Hi all,

My horn and ACC are temperamental, which seems to point towards the battery. Annoyingly, my MOT is next Wednesday, and it needs a working horn for this.. The car also appears to have a mind of its own, with auto wipers coming on when the stalk is in the off position. I've just tested the battery with the following results:

12.65v when just switched off

10.46v when cranking to start

13.07v when running

Do you think this indicates a new battery is required? My local indy wants £318 coded for a 'genuine Skoda' battery.

Any recommendations on which battery is good for the 2.0TDI engine 2020 (69 plate)

where to buy batteries.

Looks like I can code it in on obdeleven pretty easily.

Thanks for any advice, and apologies for another battery post. I will delete it later if required

Could be battery related or a bad earth to body but i would suspect the clockspring which is a component in the steering column that allows for the electrical connection of various steering-wheel-mounted controls, including the wiper stalk, to the vehicle's electrical system, while the auto-wipers' control and activation are managed by a rain sensor and the wiper stalk's position. The clockspring serves as a crucial intermediary for all electrical connections from the steering wheel, ensuring components like the auto wiper control function proper

15 hours ago, Stonekeeper said:

Could be battery related or a bad earth to body but i would suspect the clockspring which is a component in the steering column that allows for the electrical connection of various steering-wheel-mounted controls, including the wiper stalk, to the vehicle's electrical system, while the auto-wipers' control and activation are managed by a rain sensor and the wiper stalk's position. The clockspring serves as a crucial intermediary for all electrical connections from the steering wheel, ensuring components like the auto wiper control function proper

I believe this was changed a year ago, as when I was due to collect the car, it failed the MOT a day before with no horn. They delayed the collection to change a part in the steering column.

Would it have gone again already? It's only covered 21k in total and 11k in the last 12 months.

I've booked for it to be re looked at under warranty but they want £35 for a loan vehicle as well as £174 diagnostic fee. These two costs would cover a new battery fitted by me with obdeleven coding..

I know it's hard to give advice over here as to what the actual issue is, but talking it through is helpful !

My thoughts are that the battery voltages look fine, SkodaKing. I wouldn't waste time / money on replacing that just yet, at least until you've excluded other options.

You don't say how old the battery is. Most will last for at least 4 years, while some appear immortal!

3 minutes ago, KenM said:

My thoughts are that the battery voltages look fine, SkodaKing. I wouldn't waste time / money on replacing that just yet, at least until you've excluded other options.

You don't say how old the battery is. Most will last for at least 4 years, while some appear immortal!

It's the original battery I believe, 2019, so 6 years old almost

I changed my Octavia battery on 9 years old!

12 minutes ago, SkodaKing said:

I believe this was changed a year ago, as when I was due to collect the car, it failed the MOT a day before with no horn. They delayed the collection to change a part in the steering column.

Would it have gone again already? It's only covered 21k in total and 11k in the last 12 months.

I've booked for it to be re looked at under warranty but they want £35 for a loan vehicle as well as £174 diagnostic fee. These two costs would cover a new battery fitted by me with obdeleven coding..

I know it's hard to give advice over here as to what the actual issue is, but talking it through is helpful !

How much did they charge for fixing it? a clockspring is normally three figures, they may have cleaned it to improve the contacts.

I agree with others who say your battery readings look fine.

7 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

How much did they charge for fixing it? a clockspring is normally three figures, they may have cleaned it to improve the contacts.

I agree with others who say your battery readings look fine.

They fixed it before I bought the car, so it's likely they did as little as possible to pass the MOT and sell it to me.

Good news about the battery levels. I have unplugged my phone charger from the 12v socket to try to reduce the daily and overnight trickle drain on the battery, as it's always live.

I had exactly the same problem about 2 years ago. The dealer changed a "switch" in the steering column ( could that be the clock spring?)

said it was loose. Since then no problem.

Hope this helps

22 hours ago, SkodaKing said:

13.07v when running

Indicates an alternator issue if I'm not mistaken.

I looked into this when choosing to purchase a smart charger.

A 13.07-volt reading with the engine running is low; your vehicle's alternator should be charging the battery to between 13.4 to 14.8 volts. A lower voltage suggests a potential issue with the alternator, the charging system, or a failing battery. You should have the charging system and battery professionally tested to identify the cause. 

Why the Voltage is Lo

Just had the battery changed on mine as it died overnight. Yuasa one was £180. Mine was only charging at 12.2 volts so needed an alternator too at £385 :( Now charging at 13.9 volts :) Old one was 4 yrs 10 months from registration and 113k miles.

On 02/10/2025 at 10:42, SkodaKing said:

I believe this was changed a year ago, as when I was due to collect the car, it failed the MOT a day before with no horn. They delayed the collection to change a part in the steering column.

Would it have gone again already? It's only covered 21k in total and 11k in the last 12 months.

Thinking about dialling out variables.

It does look like the previous steering column issue wasn’t solved and 12 months on is not reasonable. Did you get an invoice or is there an entry into the electronic service record to backup that the clock spring was replaced and not just fiddled with?

If the car is under warranty then all the investigation costs should be covered under warranty too but at 2020 it’s not the original.

On that basis I can’t emphasise enough to find a decent reputable VAG specialist in your error and go with them. They’ll charge less, more likely to want to rely on their reputation and won’t have their training move on to Mk4 only etc.

Turns out, before I purchased the car, it had a new 'horn switch unit', I was given part number 5Q1953521JGIGI.

It's booked in at Skoda on Friday, hopefully they'll get to the bottom of what is needed to fix as the wipers have now gone crazy with almost every drive doing wiping in the off position.

I'll keep this updated

On 02/10/2025 at 18:02, Tilt said:

Indicates an alternator issue if I'm not mistaken.

I looked into this when choosing to purchase a smart charger.

A 13.07-volt reading with the engine running is low; your vehicle's alternator should be charging the battery to between 13.4 to 14.8 volts. A lower voltage suggests a potential issue with the alternator, the charging system, or a failing battery. You should have the charging system and battery professionally tested to identify the cause. 

Why the Voltage is Lo

All modern vehicles have battery management systems which cycle the battery to keep it in good condition.

As long as the voltage is above 12.5v it can be fine depending on the state of charge at the time.

15 minutes ago, Gabbo said:

All modern vehicles have battery management systems which cycle the battery to keep it in good condition.

As long as the voltage is above 12.5v it can be fine depending on the state of charge at the time.

A battery can sit at a float level of 12,5 and still not have enough grunt to turn car over. Do a load test and you will know if its good or bad

I cancelled the garage visit as it seemed too expensive for them to diagnose the intermittent fault. What I did do, though, was unbolt the negative on the battery for 30 mins. It caused no end of fault codes, but they have all cleared now, and it hasn't happened since.

The wipers have done one or two ghost wipes when in the off position, but I can live with that for now.

I have this problem as well. It happened back in March during the MOT but suddenly came back to life. This was at the Skoda Dealership. Didn't think much of it until Sunday. Drove 90 miles to Birmingham, parked up for the day and then when heading back in the evening no horn and ACC was not working. The issue is linked for sure.

We decided to pull over at services and power cycle the car and everything came back.

Obviously here looking for answers and surprised I am not the only one.

Another site has a lot of Kodiaq owners saying its the battery and after replacing they had no issue. So thinking of getting it checked at KwikFit - free battery check and the local one is fairly decent.

I bought in 2020 so its in the windows where the battery potentially needs replacing.

Edited 2 December, 20252 Dec by dx4100

Actually on second thoughts going to order a battery tester to do it myself.

8 hours ago, dx4100 said:

I have this problem as well. It happened back in March during the MOT but suddenly came back to life. This was at the Skoda Dealership. Didn't think much of it until Sunday. Drove 90 miles to Birmingham, parked up for the day and then when heading back in the evening no horn and ACC was not working. The issue is linked for sure.

We decided to pull over at services and power cycle the car and everything came back.

Obviously here looking for answers and surprised I am not the only one.

Another site has a lot of Kodiaq owners saying its the battery and after replacing they had no issue. So thinking of getting it checked at KwikFit - free battery check and the local one is fairly decent.

I bought in 2020 so its in the windows where the battery potentially needs replacing.

Random question.. do you have and use a wireless android auto adaptor?

It sounds almost unbelievable but I think mine was caused by using an AAWireless adaptor to link my android phone to my car. The device wasn't working properly and I kept having to reset the infotainment system and unplug / re plug in to get it to work. Since I went back to wired Android auto the problem hasn't happened even once. If it was the adaptor or the constant drain on the battery I don't know but seems to be fixed.

Interested to know

usb ports of AA should be dead after locking car. only 12v cigarette lighter have permanent voltage.

i have AA adapter, this stuff avoid to buy cheapest. it didnt work for me properly too.

but for about 60€ decent AA adapter can be purchased..

https://www.ottocast.com/en-hr/products/a2air-pro?srsltid=AfmBOoqsm6GvpVlRmv4kOBU-Tgp1qT2uISSfukWTVuSafKhPBtJnVoGd

Edited 2 December, 20252 Dec by imart143

2 hours ago, SkodaKing said:

Random question.. do you have and use a wireless android auto adaptor?

It sounds almost unbelievable but I think mine was caused by using an AAWireless adaptor to link my android phone to my car. The device wasn't working properly and I kept having to reset the infotainment system and unplug / re plug in to get it to work. Since I went back to wired Android auto the problem hasn't happened even once. If it was the adaptor or the constant drain on the battery I don't know but seems to be fixed.

Interested to know

Yes I do and I was wondering if it was playing a part as its the only external thing plugged in but as @imart143 says the USB socket should be dead after you lock the car so hard to see it being that. Mine does work well and it operates fine. So I would be surprised if it was that.

9 minutes ago, dx4100 said:

Yes I do and I was wondering if it was playing a part as its the only external thing plugged in but as @imart143 says the USB socket should be dead after you lock the car so hard to see it being that. Mine does work well and it operates fine. So I would be surprised if it was that.

9 minutes ago, dx4100 said:

Yes I do and I was wondering if it was playing a part as its the only external thing plugged in but as @imart143 says the USB socket should be dead after you lock the car so hard to see it being that. Mine does work well and it operates fine. So I would be surprised if it was that.

My horn and ACC are also fine, when the car is turned off....

Plug the phone in (change settings to have the screen on for longer) and see if it’s still charging when you get out and lock the car etc

Horn should work when car is unlocked. Power is delivered on unlocking.

When I lock my car the anrdoid auto device does power off. When I ulock it powers up. Thats how the USB socket is suupose to work.

Edited 2 December, 20252 Dec by dx4100

I don't understand this direction of conversation. My ACC and horn didn't work when the AAWireless device was plugged in (and the car is running) it no longer has this issue since I removed it. What's all the chat about the car being off got to do with it? I'm sure it does lose power but that's not when I'm trying to drive on a motorway with ACC and use the horn.

You said this without much context -> "My horn and ACC are also fine, when the car is turned off...."

This is what caused the direction of travel.

I see what you are saying about the AAWireless resolved it for you and we are just trying to understand how that might be an issue and nothing seems obvious.  Maybe its creating a temproary short and when you powercycle the car it resolves.

There is strong theory its the battery though.  I get my battery tester on Thursday and will see what the health of it is.  

I could remove the the AAWireless but its too useful

Did you swap out the battery at any point ?

Edited 2 December, 20252 Dec by dx4100