Car was running fine, parked up and left it for 8 hours. I came back and went to start. Engine would not turn on initially. Got it to start, green lighting on gear shifter was not on, revved hard and it came on and was able to change to reverse. I turned it off and back on again. Several warning lights appeared and messages. 
 

Gearbox error: ok to drive

parkingpilot not available

stop start not activated 

tyre pressure indicator

 

i managed to start it and get it home. It is now not starting 1 times out of 20 and won’t allow me to change into gear when it does! Anyone that can help.

Hi welcome.

 

Sounds like you might have let the battery get far too low, if you know about such properly you could try using a battery charger maintainer to recover the battery as much as you can - but first - check the battery terminal connections are all tight and clean, check the main cables particular the earth are also clean, secure and protected, if not then that could be the issue.  Putting a multimeter directly on the battery terminals should give you the voltage minus 0.3 or so for the car's systems.  If you have a multimeter come back with the reading if you don't know what level they should be. 

 

With battery recharging low and slow is better than faster and higher (see your Owner's Manual).

 

Take no notice of any "magic eye" or green telling you the battery is fine as they're often way too optimistic and you have to tap the battery in case it's stuck and it relate more to one cell out of six.

 

Possible it might be something else, other than battery or connections, but if the start-stop feature hasn't been available for a while when it should have been that's your first warning that the battery is too low and you now know how the computers will punish you for letting it get too low.

 

To get to the stage where the engine won't start has really made the battery suffer you may be better replacing it now and looking after the new battery better, you will also need to have the new battery coded if it's not the same type (EFB(?)) and just about the same Ah rate (59Ah?).

 

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/499006-car-battery-now-is-the-time-to-check-it

 

HTH.  Come back and let us know how you get on just in case it isn't the battery been flogged to death.

 

Edited 17 June, 20241 yr by nta16
spelling

Thanks… 

 

the magic eye is clear at the moment have ordered a replacement and fitting, hopefully that sorts it. 
 

 

If you're keeping the car or replacing it with another modern car, particularly if newer, then think about investing in an appropriate battery charger maintainer and you could get a much longer life and better use out of the next battery.

 

You might be changing this battery prematurely if it's not that bad or not at fault at all but a new battery (correctly sorted and installed) should at least help with diagnosis and engine starting or possibly/probably resolve the issue.

 

Let us know how you get on if you have anyone 'code' the battery make sure they do it correctly, one member here had a professional auto-electrician 'code' his battery incorrectly and only discovered this many months later when the new battery appeared to play up, very few times is the battery the actual cause of issues.

 

Good luck.

 

 

How much did you pay for the battery? Is it efb or AGM? What ah?

Dad has plugged a generic obd scanner in and it’s showing 12v with the engine on. Going to ring the local garage in the morning to see if they can plug into Skoda one

1 hour ago, Jmoojmooj said:

Dad has plugged a generic obd scanner in and it’s showing 12v with the engine on. Going to ring the local garage in the morning to see if they can plug into Skoda one

If it's a cheap generic scanner (and not VW specific) forget it, also generally any higher level scan tool needs to be fully up to date with it's specific program for the car, many don't realise how important this can be and/or too lazy to keep things up to date, this includes some mechanics and garages.

 

At that reading (12v with the engine running) you might think it's not just or the battery at fault.

 

Plugging a scan tool in will pull the figure down (engine not running).

 

To test battery simple basic stuff is still often best, put a multimeter on the battery terminals as long after the car and battery have rested up as you can, then if required allow a certain drop for the computers and other stuff still running on the car.  You don't need a scan tool to test a battery.  You could do this yourself, your dad could help you - but if the local garage doesn't charge too much to use a higher level scan tool  that covers VW and your model and year then fine - don't try that at a Dealership unless you have plenty of spare cash.

 

Let us know how you get on.

 

Going to get it changed still.. it’s over three years old.

 

with the 12v reading could it still be a battery problem?

Battery will probably need coding to vehicle and modern vehicles only charge battery when needed, not a constant 13.5 volts or whatever the alternator charges at, so you could be barking up the wrong tree.

36 minutes ago, Jmoojmooj said:

Going to get it changed still.. it’s over three years old.

Yes I think you should but what on earth makes you think a battery only lasts 3 years!  Some drivers/owners could kill a battery in 3 years or even less perhaps but that would be either they have plenty of money and don't care (or about the waste of manufacturer and materials) or they don't know and never been told that they should last many more years of trouble-free use.

 

You as a driver (owner) of the car could learn a lot about the car and battery by reading the car's Owner's Manual, if you already have you might have missed the bit about battery discharge in the section on checking the (battery) condition, it also tells you about charging the battery and disconnecting/reconnecting and changing the battery.  The bits about the battery magic eye colours and the *******s about replacing the battery after 5 years (the most over sold car part) you can ignore, even on a 2018 car you get get a lot more than 5 years especially if you can use an appropriate battery changer maintainer in a preventative manner (stop the battery going too low in the first place).

 

You also have to consider that the battery and charging alternator on the car are a team if you weaken one you are making the other work harder than it should thus weakening the other but the alternator should last very many years normally.

 

Don't think of the car like a (very expensive and complex) entertainment centre and charging point for devices but of the battery like a bank account with no overdraft or loan facilities you have to put into it to cover what you take out of it or it'll run out leaving you in a mess.

 

A new fully charged battery (many aren't from new) 12v car battery will read, off the car with no load on it, about 12.7v-12.9v (depending on a few variables).

 

VW table (off car readings) -

12.7v-100%  -  12.3v-60%  -  12.1v-40%  -  11.7v  -  0%

 

Edited 17 June, 20241 yr by nta16

Battery changed still have the same issues. 
 

Batter mechanic runs a scan and no faults were seen. 
 

now time for the local garage to have a look

Oh dear.  The scan tool does need to be VW compliant and up to date for the vehicle but it is just one diagnostic tool in this situation.

 

Did you get the mechanic to clear any error codes, 'code' the new battery in if required, get a full scan report, have you tried driving the car a short distance?

 

Sounds like you might (but might not) need a good auto-electrician, might be something like starter/ignition switch perhaps, or perhaps another connection or broke/wire.

 

Let us know how you get on.

  

ETA; I've no idea where you are but there might be a Briskoda member near you with a VCDS or other appropriate scan tool that could do a proper full scan report and delete any error codes, and perhaps help more, for a beer token (unless they are professionals) - do check they have updated their scan tool for your model before plugging it in.

 

See here. - Briskoda VCDS Owners Map (click me)

So after a lot of hard work finding an electrician.. problem has been identified. The obd scan showed a fault in the gear lever. He pulled it apart and one of the connection ports has eroded and there is on 9 pins where there should be a 10. The port was sticy and going green. Likely that a Liquid from a drink has spilled through and corroded the port. 

 

Has quoted 500 inc labour for the work which is a lot less than expected. 

9 minutes ago, Jmoojmooj said:

Has quoted 500 inc labour for the work which is a lot less than expected. 

Wow, to replace a connector, I think you've might have found why this electrician was available when others weren't - perhaps I'm being unfair as just doing this over a forum everything sight unseen but it really doe sound a lot to plug a scan tool in, find the connection and repair or replace but if you're happy and it's your car.

 

Good luck let us know if this fully sorts the issue.

 

He is also putting a new lever unit in too. 250 is labour and for the emergency call out. He will prepare it all at his workshop and fit straight away. It’s less than I expected if I am honest and living in central London, it’s expensive for anything. 
 

I need the car for work so stuck in a hard place for a fix that I need to make money.  Thanks for all your help as well, been a great reassurance. If only I was a mechanic, I’d be rich!

I thought you might be in London, and your need for speed, hence changing a 3-yearold battery, not sure why you need a new lever but you got someone to come out and turn up when need (and actually turned up) and is doing you job when you need it so you have done well.  I totally understand needing the car fixed so you can work (to pay for the car and it being fixed).  Also many times it's better to pay someone else to sort the hassle.  This wasn't mechanic's work more someone who can actually do diagnostic, without and without a scan tool, the scan tool got him to the aera then he used his senses, eyes, and touch as well as his common sense all very basic stuff and unsexy like boys-toys scanner, never forget the basics as you can do them too.

 

I don't understand allowing drinking and eating in cars, hate (plastic) cup holders in cars (don't like DSG boxes) - but I am old and miserable.

 

Good luck.

All sorted finally!

 

some pictures for future reference.

 

thanks for all your help!