I do very few miles, 5 or 6 miles, 2 or 3 times a week. Because of this, I have a Smart Charger connected to the car whenever it is parked in my drive. Yesterday, I went into the local town, then onto the supermarket, and when I came out with my shopping, the car didn't start as crisply as it might have. Later in the evening, I tried to start the car and the battery was apparently flat. The charger has a Restore function, so I selected that and after about 90 minutes the car started readily. I left it on the restore function overnight and this morning it was showing 90%+ charge, so I resumed my normal charge cycle.

This afternoon, I checked the battery voltages (disconnected from the charger), getting 12.6v with the engine off and 14.5v at tick over. I don't need the car tomorrow so I have left my charger disconnected and I will see what the battery condition is first thing tomorrow morning.

Last night, when the starting problem reared its ugly head I inspected the connections and all appeared good with no heat to the touch. The battery could well be the original as there was no receipt for a replacement in the paperwork I got with the car, so it probably needs replacing.

I have a Swing radio, which as far as I am aware is the original, so I am assuming I won't need a code when I replace the battery. I hope not, as I don't have a code in the radio manual.

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions.

15 years is a good innings for a battery. It will probably have visible VW group part number on the top surface if it is factory original. Maybe a date code too.

 

With a bit of luck, you'll find you don't need to mess about putting the new one on charge so regularly, unless there's a parasitic drain.

16 minutes ago, Breezy_Pete said:

15 years is a good innings for a battery. It will probably have visible VW group part number on the top surface if it is factory original. Maybe a date code too.

 

With a bit of luck, you'll find you don't need to mess about putting the new one on charge so regularly, unless there's a parasitic drain.

It sure is. I was a Merchant Navy Radio Officer 60 years ago and our equipment was supplied from two banks of batteries, with one on charge at any one time. Although meticulously maintained they didn't last anything like that long.

The charger is connected to a socket on the outside of the vehicle so there is no problem connecting it up every time I come home. As for parasitic drain, just what the car needs locked and alarmed.

1 hour ago, Jocko said:

I do very few miles, 5 or 6 miles, 2 or 3 times a week. Because of this, I have a Smart Charger connected to the car whenever it is parked in my drive. Yesterday, I went into the local town, then onto the supermarket, and when I came out with my shopping, the car didn't start as crisply as it might have. Later in the evening, I tried to start the car and the battery was apparently flat. The charger has a Restore function, so I selected that and after about 90 minutes the car started readily. I left it on the restore function overnight and this morning it was showing 90%+ charge, so I resumed my normal charge cycle.

This afternoon, I checked the battery voltages (disconnected from the charger), getting 12.6v with the engine off and 14.5v at tick over. I don't need the car tomorrow so I have left my charger disconnected and I will see what the battery condition is first thing tomorrow morning.

Last night, when the starting problem reared its ugly head I inspected the connections and all appeared good with no heat to the touch. The battery could well be the original as there was no receipt for a replacement in the paperwork I got with the car, so it probably needs replacing.

I have a Swing radio, which as far as I am aware is the original, so I am assuming I won't need a code when I replace the battery. I hope not, as I don't have a code in the radio manual.

I welcome any thoughts or suggestions.

Just replaced the battery in my Fabia as the previous one was knackered due to the low mileage the car does - went for a Bosch S5 005 - obviously, depends on the spec of your existing battery.

That's very good, most batteries these days only last around 5-7  years and funny you posted this a friend who bought a Nissan Juke brand new in 2020 has just had to replace his, my MK3 Fabia battery was not dead nor anyway near it but a few times it gave me a suspect nod that I could be in trouble, new battery from Skoda £164 stop start type, Halfods quoted me £174 for a 

Just now, Murdockman said:

That's very good, most batteries these days only last around 5-7  years and funny you posted this a friend who bought a Nissan Juke brand new in 2020 has just had to replace his, my MK3 Fabia battery was not dead nor anyway near it but a few times it gave me a suspect nod that I could be in trouble, new battery from Skoda £164 stop start type, Halfods quoted me £174 for a Yuasa 7000,  5 year warranty battery but I found a firm called Battery charger UK  who supplied the same battery delivered with the 5 year warranty for a great price of £84,76 they also had Duracell Exide and other makes, it was delivered in a sealed bag in a strong box no issues at all well worth looking around unless you are stuck for a battery   that's why I always replace mine before the old battery dies completely,  some say foolish but when you can save around £100 it's worth it

 

After fully charging the battery, I left it overnight, and it was flat in the morning. I got a new battery from Kwik Fit, with a five-year guarantee, which will see the car out and, more than likely, me with it.