Right, I'm looking to pick some brains and get some thoughts!

 

I drive a 2020 vRS with 30k on it. I've had it for five months, and had zero issues. On Sunday night, I managed to leave the front windows open during the rain. The door cards got a bit wet, as did the bolsters on the seats, but nothing extreme. The carpets were barely damp, and it had mostly dried out after a few hours.

 

After spending the day with the doors open drying it out (and the wet vac on the front seats), I went to start it and was suprised to find it barely cranked! After doing a motorway run that night to give it some juice, the next day it was the same thing (battery charge low, ACC not available, etc).

 

With the engine on I'm not seeing above 13.4v, and with just the ignition on I think I saw as low as 11.9v. Ignoring the fault codes that came up as a result of the low voltage (as well as B14A612 and U10C000, which were weird but haven't come back), all of the control modules come back fine on OBD11. All of the switch gear works fine too - window switches, etc.

 

The car is a 2020, so it's entirely possible that the battery has gone. That said, I'm a bit concerned with the timing of it, and wondering if the windows being open/doors for drying has pushed the ageing battery over the edge, or if there could be something else going on.

 

Nothing was soaked, but even if the door modules were entirely dead, this shouldn't affect the battery charge, right? Alternator is another suspect, but again the timing seems unlikely. 

 

Basically, I'm trying to work out if a drop test/new battery is needed, or if there's a chance something else is wrong and I need to get it to someone VAG wise. I've got a big trip in two weeks, and am struggling to find anyone to help - Skoda, not that I really trust the one here, was booking in for October.

 

Thank you  

We need voltage readings in the following states:

 

Engine off, igntion off

Engine off, ignition on

Cranking

Engine idle no load

Engine idle full load (turn all lights on, fan on max, heated seats, heated rear window)

 

Please report back with voltages

On 05/09/2024 at 20:18, ApertureS said:

We need voltage readings in the following states:

 

Engine off, igntion off

Engine off, ignition on

Cranking

Engine idle no load

Engine idle full load (turn all lights on, fan on max, heated seats, heated rear window)

 

Please report back with voltages

 

Coming back to this a month later after returning from the Outer Hebrides with virtually no internet access!

 

I managed to get the issues sorted on the car, after a bit of digging. All of the codes thrown up pointed to a dying battery, which when tested, was showing end-of-life. Around the same time, the master window switch gave up, along with the rear footwell light. Both have since been replaced, and the car has run about 3,000 miles without issue. 

 

The battery was replaced, which turned out to be a massive pain as I only had two weeks until my trip, and needed a garage with ODIS. Skoda (who apparently changed to a locked gateway to make more money, cough cough) weren't able to help until November. I managed to get it done at my usual VAG indie, and after fiddling with the one touch windows, everything seemed good.

 

Any lasting damage? I don't think so, aside from a chunk in the door card as a result of removing the mirror switches!

 

And yes, I now double check that all of my windows are fully closed.........