2021 Ocean - starter battery not holding charge (hadn't used for few months)

[williamd]

Apologies as this is undoubtedly something that will have been discussed, but I couldn't find the answers I needed.

Hadn't driven or started our van in a couple of months. Tried to start, battery totally dead. Can get it going with a booster but not holding charge after 30 mile run (dead when trying to restart). VW Assistance guy's opinion is battery needs replaced, and not covered by warranty due to low usage. I'm not sure on that as we did have an issue before with the van not starting and it was nothing to do with usage (just wouldn't start after sitting with radio on for an hour - VW breakdown got it going at the time).

The leisure batteries are also unsurprisingly "dead" but I don't know if they will come back to life if main battery is replaced. Or if I will need to replace them too.

So questions :

1/ Should warranty cover new battery?
2/ If I need a new battery do I need to get VW to replace if warranty not covering? (van under warranty till end March 24)
3/ Chances leisure batteries will need replaced (I'm guessing high)?
4/ Rough estimate for a leisure battery incl fitting?
5/ What are lithium leisure battery options I've saw people talking about? Advantages/disadvantages?

Again, apologies if all been discussed before.

 

[dspuk]

So questions :

1/ Should warranty cover new battery?
2/ If I need a new battery do I need to get VW to replace if warranty not covering? (van under warranty till end March 24)
3/ Chances leisure batteries will need replaced (I'm guessing high)?
4/ Rough estimate for a leisure battery incl fitting?
5/ What are lithium leisure battery options I've saw people talking about? Advantages/disadvantages?

Again, apologies if all been discussed before.

Warranty covers batteries tyres etc IF they are defective. Wear and tear items though tend to be a grey area, or raised as such. You have to prove they were defective and you did not cause the defect, especially for batteries.

The question will be around why your battery won't hold a charge. There are many reasons this happens but running them low repeatedly, or leaving them dead for a long time, will cause the cells to malfunction. Could there have been a draw at all that caused this? Dashcam for instance?

The manual states that if you are not using for a month you should put on EHU, which may be something they highlight.

Same on leisures - there is no connection between the two (ignoring the relay under the seat) - so could you have left a light on?

Should take no more than an hour to replace all three if doing yourself.

No experience of lithium.

 

[williamd]

Warranty covers batteries tyres etc IF they are defective. Wear and tear items though tend to be a grey area, or raised as such. You have to prove they were defective and you did not cause the defect, especially for batteries.

The question will be around why your battery won't hold a charge. There are many reasons this happens but running them low repeatedly, or leaving them dead for a long time, will cause the cells to malfunction. Could there have been a draw at all that caused this? Dashcam for instance?

The manual states that if you are not using for a month you should put on EHU, which may be something they highlight.

Same on leisures - there is no connection between the two (ignoring the relay under the seat) - so could you have left a light on?

Should take no more than an hour to replace all three if doing yourself.

No experience of lithium.

Thanks for replying.

Yeah I'm aware the warranty is likely to be a bone of contention. I would prefer VW to sort it, but realise it could be a problem.

As per above I had an issue with the battery a previous time and had to call breakdown/recovery. (Had driven about 2 hours, went out to take some photos, wife was in van with radio on). Got jump started and was OK since, up till recent issue.

Don't think I left any lights on, don't have a dashcam or anything else that should run it down.

Unlikely I can replace myself, but can take to a third party mechanic if I knew warranty wouldn't cover and would not be affected by using a third party.

 

[dspuk]

Unlikely I can replace myself, but can take to a third party mechanic if I knew warranty wouldn't cover and would not be affected by using a third party.

Hard to respond TBH. Don't know how old the van is or how long it has been left for periods without charging.

These vans (and modern cars generally with their parasitic draws) are not designed to sit for months on end without being charged and respond appropriately. Hence why VW asks you to charge monthly if stored.

Given this statement "Hadn't driven or started our van in a couple of months" I'd have to say not surprised your batteries are drained. If you have done that repeated times the batteries will fail eventually.

All things being equal and if the above did not cause the issue, the batteries should be warranted,

A garage should replace all three for you for about 600 quid if you have to pay yourself.

Ultimately, until you speak to the VW garage, you'll never know.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Your leisure batteries will probably be ok once they been charged. Suggest you charge them off 240v an intelligent charger before you take to the dealer.

Hopefully just a case of replacing the engine battery. DIY for just over £150. Think it’s a Varta F21….but someone with same year van will be able to confirm.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks for replying.

Yeah I'm aware the warranty is likely to be a bone of contention. I would prefer VW to sort it, but realise it could be a problem.

As per above I had an issue with the battery a previous time and had to call breakdown/recovery. (Had driven about 2 hours, went out to take some photos, wife was in van with radio on). Got jump started and was OK since, up till recent issue.

Don't think I left any lights on, don't have a dashcam or anything else that should run it down.

Unlikely I can replace myself, but can take to a third party mechanic if I knew warranty wouldn't cover and would not be affected by using a third party.

No doubt your wife kept pressing the button on the radio to switch it back on when it switched off after 20 minutes. It switches off after 20 minutes to protect the engine battery. Modern Infotainment systems are very power hungry compared to old fashioned radios from yesteryear and can soon flatten the engine battery.

 

[The Saint Essex]

Our 2.5yr old Cali's battery had to be replaced as it wasn't holding any charge (I didn't have start, but rather stop in that the engine wouldn't restart at the traffic lights!), was no issue took it to the garage replaced under warranty. My leisure batteries were fine as I leave it plugged in most of the time.

Speaking to the AA the strain of start engines is causing more batteries to fail quicker (have to replace the batteries in my Hyundai after 3 years as well for same reason)

 

[williamd]

No doubt your wife kept pressing the button on the radio to switch it back on when it switched off after 20 minutes. It switches off after 20 minutes to protect the engine battery. Modern Infotainment systems are very power hungry compared to old fashioned radios from yesteryear and can soon flatten the engine battery.

Surely running a radio for an hour should not result in a dead battery?

 

[andyinluton]

Surely running a radio for an hour should not result in a dead battery?

It's not the radio itself that flattens the battery, having the radio on keeps the whole Canbus system turned on & its that that flattens it. Having said that an hour should be OK. Three hours might be pushing it.

 

[dspuk]

Our 2.5yr old Cali's battery had to be replaced as it wasn't holding any charge (I didn't have start, but rather stop in that the engine wouldn't restart at the traffic lights!), was no issue took it to the garage replaced under warranty. My leisure batteries were fine as I leave it plugged in most of the time.

Speaking to the AA the strain of start engines is causing more batteries to fail quicker (have to replace the batteries in my Hyundai after 3 years as well for same reason)

The AA guy might be thinking of older lead acid batteries - the AGM's we have in modern cars are specifically designed for stop start (amongst other positives) and typically last for 360K stop starts. You would have to have a stop start 360 times a day to have to replace in three years,.

 

[dspuk]

It's not the radio itself that flattens the battery, having the radio on keeps the whole Canbus system turned on & its that that flattens it. Having said that an hour should be OK. Three hours might be pushing it.

Can confirm this - after accidentally leaving the keys in and on once for 4 hours the starter was "just" flat and needed 20 minutes on EHU to bring back to life.