Hi all,

My car Superb 2016 refused to start today with battery low message, its been struggling to start for a few weeks now but always started. It gets used every other day for approx 30 miles each time.

 

Do I need a new battery and if so which one would you recommend? Is it true a new battery needs coding in, or can I just replace it myself? I have a great independent garage I use, if they need to code it in which machine/app will they need?

 

Thanks in advance

Tony

I changed the battery in mine last month. Got an AGM from Tayna £121 incl postage. Ordered 3pm and arrived next morning. if it is the oem battery in the car it is probable an EFB, @ 68kw. The batteries you buy now will be 70kw, and will have to be coded, especially if you change to AGM which I would recommend. The battery can be coded using OBDeleven. Hope this helps/

Hi Billy Parker,

Thanks for your reply to my post. Did you recode your battery or get someone else to do it? Is it worth buying an OBDeleven and do it myself, is it easy to do. Can I easily unlock other features on my car?

Thanks

Tony

Ideally take an image of what you have now fitted, then we can say for certain if you have EFB or AGM technology.

I can then find you a 100% drop in battery, or others can if you post up.

 

 

To answer your coding adapting question, here's one I made earlier to help answer this FAQ.

 

2 hours ago, Supernovas said:

Hi Billy Parker,

Thanks for your reply to my post. Did you recode your battery or get someone else to do it? Is it worth buying an OBDeleven and do it myself, is it easy to do. Can I easily unlock other features on my car?

Thanks

Tony

Hi Tony, I coded it myself using OBDeleven. It also has apps to change various features easily such as cancelling stop start, comfort flashes etc. It costs just over £100 so really up to you if you feel it is worth it.

Hi Varoom,

I don't currently have an OBDeleven device so I am unable to take an image. Can you or anyone else suggest a reader/program that would be suitable to recode my new battery and any other changes I may wish to make?

 

Anyone in the Milton Keynes area with a reader willing to help for beer tokens?

Thanks

Tony

2 minutes ago, BillyParker said:

Hi Tony, I coded it myself using OBDeleven. It also has apps to change various features easily such as cancelling stop start, comfort flashes etc. It costs just over £100 so really up to you if you feel it is worth it.

BillyParker,

 

Could you recommend an OBDeleven device, may be worth the investment for the future, some things I would like to try with the car.

Many thanks

Tony

38 minutes ago, Supernovas said:

I don't currently have an OBDeleven device so I am unable to take an image.

Most people take images with cameras, not OBD11 fault readers.

Hi KenONeil,

Where on the vehicle would I take a copy of the image from? the main screen, sub menu???

Thanks

Tony

No, by image he means take a photo of the battery you have now making sure the info sticker is readable. 

A picture of top of the battery, we can see if it's the original (probably) and there will be a part number on the top that will help.

15 hours ago, Supernovas said:

BillyParker,

 

Could you recommend an OBDeleven device, may be worth the investment for the future, some things I would like to try with the car.

Many thanks

Tony

If you have problems it can scan it for you and point out where the problem lies. And probably able to tell you how to fix it. The cost of a scan at the dealers is probably more than the OBDeleven. I bought the OBDeleven PRO @ £107 and you get 100 credits with it. I've only used it for some of the apps which cost credits and for coding the battery (which doesnt cost credits) I've not had any problems with the car so never had to use it for that side of things. But it's nice to have if needed.

 

On 02/01/2023 at 19:34, BillyParker said:

Hi Tony, I coded it myself using OBDeleven. It also has apps to change various features easily such as cancelling stop start, comfort flashes etc. It costs just over £100 so really up to you if you feel it is worth it.

 

The device is definitely worth it but it's recommended to avoid the inbuilt apps. There is no ability to track the changes made and reversing the change is never guaranteed to actually reverse what was changed initially. Just get the pro version and do your own coding. Is surprisingly straight forward.

So I just got my DSG replaced this week by the dealership.  That was completed on Thursday.  Car didn’t start properly Saturday morning in my garage.  Car hesitated and clicked twice before starting.  I then drove it some 2-3km away where I turned the car off and went for coffee.  Upon returning to my car it would not start at all and the symptoms appeared to be a flat battery.  This seems too coincidental to me that the workshop did work on my car and then I have these starting problems within 2 days  I rang road assist to come and assess.  Whilst waiting for road assist I googled and found this thread which above indicated that the OP stated that if the battery was dying then the car should have advised with me with a “low battery” warning but I did not get any such warning messages, so I went back into the car and went to turn the ignition back on to see if the low battery warning message would come on, when the car instantly started.  Upon re-start the message “Error: Auto Start/Stop error” displayed on the dash.  I then decided to take the car on a long drive to charge up the battery.  However half way into my long drive I got the error message “12V battery unable to charge” and the car told me to pull over.  I have lost all Air Con, power steering functions and the car is completely dead now on the side of the road.  I don’t believe it’s a dead battery issue.  ie I don’t believe a new battery will just fix the issue.  It may restart the car but I think there’s a possible electrics issue with the car.  Car isn’t even 2 years old and I never ever use Auto Start/Stop function so I’m not draining the heavy duty battery.  I believe there is an earthing cable on the gearbox mount.  Can anyone confirm this?  If so, it would appear this was not re-instated by the workshop or has come loose with the DSG replacement and unable to charge the battery.

@DonweatherYou didn't specify what engine/gearbox, but I would assume there will be an Earth strap.  It sounds like one of those has come loose, and some tech will be getting a talking to.  Having most likely removed for the repairs.

Sorry it’s the 2L TSI Sportline/280PS with DQ250 DSG

14 minutes ago, Donweather said:

Sorry it’s the 2L TSI Sportline/280PS with DQ250 DSG

I was just looking at the instructions for removal, battery out, along with tray (so a point of failure there for your charging)

Then the starter motor is also removed, and the wiring to that is will have a good Earth.

 

In short, this is most likely to have been caused by them, your battery would have been giving you signs before it's "failure"

19 minutes ago, varooom said:

I was just looking at the instructions for removal, battery out, along with tray (so a point of failure there for your charging)

Then the starter motor is also removed, and the wiring to that is will have a good Earth.

 

In short, this is most likely to have been caused by them, your battery would have been giving you signs before it's "failure"

When I started it this morning it didn’t turn over first time and instead it made two large clicks in succession and then it turned over. Would that be the starter motor?

 

my other question is if the dealer has stuffed up when replacing the DSG how likely are they to admit fault to me?  Because wouldn’t this also then allow me to make multiple claims down the track if other issues arise. 

19 minutes ago, varooom said:

I was just looking at the instructions for removal, battery out, along with tray (so a point of failure there for your charging)

Then the starter motor is also removed, and the wiring to that is will have a good Earth.

 

In short, this is most likely to have been caused by them, your battery would have been giving you signs before it's "failure"

Also where did you see the instructions for removal please?

Edited 7 January, 20233 yr by Donweather

4 minutes ago, Donweather said:

When I started it this morning it didn’t turn over first time and instead it made two large clicks in succession and then it turned over. Would that be the starter motor?

 

my other question is if the dealer has stuffed up when replacing the DSG how likely are they to admit fault to me?  Because wouldn’t this also then allow me to make multiple claims down the track if other issues arise. 

Also where did you see the instructions for removal please?

Could be starter yes, I would try not to drive it very far or not at all if possible.

 

Dealers default to deny all the time, doubt they would change a habit of a lifetime, they need to take the car back ASAP as this is more than likely an error in their work.

 

Instructions are downloaded from erWin Skoda for 7 Euro (about £7.49 give or take) and contains wiring diagrams/repair and maintenance manual.

8 minutes ago, varooom said:

Could be starter yes, I would try not to drive it very far or not at all if possible.

 

Dealers default to deny all the time, doubt they would change a habit of a lifetime, they need to take the car back ASAP as this is more than likely an error in their work.

 

Instructions are downloaded from erWin Skoda for 7 Euro (about £7.49 give or take) and contains wiring diagrams/repair and maintenance manual.

Ok thanks. It’s currently dead on the side of the road. I’ve emailed the dealer and will call them first thing on Monday morning getting them to organise towing to their workshop. 

2 minutes ago, Donweather said:

Ok thanks. It’s currently dead on the side of the road. I’ve emailed the dealer and will call them first thing on Monday morning getting them to organise towing to their workshop. 

Good luck with the next part...

Yeah thanks. 

Can you jump start it from another car to try and get it home? If you get it running put a voltmeter across the battery and see what voltage the alternator is producing. The battery might be beyond saving but an overnight charge off the car with a smart charger might revive it. 

The car basically started shutting everything down. AC stopped working power steering stopped, it then started shuddering so it basically wasn’t even getting enough charge from the battery to run the engine. I’m thinking the battery isn’t able to charge as the dealer stuffed something up after the DSG replacement. So jump starting won’t fix the dead battery enough to get the car moving again. 
 

it’s being towed to the dealer on Monday morning. Their problem now. 

Edited 7 January, 20233 yr by Donweather

So dealer said my alternator was cactus. Find that incredibly hard to believe in a less than 2 year old car which never uses auto start/stop. 
 

Alternator replaced. 
 

here’s my question. If they’ve forgotten to put back properly an earthing strap after replacing the DSG and you hooked up a multimeter to the battery wouldn’t it look like the alternator wasn’t charging the battery properly and hence you would “think” the alternator is cactus but in reality the same non ability for the new alternator to charge the battery will occur over the next few days I drive the car?

 

Also should I be demanding a new battery as I’ve read if you discharge the battery so low sulfation of the battery can occur hence the life of my current battery has been compromised due to the stuffed alternator?

Edited 11 January, 20233 yr by Donweather