That battery thing again...

[RC944]

so a few weeks back i had a nice message on the obd reading something along the lines of 'battery flat will charge when the engine is on...'

typical flat battery symptoms at this point including leaving home lights not coming on when unlocking etc

plugged in the vcds and yes i have a bunch of address 61 battery reg codes Quiescent Current Stage 1-6 (this fault code keeps popping up despite numerous clear downs)

so, i then start trying to figure out whats going on ie dying battery vs drain

all electrics are customarily switched off before the vehicle is locked

the battery is a varta that i am told is no more than 3 years old. its the correct spec for the model - s5 010

https://www.tayna.co.uk/S5-010-Bosch-Car-Battery-Type-110-S5010-P9706.html

the battery is reporting about 11.7v across the poles after its been out for a spin... the alternator is working fine

ive had it on an overnight trickle and it still was not showing anything close to 12 after about 12 hours of charge

ive use put a sealey battery tester to test under load and its about 11.7 under load and 12.2 across the poles no load (why its so different to the multimeter i know)

i will today use my newly delivered hydrometer to check the cells and hopefully establish whether the battery is borked or there is a persistent drain

i have not plugged in vcds to run diags on the battery control module. i can see that there is a TSB for a software upgrade (i have MMI high) and throught hte vcds

so in terms of next steps

- check cell gravity with new hydrometer
- if above is borked get new battery
- if above fine then seek out drain

should i in any event seek to install the software update so the radio does go into sleep mode properly?

thanks in advance

 

[RC944]

ok so ive just seen the you tube on how to check for drain using the multimeter...

 

[desertstorm]

If you have had the battery charging for 12 hours and it still reads under 12v then the battery has an issue. The load tests seem to point to a battery with low capacity. The battery you linked to above is a Bosch item. Varta make Bosch batteries and the F18 Varta is an identical battery to the Bosch, just cheaper.
https://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-110-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-F18-585-200-080-P7709.html

Looking at your signature is this for the S6 ??
If so that battery looks a bit small to me, are you sure it's the correct one for the car?
The Varta battery selector recommends this battery which is a 100Ah item.
http://www.varta-automotive.com/en-gb/products/automotive/silver-dynamic/600-402-083

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-019-Varta-Silver-Dynamic-Car-Battery-P3127.html

Alternatively if the car was originally specced with an AGM battery this would be the correct item.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/G14-Varta-Start-Stop-Plus-AGM-Car-Battery-595901085-P8424.html

Check the ambient current when the car is locked, but make sure all the doors, bonnet, boot etc are locked and closed as on some cars it seems the modules don't always go into sleep mode fully if the car isn't fully locked.

 

[Retroman]

Sounds like a dying battery. There is a very big difference when a car battery drops even a small amount of voltage - a reading of 12V shows approx. battery 75% discharged. If it dips below 12V, you're lucky to be able to start the car at all. Early failure can be caused by cars sat on a garage forecourt, in the past, where the battery is allowed to go completely flat - they don't seem to like that.

 

[RAF_S7]

Have you checked the voltage across the battery while the engine is running? Should be over 14v - usually sits around 14.5ish or thereabouts.

If the alternator voltage is low, then you have an issue with the alternator.

If you trickle charge it with it disconnected from the car, whats the voltage next day or after a few hours?

 

[RC944]

so quick update

firstly, apologies for linking the incorrect battery. i have a 110ah / 920a varta

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Varta-Car-Batteries-S218-1.html?ordering=&A-15=Varta Silver&A-22=110

the cell electrolyte level cannot be checked so i didnt get to use my new hydrometer

i did however do a parasitic train test and found a drain of in excess of 5 amps!! ive located that its the 5amp fuse for the mmi (located in the black panel in the boot fuse compartment) and so it looks like i may need to do the software upgrade anyway

now the battery is still showing around 11.7 after a spin and i know the alternator is working fine so my theory is that after the best part of 3 years of having a drain that that the battery capacity has also degenerated. its now on overnight trickle and whilst it may show some improvement tomorrow morning i expect it will soon revert to type ie steady at around 11.7

so my plan is to fix the drain and then to get a new battery.... sound sensible?

will the software upgrade solve the drain issue we reckon?

 

[B5NUT]

Most time the software update does not fix the fault either the AMP or radio is at fault and will most likely need replacing, but try the update first as it's the cheapest fix!.

Don't change the battery just yet. A "Quick spin" will not touch a 110ah battery, you need to get it on a battery charger for around 24/48 hours, using the terminals under the bonnet.

 

[RC944]

ive just checked old vcds log files and this time last year there were no battery regulator fault codes. additionally, i would like to check whether the reported s/w is the most recent version? can anyone comment

Address 61: Battery Regul. Labels: 4F0-910-181.lbl

Part No SW: 4F0 910 181 E HW: 4F0 915 181 A

Component: J0644 BEM H12 0590

Revision: 00000000 Serial number: 00000000018325

Shop #: WSC 00022 210 90990

VCID: 234258C1E2E2BA264C-8076



Subsystem 1 - Part No: 4F0 915 105 D

Component: von VA0 2702031181

Coding: 344630393135313035442056413032373032303331313831

Shop #: WSC 00000 384 00290



No fault code found.

the battery has been on charge on the terminals under the bonnet since 6pm and will stay that way until about 8am tomorrow until the wagon is called into barge duties!

 

[RC944]

So i bought a fuse tester which plugs straight into the fuse socket thereby eliminating the need to wire up multimeter to te battery. Ive now located the problem circuits

One is the battery power management circuit that seems to draw .1 amps and the right elec windows which draw .06 amps

Im a little confused because the combined draw is not excessive yet my battery was showing about 11.67 volts after having been driven about 30 mins earlier today

I was hoping to locate a more obvious source of drain and originally thought it was the mmi but seems not the case

Do i just go and install a new battery?

 

[RC944]

When trying to upgrade from 5150 to 5570 i got this

 

[B5NUT]

Are we missing a picture?

 

[desertstorm]

How much voltage is the alternator putting out ??.
The I1 110aH battery is the same as I have on my 3.0 TDI. If there has been a large residual current draining the battery over a period of time this will seriously shorten the life of the battery.Several people on here have had issues with cameras that run after the ignition is turned off and this has resulted in premature battery failures. When the charge level is lower the battery plates tend to sulphate which increases the internal resistance of the battery and lowers capacity and terminal voltage.
You need to locate the parasitic load and eliminate it and I still suspect the battery will need replacing ideally.

 

[RC944]

Sorry yes pic missing wil upload later

The sources of drain are as stated in my earlier post. I had the battery on trickle overnight and when I took it off it was showing over 12.2 on the multimeter but it was not yet fully charged