My partner has a 2020 MK3 fabia 1.0L.

It is 3 months outside of the warranty period and recently I bought a battery tester, which included EFB batteries.

I recently charged the battery using an optimate charger while it was in the car and got back the SOC was 12.6V and the SOH was approximately 50%!

Repeated it a week later and got the same result with the battery tester saying replace battery!

Repeated again with the battery disconnected and got the same results.

The battery tester on my own car shows everything is okay repeatably so I assume the tester is okay.

Without the battery tester the car shows no sign of a problem, however, I guess I should replace the battery before there is a catastrophic failure.

I intend to replace like for like although the AH seems to be slightly higher on the Halford equivalent EFB.

Does the battery data need to be reset, I guess it does but there are lots of differnt opinions on the subject?

 

Paul

 

Paul,

forgive all the questions but I don't know what you know and what you actually did with charging and testing.

 

What is the amperage of your Optimate?

Is it a "smart" charger and maintainer suitable for stop/start batteries?

Did you get the battery to full on the charger?

How long did it take to charge the battery (at what amperage of charger?

 

Did you read and follow the instructions for charging on the car in the Owner's Manual and charger instructions?

Were the battery terminals clamps tight and clean, same for main cables and connections (clean, secure and protected)?

 

What battery tester do you have and did you test whilst on the car?

 

Do you have a reasonable multimeter?

 

The battery can be in a low state of charge and the engine still starts and the light seem bright enough and as yet no warning lights or messages, which is why the battery often gets flogged more.

 

Up to you if you want replace it, or you can try to recover it and perhaps get more useful life out of if. often it just takes time and patience or perhaps a rescue setting on the charger.

 

The battery is one of the most oversold car parts but premature replacement suits some people better but by what you've put so far you might be one of the ones to revive the existing battery and learn how to easily keep it going for longer and stop it happening to the next battery.

 

Halfords tend to be a bit expensive for batteries and many find they can get a better battery at lower price from elsewhere (often net retailer and I don't mean Amazon).

 

Big debate about the need for 'coding' if you are keeping the same type of battery (EFB) and just about the same Ah (ignore the out-of-date VW BEM serial number and battery manufacturer three-letter code that was for VW's benefit anyway).  I now go with best to 'code' (no panic about instantly at installation of new battery) but I also have an idea about how to perhaps fool the "clever" VWSkoda computer program just with the use of a charger.

 

Edited 1 April, 20242 yr by nta16
typos

Nigel,

Answers to your comments/questions follow:

>The optimate charger is a top of the range smart charger suitable for both standard and AGM batteries and was a 6A charger.

>The battery did get to "full" but relatively quickly, I think due to the fact that it's capacity appears to have dropped by approximately 50%.

>All clamps tight and clean and the last charge was with the battery disconnected from the car and it still gave the same SOH "state of health" value of 50% of the battery capacity when new.

>Battery tester is made by Topdon and not expemsive but gives results that seem repeatable and for instance on my Honda civic, which had a new battery under warranty a few months ago, shows max capacity. I also have a very expensive CTEK battery tester with printer but it doesn't seem to cover EFB batteries!

> I have a very good and accurate multimeter.

> I'm not sure EFB batteries can be reconditioned, due to the construction,something I need to check!

> There are cheaper options than Halfords but I would need to find someone to carry out the recoding, which would cost probably more than the difference!

> Interested to know how you think you can fool the electronics using a charger?

 

Paul

 

 

Thanks for your replies.

 

To save you reading all below if you don't want to, short(er) answer - get a new replacement battery and do preventative recharges when required with the next battery and it should give less hassle and last longer.

 

For 'coding' I got my battery 'coded' by a Briskoda form member for a beer-token, you could look and see if anyone local to you is able to help you out, otherwise it makes sense to get the battery from Halfords and have them code it correctly, it only needs one digit change to the "serial" number to say the battery is new, the correct type of battery recorded (EFB or AGM "fleece") and correct Ah, nothing more.  Be careful about Halfords with 'coding' as some on here have put they have been told the batteries don't need 'coding' at some Halfords by some Halfords employees, I don't know only repeating what they put.

 

Example only.-

 

See here for members with VCDS and other scan tools/apps. - Briskoda VCDS Owners Map (click me)

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

 

Longer stuff.-

6a isn't high but 4 or 2 would be better, longer, lower slower is the trick - but it sounds like you either need to trick that expensive "smart" charger or the battery has been flogged too much and too often.

 

My neighbour had TopDon scanner with battery facility (at extra cost), like all computer programs they're not always right and reliable and cover all cars and batteries but you will know if yours does and is up to date with, er updates.

 

If you have confirmed the testing equipment with other good reliable and tested testing equipment fair enough.   Multimeter probes on the battery posts about 24hours after battery was disconnected from charging should let you know drop and state of battery.

 

By rescued I meant a setting on the battery charger (or revived not necessarily using a "smart" (they ain't) charger.  If the battery is truly sealed then you can't lift the plugs off to see the state of the plates and "water" level before (or after) to see if it's all worth the effort and how much more life you might get out of the battery if you need or want to.

 

Paul I don't think I know you sometimes have to and can trick modern and "smart" chargers to charge a battery they deem as "replace", some won't try recharging if the battery to them is 6v, 7.2v, 7.3v and possibly otherv.  I don't know for sure if I can trick the (not-so) "clever" (VW) Skoda battery programming so as to fit an exact (or near enough Ah) new replacement battery and have the program full working without 'coding' but as some posters have not bothered with 'coding' at all (on that sort of age Skoda) and reported no problems it'd not be too much of a loss.  Now whether those batteries will not last as long as if they had been 'coded' I can't say as it's not me.

 

Nothing wrong with expensive fancy chargers but I have manged with more basic chargers over decades and still and have seen and heard of £15 Lidl "smart" chargers doing good work and for a number of years with one of my neighbours, on the other side a mate has two identical expensive C-tek charges and they operate slightly differently showing slightly different  on their lights and time of charge when used on the same two vehicles.

 

Same as with scan tools, very good to have but the basics, without or without other tools, are very often need to be used to confirm and/or progress the resolve.

 

I've used "recon" charging on an EFB and it seemed to improve it.

Seeing rum4mo reminds me, as it's an EFB particularly you could disconnect the battery management connector at the battery negative terminal and not worry about 'coding' or the system interfering with stuff, change the battery with a battery charger on or off the car without needing to tell it what you're doing.  A minor freedom from one of the VW dictates and take full responsibility and control of the battery charging by driving or charger on or off the car.

 

Imagine that rum4mo, or remember it, the memory is fading for me and it's not be two-years since I only really thought about the battery after 10 years of use and parked up no-use.

 

My wife got a hire car delivered today, just our luck it's a VW product, 1.0 3cylinder SEAT, 75 plate 10k-miles, but the driver had checked the oil and topped it up (and had really done it before delivery and not just saying so).  It's a VW SEAT so the coolant (pink, called lilac G12evo by VW of course) has to be checked, warmish engine, warm day and it's a nat's below the MIN line on level ground, something to photo and monitor before journeys outside of limping home distance.  Drove the car round the block to repark it and at putting the handbrake on I thought I'd best reassign a few of the radio presets for the boss, only a few minutes in and the engine restarts.  Oh yes, I thought.  Multimeter out, yeap, battery charger out and connected up.  Only a small battery, about 2/3rds of the tray space but the figures were slow to rise, might take more than the 6 hours available.  On check 5+ hours later charger has "FUL".

 

I'm sure it'd had lasted the next 4 days of 2-mile journeys but the slightest whiff of a warning light or message of any sort and I'll get a distressed phone call and I'm on 4-mile walk with a carrier bag of tools and little chance of even a mug of tea until everything is fully resolved and reassurances accepted, like on the coldest day of last year when the VWSkoda remote decided to fail.  I did stop on the way back to help the (newer) ali XJ) Jag driver I'd seen on my way there waiting for Breakdown service, long story short - battery.  He thought he could get home despite knowing the battery was down on his way into work the night before.  B i g battery, IIRC 1.2v, lowest I've seen.  I checked my multimeter against one of the brand new Duracell button batteries I'd bought in case the cold had got to the electronics but no that showed the expected 3.dot, dot.  He tells me he was showing his boss the car at 5 am with the heated seats on, how he made it as far as he had surprised me.  At least it was well passed rush hour by then and they might really only be another hour-or- so before they got to him and the Jag could be rescued from the high kerb on the now not so busy road  I'd have kept the Jag four wheels on tarmac with a kerb that high with risks of scratches and dents.

  

58 minutes ago, nta16 said:

75 plate

?

 

https://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/how-does-the-uk-number-plate-system-work/

 

Thanks. AG Falco

A case of fat finger, ****-eyed, not wearing glasses.

 

All too new for me, I had to think if 72 was 2023, I only know my alphabet by going through suffix plate years, then only really starting at 1970 ('J') (Mk2 into Mk3 Cortina IIRC) as even I'm not that old (but Rooted and rum4mo would know pre-reg). 😁  

 

I have done a bit of research on council kept and issued plates for "historic" (old) cars and it wasn't until the 1990s that I learnt about the part year (I knew up to 'h' in the alphabet !)

 

Perhaps I should have used this as my eye chart.

 

Edited 2 April, 20242 yr by nta16