Hi Guys

Just bought 4 weeks ago my 18 mth old 2.0 TDI 200 Sportline MK1 and it's not charging the battery

The battery is therefore needing charging up almost weekly

I guess the Skoda Approved MPC Multi Point Checks do not test for output

Anyway the dealer is trying to fob me off saying I'm not driving it enough

Any experience of this problem - an alternator should not be failing in 18mth surely

Feedback would be appreciated before I get the lawyers on them to do something meaningful

Modern cars with alternators are not like cars with dynamos used to be. It could be a failing alternator, a failing battery or some kind of parasitic drain. I have a voltage meter, the kind you put in your 12v socket. These are readily and cheaply available from Amazon. Plug one in and you should see the cahnge in voltage as the engine revs. It should read ~12v when idling, then increase to ~14 v when charging. If you do this you have evidence to show the dealer. Or simply go to another dealer. If the car is only 18 months old it should be a free fix under warranty.

Welcome to the forum.

Your new (to you) vehicle is a micro-hybrid and battery charge state can suffer from persistent short trips as there is a considerable reliance on regenerative charging for the battery (under overrun or braking conditions)

Although only 18 months old, it is possible that through being allowed to discharge excessively in past ownership, the battery is faulty.

Recommend acquisition of an accurate, high-count DMM for your toolbox (these don't cost much) and arm yourself with some data for possible warranty challenge with the dealer.

• Check battery voltage with engine off and all control modules in sleep mode.

• Check what voltage the alternator is outputting to the battery terminals at idle speed.

• Check what battery voltage drops to when engine is cranked-over.

Thanks W193 - I called in Halfords today and they measured battery voltage at 12V engine off, and said battery function was ok.

Then Alternator at tickover 13.3V and they said that's hardly enough to charge battery.

Wasn't aware my car charges on braking/overrun, I'm a very light on brake use so guess that won't help.

Can you give me a bit more detail about 'all control modules in sleep mode' (I think all was off when engine was off, except for the key fob which continually searches for the key I gather)

The various vehicle control modules draw current from the battery while they are active - there is a period after the vehicle is shut down where they continue to draw current, this period can run to at least 15 - 20 minutes and the battery will display a lower voltage while this current is being drawn-off.

I have seen references from other members that say disabling the hood (bonnet) lock is necessary - so that it can be opened when accessing the battery terminals - but I simply pop the hood to 1st release, then lock vehicle and leave it for 30 mins or more until I'm sure everything has shut down.

That 13.3 volt alternator output looks low - does it rise to around 14.5 volts at higher engine (say 1500rpm) speed?

Edited 10 March10 Mar by Warrior193
repetition

11 hours ago, GezW said:

Thanks W193 - I called in Halfords today and they measured battery voltage at 12V engine off, and said battery function was ok.

Then Alternator at tickover 13.3V and they said that's hardly enough to charge battery.

Wasn't aware my car charges on braking/overrun, I'm a very light on brake use so guess that won't help.

Can you give me a bit more detail about 'all control modules in sleep mode' (I think all was off when engine was off, except for the key fob which continually searches for the key I gather)

If you have a AGM battery, then the normal voltage sould be 12,8 V. And max charging voltage 14,7 V. But the car also has Battery Mangement Sysyem, whivch manages the whole process, so the charging voltage can be anything, depending on lots of things.