Hi,

Car has just come back from the dealership after having a few issues looked at, including the stop/start function only working about 10% of the time.

The message I always see is "Power consumption too high".

I have nothing plugged in, temperature set to 16 degrees etc etc (so nothing that should cause high power drain).

They have said there is nothing wrong with the battery and to keep an eye on it, so it feels like a bit of a fob off really.

Onto my question (after that back story) - I'm thinking of putting an external battery charger on the battery to see if I can charge it separately to normal "running charge".

If I was to disconnect the battery for a night, would it cause me to lose anything I can't set up again myself?

I'm still convinced the battery is the problem which is why I want to do my own investigation before going back to them with some facts.

So any advice on what will happen with a disconnected battery or people's history with start/stop greatfully received.

Thanks in advance .

I claim no expertise in matters relating to electrickery, but it is not clear (to me) from what you have said what purpose it will serve to disconnect the battery. My first thought about your issue was that it might be a problem with the battery or with the alternator or its charging regime - and that, I assume, is what you are seeking to check. Disconnecting the battery does open up the possibility of various ancillaries losing their settings and needing to be re-set. There is nothing to stop you from just charging the battery without disconnecting it, if that is simply what you are seeking to test.

Very likely that there is a problem with either the battery or, possibly, the alternator charge rate - my money would be on failing battery.

Battery disconnection is highly improbable to improve the issue - but will not affect any settings, there will likely be several transient faults indicated when the battery is reconnected, which will all clear after a short drive and turning the steering from lock to lock.

Do you do a lot of short runs?

How old is the battery?

Sorry, just to explain a bit more here as I don't think I explained correctly.

I was going to attach an external battery charger to the battery to try to fully charge it to see if that makes the stop/start any more efficient.

So I guess I should have said "can this be done without disconnecting the battery" then (if I had to disconnect the battery) "what effect would this have on the car.

I am not sure of the age of the battery, as I bought the car 2nd hand (it's a 69-plate Kamiq).

I attached one of those cigarette lighter port battery checkers in this morning before starting the car (I know they are not that accurate but a starting point...)

The values returned were:-

1. Engine off = 11.9

2. Engine on after a few seconds = 14.3

Thanks!

The portable tester is giving the right sort of results. 11.9 is a little low but if it's the original battery it's not too bad.

The engine on reading is spot on. That does not mean the battery is taking charge.

You will lose nothing by putting the battery on trickle charge overnight.

2 hours ago, zer081 said:

I attached one of those cigarette lighter port battery checkers in this morning before starting the car (I know they are not that accurate but a starting point...)

The values returned were:-

1. Engine off = 11.9

2. Engine on after a few seconds = 14.3

Thanks!

Yes, plug in battery checker probably not that accurate, and once door opened car system will have woken up and started drawing some current making also making reading inaccurate as to true battery voltage. But a reading of 11.9 v low and around 40% of full charge.

As I have just done a post that has a similar answer see the link to that and see my post just after that in the thread, obviously you can ignore the bit about potential overheating. -

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/531053-15-fabia-14-tdi-thinks-its-overheating/#findComment-5928647

Edited 14 March, 20251 yr by nta16

Thanks for the information guys. Going to check with a volt meter later today as well.

If the battery does end up being around 11.9, do you think that's a valid reason for me to take it back to them and get them to replace it (as it's appearing to affect stop/start), as I'm less than 3 months into the 1 year warranty.

If testing with a multimeter, my preferred method, take into account small margins with the reading for -

• cheap digital multimeters accuracy

• when the battery was last charged by driving (alternator) (or battery charger maintainer) as this can give a higher reading

• the car's computer systems being active.

Take the test with the probes directly on the top of the battery terminals, best done as many hours as possibly after the car was last run (or battery charged) and allow a loss of perhaps 0.2v or 0.3v for car systems still running, obviously all other electrics should be off and where required disconnected.

You could try pushing the Dealership for a new battery (more on that below) but they may just say, and they may be correct in this, that your battery consumption is too high for the type and number of journeys you make and just recharge the battery for you possibly at a higher and quicker rate than is best for your battery.

2019 cars have a lot of electric conveniences and driver "aids" and "assists" and even if owners/users haven't added a load of electric plug-ins they could have used, abused and neglected the battery enough to need the VW recommended replacement at 5 years (4 years on newer models with even more "necessaries" on them.

There's no reason why the batteries couldn't last many, many more years than VW or battery retailers would prefer but it is dependant on the user. If a battery is kept too low for too long and/or too often then even if fully recharged at a low rate of amps over a long period of time the battery is already weakened and may not recover fully or as much as might be possible and the more this pattern is repeated the quick the battery's reasonable useful use is ended.

For the Dealership if they claim there's nothing wrong with the battery ask them why they didn't full charge it before returning the car to you given the car's faults and your concerns, if they say they did recharge the battery them ask them how, what did they use, what were the figures from testing the battery and recharging it push them to replace the battery with new as it's not just the cost of a new battery the 'coding' has to be correct and there is a charge most places to 'code' the new battery in.

If the battery has been replaced it is not unknown for it to be 'coded' incorrectly which might cause charging issues, did the Dealership check for this if the battery wasn't the factory fitted one?

Please note I am not an expert in anything including batteries.

Edited 14 March, 20251 yr by nta16
ETA:

Thanks for the detailed reply above, much appreciated and lots to digest.

Ive just booked myself onto a free battery check at Halfords for later today, so at least I can get an "official" external review, then I'll leave the multimeter test till tomorrow morning.

Good point you raised about why they did not charge it overnight as they had it for 2 days dut to looking at a couple of other issues (hindsight and all that eh!).

They initially said to me about having too much plugged in / using aircon (never turned it on - it's winter!) / using electric seat heaters (not an option on my car), so im already primed for them to not want to sort this.

I know most people will say they hate Stop/Start but for me it's the principle of I've paid for these features, they should work.

Most, but not all, of what nta16 says is good advice.

Your battery will certainly suffer in colder weather if you do lots of short journeys with a lot of stuff, like the AC, turned on. You can't stop the car doing what it likes with the power but even with a properly coded battery the car systems are live for many minutes after you turn off the ignition. In fact the car never goes fully to sleep, if it did the My Skoda app could not work.

Cars that are not used frequently benefit from being connected to a battery conditioner. This is specifically designed to keep the battery in the optimum state it does this by cycling between charging and discharging (a little bit).

The car will certainly not always use the stop start system, mine does not and it's a lot newer than yours.

The key checks:

Is the battery properly coded to the car?

Is the battery the correct size for the car? By size I'm talking about the capacity to hold charge.

Is the battery holding a full charge when the vehicle is switched off at the ignition, if so for how long?

Edited 14 March, 20251 yr by Aldfort

3 minutes ago, zer081 said:

I know most people will say they hate Stop/Start but for me it's the principle of I've paid for these features, they should work.

Too true. Plus although I'm not a fan of Stop/Start and VW's us for excuse of it originally I do think it has a place and good use for many, if you're sitting a reasonable time in a queue with the engine running often you could be wasting fuel and putting even more emissions into the air.

I meant to put as you've not had the car long and you're not the original owner of the car you might have taken on the battery use, abuse or neglect of the previous owner(s) and not contributed so or too much yourself, another thing to point out to the Dealership. Presumably they check (or pretend or say they do) check the state of charge and health of the battery when they get the car in to sell and/or before selling or handing over to their customer, if so they will have a record of that (or made up). Presumably you paid extra for the car as it was Dealership checked, always point that out.

If you feel they are brushing you off with this then they very well might be, if you can don't let them get away with this, you've already had to return the car to them for issues, these may be understandable as the car is used but it may just have been laziness or worse on the part of the Dealership (from my many bad experiences with the English motor trade). These Dealerships are mainly owned by a few companies and people regardless of the name of company on the signs and websites so hold too much retail power, plus they own even the website companies and car auctions.

23 minutes ago, Aldfort said:

Most, but not all, of what nta16 says is good advice.

Your battery will certainly suffer in colder weather if you do lots of short journeys with a lot of stuff, like the AC, turned on. You can't stop the car doing what it likes with the power but even with a properly coded battery the car systems are live for many minutes after you turn off the ignition. In fact the car never goes fully to sleep, if it did the My Skoda app could not work.

Cars that are not used frequently benefit from being connected to a battery conditioner. This is specifically designed to keep the battery in the optimum state it does this by cycling between charging and discharging (a little bit).

The car will certainly not always use the stop start system, mine does not and it's a lot newer than yours.

The key checks:

Is the battery properly coded to the car?

Is the battery the correct size for the car? By size I'm talking about the capacity to hold charge.

Is the battery holding a full charge when the vehicle is switched off at the ignition, if so for how long?

Is there any way to know if the battery is coded correctly to the car or is it a dealer only thing?

Also, how would I know if it's the correct size (and also of it's the original one too I guess).

I know the internet is there, but there is so much misinformation there it's hard to know what is correct and what isn't.

Thanks again too everyone who has helped here so far!

18 minutes ago, Aldfort said:

Most, but not all, of what nta16 says is good advice.

Hi, I'm not after an argument, but don't mind disagreements, and I certainly make lots of mistakes frequently so if I've made a mistake in this thread I can put it right if I know what it is. I do always put (unless I've forgot) for start/stop to be active 'when it should'.

If you think I don't give good advice about another subject that may be fair enough, I don't deliberately give bad advice but often have typos and miss mistakes but will correct them if I later see them or they are pointed out if I can.

2 minutes ago, zer081 said:

Is there any way to know if the battery is coded correctly to the car or is it a dealer only thing?

With an appropriate scan tool.

3 minutes ago, zer081 said:

Also, how would I know if it's the correct size (and also of it's the original one too I guess).

I know the internet is there, but there is so much misinformation there it's hard to know what is correct and what isn't.

Any information you get from any source including manufacturers and their websites and databases does need to be checked and cross referenced. You could look at some good battery and parts suppliers sites giving specific information to your make, model and year of car and compare the information (note some use the same origins of information that may be good or not) or ask other owners of the same model and year on here that still have the factory original battery, note VW don't splash out on their 12v car batteries so treat them as an adequate minimum standard, you could get better than VW bothered to.

For this subject and others It's good to have other posters give their advice, information, opinions, views and beliefs for you to choose and use as you see fit.

If you can put up a good photo (landscape usually gives more info than portrait of your battery if it shows the label information that will help identify if your battery is about right for your model, I don't see here if it's petrol or diesel, manual or auto and I wouldn't know the trim and how much electric that that and other it has on it, and this information could affect the advice to the battery you might need for your requirements, then there's your use of those electric bits but for the Dealership it only needs to meet factory spec or reasonable for used car sale.

HTH.

2 minutes ago, nta16 said:

If you can put up a good photo (landscape usually gives more info than portrait of your battery if it shows the label information that will help identify if your battery is about right for your model, I don't see here if it's petrol or diesel, manual or auto and I wouldn't know the trim and how much electric that that and other it has on it, and this information could affect the advice to the battery you might need for your requirements, then there's your use of those electric bits but for the Dealership it only needs to meet factory spec or reasonable for used car sale.

HTH.

I'll take a photo later when the battery check takes place, but the other info...

It's a manual, petrol version and it's the SE-L trim model.

I've no idea what Halfords do or what tool use for their free battery checks, you need to check state of charge and state of health but these figures by themselves don't tell the full story and like an MoT (whether passed or not) relates only to that one point of time and conditions.

Halfords will offer this free service because they sell batteries, their battery are good, whether under their own label or not but generally are higher priced and they have a different system of battery numbering than other places and I'm not sure about their fitment database as they are more car/pushbike/other generalised. As with all companies some of the people there are very good (if allowed to be by their bosses or the company) but some aren't and/or aren't given enough (any?) training.

So if I've got it right, 2019 Kamiq petrol, manual, SE-L (so more standard electric bits fitted and/or activated by VW, then if you list the electric driver "aids" and "assists", standard fitting and extras that might have been added you'll get an idea of how long the list is of possibly electric use by the driver that the battery and alternator have to power. These two items are very related if one isn't in good condition then the other has to work harder so both wear more, though of course the wear on alternator is relative and doesn't mean it should play up until many years of use (decades with the better Japanese cars and alternators, or at least it used to be smaller batteries and smaller and more efficient alternators, the Germans like lots of weight to their vehicles).

ETA: Good luck, let us know how you get on with the free Halfords battery check and if you can post a photo of the battery with label info I and other may be able to advise you on that and a replacement if required - and if you can't get it out of the Dealership if appropriate, I'm not always against Dealerships as in a previous life I dealt with the general public for decades so I can see good and not so good or bad in both sides (and before anyone thinks different I don't think you're not so good or bad, not by anything you have posted in this thread and that's all I know of you).

Edited 14 March, 20251 yr by nta16
ETA:

6 hours ago, nta16 said:

Hi, I'm not after an argument, but don't mind disagreements, and I certainly make lots of mistakes frequently so if I've made a mistake in this thread I can put it right if I know what it is. I do always put (unless I've forgot) for start/stop to be active 'when it should'.

If you think I don't give good advice about another subject that may be fair enough, I don't deliberately give bad advice but often have typos and miss mistakes but will correct them if I later see them or they are pointed out if I can.

didn't say that, battery conditioning works just as well on a modern battery as it does on old school stuff. You do not need to rapid charge a battery to get it in the best condition.

7 hours ago, zer081 said:

Is there any way to know if the battery is coded correctly to the car or is it a dealer only thing?

Also, how would I know if it's the correct size (and also of it's the original one too I guess).

I know the internet is there, but there is so much misinformation there it's hard to know what is correct and what isn't.

Thanks again too everyone who has helped here so far!

You need a 60AH battery. Something up to 63AH should be fine. Go to a Web site like Euro car parts and put in your registration number. Halfords should be able to code in the new battery but your Skoda dealer is perhaps a safer option.

25 minutes ago, Aldfort said:

didn't say that, battery conditioning works just as well on a modern battery as it does on old school stuff. You do not need to rapid charge a battery to get it in the best condition.

Thanks for replying.

Sorry I think we're just misunderstanding each other. I don't and never suggest rapid charging of old or new car batteries, quite the opposite I suggest for generally, and prefer myself, as low and slow recharge (to full) as reasonably possible (which for me is as long as it takes even if 48+ hours, off car even), my personal troll used to hammer me on this but stopped so I guess he has learnt finally why this can be best method.

I also put about referring to the car's 'Owner's Manual' where in the book for my wife's car at least it has for "“Fast charging” with high currents" to disconnect the battery. I'd still suggest and use a low rate charger on a disconnected battery. Rapid charging means very high current to me and often kills a poorly battery so I'd never suggest or use that even on a good battery.

I too would say I wasn't giving good advice suggesting rapid or even fast charging with battery disconnected on a battery that appears to have drained over a period of time and use rather than one very high quick drain even then I'd still go low and slow.

Sorry if I caused confusion and there still could be mistakes and typos in my posts anyway.

Cheers.

1 hour ago, nta16 said:

I suggest for generally, and prefer myself, as low and slow recharge (to full) as reasonably possible (which for me is as long as it takes even if 48+ hours, off car even), my personal troll used to hammer me on this but stopped so I guess he has learnt finally why this can be best method

No he simply accepted that your delusions are beyond rationality.

99.9% of the charge cycles on 99.9% of the vehicle batteries on the planet are at full alternator charging current.

Well, Halfords have said there is no problem with the battery and it's currently is as it should be according to their voltage meter.

I'm going to check it again in the morning though after an evening of not being used and see how it goes.

Interestingly though, I did a factory reset today and since then, the stop start has worked each and every time I've stopped, which it has never done before.

Maybe when it was in the dealers they did some sort of software reset / code update and now after a factory reset on the infotainment screen it's picked up something that has allowed the car to correct read everything.

I did forget to photograph the battery though today, so I'll ensure I do that tomorrow and post the image here.

Well done on sorting that, pity the Dealership didn't do something to sort it for you.

Whatever it was it sounds sloppy for a Dealership to return the car to you still with a fault you reported to them, the battery being OK doesn't excuse them returning the car to you and the Start/Stop not activating when it should.

Apparently now the Dealerships have caught on to batteries in a low state of charge and perhaps where they can't get away with charging an arm and leg for fitting a new battery and 'coding' they offer at a cost (£40?) to recharge your existing battery or it might be they offer the service to help their customer, yeah, sure, it's the later.

You could take a reading tomorrow if you want but then leave it to mid-week or next weekend to take a reading when the car has been parked up at least overnight and see what a normal week's use gives you, hopefully the battery might be even better by then.

Unfortunately it happens too often that an ordinary customer without training can do a better job than the paid professionals, mainly because they're allowed to and/or care more. If you ask independent marque specialist that used to work at Dealerships why they left those will be among the reasons or even main reasons sometimes.

Good news though, well done.

Just buy a battery tester, something like in the link below.

I bought the exact one, it tells me if the battery just needs a charge or it's gone bad. Also tells me the charge rate, full instructions to use with it of course.

I bought it when I had an MX-5 laid up over winter in the garage, battery on that had gone, wouldn't hold a charge but started the car. That little gizmo told me all I needed to know.

Wish I had it when I had my SEAT, the battery went bad but again it started the car ok. But the dash lights used to light up telling me all sorts of stuff was faulty, like traction control, throttle position sensor etc. I've got a decent local garage and they immediately pointed to the battery at fault. It was tested and confirmed on its way out. That was a stop/start car/battery so a new one fitted, codes cleared and no more problems.

It's also worth investigating in a battery trickle charger, I just use one from Lidl, cheap enough (got an older one from Aldi too) both do the job if you think your battery needs a boost say in winter.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372436652444?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=vrAwd99DT4i&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=PjrX0wOKTfG&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

With the information you learnt unless you have a lot of cars or it's part of your job you don't really need that battery tester but if you or anyone wants one that's fine. Even if you have lots of cars you've learnt enough to know to use a trickle charger maintainer to prevent depletion or when to charge or replace the battery.

At the cost of the tester you could buy a Lidl/Aldi "smart" charger maintainer.

Don't forget the battery doesn't like the very hot times in summer as well as the cold times in winter (and potentially rest of the year in UK. 🙂)

Batteries are too often written off based on the numbers given by battery testers when they might be able to be recovered enough to give more reliable good use, bit like an item that fails the annual MoT you do the repair then it passes, of course not always will the battery be recoverable but many times they might be.

A lot of people don't realise that the exterior lights can seem bright enough and the battery state of charge still be too low for the car's computers liking so they can throw up all sorts of unexpected light(s) and perhaps warning(s) and unseen error code(s). By the time the battery can't start the engine the battery is very low, the engine with still start well after the computers start complaining. For the engine to be difficult to start when a battery has been drained over a longer period of time means the battery has now been well hammered with use, abuse and neglect, best not to get to that point. Charging with appropriate use of vehicle or using a charger maintainer in the way detailed before will delay the need for battery replacement and help stop the computers getting very upset, using occasion when required or convenient preventative charging will help delay even further perhaps by many years.

For info only, if you want to you you can save space in your post and virtual ink with eBay links by just having the item number by deleting the rest of the link after the end of the item (itm) number, though yours isn't too long some are many lines long, e.g. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/372436652444

Edited 15 March, 20251 yr by nta16

Thanks again for all the new info, people here are great, especially to new people who probably ask age old question!

I did check it again this.morning and it's still showing 11.9 with the 'plugin' volt reader and slightly higher with a volt meter directly on the battery.

I've loaned a battery charger off my dad and I'll pop that on overnight tonight to see how theyit as it did indicate it needed a charge.

I didn't see much identifying info on the battery to be honest, but took a couple of photos anyway of what I saw, maybe they are what you needed, apologies

(Also, stop start did seem to work again today more regularly after the day got warmer, so who knows what's going on!)