look next week. 

 

The new fully charged battery hasn't been on the car long enough to drain. The alternator seems OK. There must be a drain that's causing the computer to shut stuff down and refuse to allow power to the starter. Why it chooses the dash before the power steering is a mystery unless it's a fail-safe safety issue.

[Eddie5768]

On 15/12/2021 at 20:29, nta16 said:

But the site, or Google, or whatever might be playing up today - it's all computer programs so nobody really knows for sure, even if they pretend to.

It's working fine now @nta16

[nta16]

9 minutes ago, Eddie5768 said:

It's working fine now @nta16

Always allow for Sod's Law - and computer programming!   😬

[nta16]

14 minutes ago, Eddie5768 said:

I'm pretty sure there must be an intermittent short to earth somewhere, maybe even in the driver's door. There I go applying logic again - I'll never learn! Finding it is going to be a nightmare unless it can be connected to diagnostics with the problem happening. 

You could hook up a machine and do the wiggle test, you'll need a second person if the scanner is a wired one.

 

Much though I dislike them a good multimeter could help you find  bad connections and bad earths, again a second person doing wiggling  on wires and connectors can help.

 

Does it even seem heat/cold, wet/dry, warmed/not-warmed engine/car related or when you wear a brown or black jacket any theme at all.  If it's only when you're in the car you have your answer.

 

 

22 minutes ago, Eddie5768 said:

Local garage will take a look next week.

If they're got a reasonable scanner (bi-directional) they can check a lot and power up and power down components and parts separately if they're not seeing a long list of recorded error codes.

 

Anybody been leaving drinks on the dash, and suddenly they're empty.  😄

 

Good luck let us know how you get on.

 

[PetrolDave]

9 hours ago, Eddie5768 said:

The new fully charged battery hasn't been on the car long enough to drain.

Have you checked whether the battery terminal connections have been tightened correctly after the battery was changed?

[PipH]

" as soon as I opened the door charging went up to well over 13v "

 

Check the wiring running through the rubber boot by the drivers door hinge.

 

They can break, loose insulation & short out.

[nta16]

Hopefully a scan tool can locate the communication or wiring, literally perhaps, breakdowns.

 

I've gone all QAnon, Anti-Vax, and keep thinking those evil VW computers are behind all this and I need Eddie5768 to come back with the answer so I can be deprogrammed before I storm VW (if I can find their secret HQ in the UK). 😁

 

[Eddie5768]

Pre-Christmas family event at our house so it wasn't until this morning  that I thought I would do some voltmeter tests. Discovered a design problem with the Mk 3. The driver's door and the front passenger door would not open with central locking. I could open the driver's door manually with the key, but this is not possible with the front passenger door. Trouble is the bonnet cannot be opened without opening the front passenger door! Had to abandon my testing.

 

Sat and had a thought and decided to test the main plug. I thumped the main plug behind the carpet and everything came on and the car started. The biggest problem, knowing the cause, solved. Taking it to my local garage tomorrow for a permanent fix.

 

HOORAY

[ords]

6 hours ago, Eddie5768 said:

Pre-Christmas family event at our house so it wasn't until this morning  that I thought I would do some voltmeter tests. Discovered a design problem with the Mk 3. The driver's door and the front passenger door would not open with central locking. I could open the driver's door manually with the key, but this is not possible with the front passenger door. Trouble is the bonnet cannot be opened without opening the front passenger door! Had to abandon my testing.

 

Sat and had a thought and decided to test the main plug. I thumped the main plug behind the carpet and everything came on and the car started. The biggest problem, knowing the cause, solved. Taking it to my local garage tomorrow for a permanent fix.

 

HOORAY

There are a few threads about the bonnet release. It's flexible enough to be pulled out sideways to clear the speaker and then pulled to open the bonnet.

[Eddie5768]

@Ecomatt , @KenONeill, @PipH, @nta16, @Nogrille, @PetrolDave, @ords, M-E-R-R-Y-  C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S all and many thanks for your contributions to my intermittent and head scratching problem. The main plug behind the carpet in the passenger footwell (the largest of the three) was removed to connect up the towbar loom three years ago. Apparently the holding clip was broken at the time and after three years it has jogged loose. The plug is now held in with hot glue so hopefully all will be well. What a saga!

 

 

[3rdoctavia]

I feel your pain as its so often unrelated to what you would expect.

 

In an old car I would have presumed a failing alternator which couldn't keep up with demand meaning the cat would slowly die .... with the usual faint glowing of the battery light going brighter and dimmer (like The Terminors eyeball) as it drew its last breath ! The day a computer was introduced to the engine management signalled the demise of easy fault finding.

In the summer I had a faulty ABS loom on the front drivers side which put the ABS light on , along with the rest of the dashboard lights then decided to drain the battery to about 8.5v overnight . With a battery so low in one night is swapped it for another only for the new one.to.go the same way. Old logic would have suspected a bad diode in the charging circuit but instead it was the ABS loom either shorting to earth or keeping the ECU awake somehow.

 

Anyway, I'm glad a bit of glue did the job for you .... old school solution that the cars computer couldn't have come up with.

 

Oh, and who said banging the dash was more for the humour ... I agree, you should have been told to bang on the carpet 😉.

 

Glad you got it sorted 👍