Engine battery dead

[VW Guru]

Hi you will need to properly trickle charge your engine battery as the output from the alternator is to high to correctly recover a modern battery a quick boost and a drive is no longer sufficient with the tech we have today, you will suffer many more battery issues if that battery is not correctly trickle charged back to capacity. On the point of the drain it’s more than likely your dash cam feeds are wired incorrectly the most common mistake is that people assume the red wire is a permanent feed unfortunately it’s not the yellow wire is permanent the red wire is ignition feed and black is earth. If you can take a picture of your fuse box behind the bottle cooler in your lower dash and I will tell you if it’s correctly wired. The moll battery that WG has stated could be a cause however the faulty batch were only fitted until early 2018 after that varta battery’s were fitted

 

[BeeBee]

Hi you will need to properly trickle charge your engine battery as the output from the alternator is to high to correctly recover a modern battery a quick boost and a drive is no longer sufficient with the tech we have today, you will suffer many more battery issues if that battery is not correctly trickle charged back to capacity. On the point of the drain it’s more than likely your dash cam feeds are wired incorrectly the most common mistake is that people assume the red wire is a permanent feed unfortunately it’s not the yellow wire is permanent the red wire is ignition feed and black is earth. If you can take a picture of your fuse box behind the bottle cooler in your lower dash and I will tell you if it’s correctly wired. The moll battery that WG has stated could be a cause however the faulty batch were only fitted until early 2018 after that varta battery’s were fitted

Thanks, I've checked the battery and it's a Varta so no issues there. I know this may sound ignorant but where exactly is the fuse box you refer to ... do I need to remove panels at the wine cooler 'pull out' as it's not immediately obvious ?
I may have to just phone VW Glasgow and take it back in to be checked as if it needs a trickle charge as you recommend.
Much appreciated.

 

[Hotel California]

@BeeBee , take a look at this thread and the pictures i posted

Cigarette lighter doesn't work

Hi Chris, The dashboard design of the LHD and RHD T5 vans are different. We do not have the bottle holder on the UK versions, only the pull out cup holder/ash tray. The dashboard fuses on our vans are behind a cover on the surface of the lower dashboard and not hidden behind a bottle holder...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[BeeBee]

@BeeBee , take a look at this thread and the pictures i posted

Cigarette lighter doesn't work

Hi Chris, The dashboard design of the LHD and RHD T5 vans are different. We do not have the bottle holder on the UK versions, only the pull out cup holder/ash tray. The dashboard fuses on our vans are behind a cover on the surface of the lower dashboard and not hidden behind a bottle holder...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Thanks I’ll go have a look

 

[BeeBee]

@BeeBee , take a look at this thread and the pictures i posted

Cigarette lighter doesn't work

Hi Chris, The dashboard design of the LHD and RHD T5 vans are different. We do not have the bottle holder on the UK versions, only the pull out cup holder/ash tray. The dashboard fuses on our vans are behind a cover on the surface of the lower dashboard and not hidden behind a bottle holder...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Thanks looked at pix and see I need to access pull points.. am taking van back to VW as will need trickle charge anyway it seems and they can check yellow / red feeds as VWguru identified
Thanks

 

[BeeBee]

Hi you will need to properly trickle charge your engine battery as the output from the alternator is to high to correctly recover a modern battery a quick boost and a drive is no longer sufficient with the tech we have today, you will suffer many more battery issues if that battery is not correctly trickle charged back to capacity. On the point of the drain it’s more than likely your dash cam feeds are wired incorrectly the most common mistake is that people assume the red wire is a permanent feed unfortunately it’s not the yellow wire is permanent the red wire is ignition feed and black is earth. If you can take a picture of your fuse box behind the bottle cooler in your lower dash and I will tell you if it’s correctly wired. The moll battery that WG has stated could be a cause however the faulty batch were only fitted until early 2018 after that varta battery’s were fitted

Just back from VW Glasgow.. they checked the wiring of Dash cam and said it was wired correctly and they also checked the battery which registered 12.40 v and said that was AOK.... I asked about capacity and trickle charge and they said not needed .. just to monitor it ! So that’s where I’m at ... they said must have been something left ON ... no way as we even switch on/off entry lights to off !

 

[MattBW]

The alarm will take a drain but should be minimal. Do you have an aftermarket stereo in the van or a tracker etc?

 

[BeeBee]

The alarm will take a drain but should be minimal. Do you have an aftermarket stereo in the van or a tracker etc?

no, it’s all factory fit... it’s only the Dash cam that was additional and VW did that .. also now been ‘double checked’ as OK by VW.... strange !

 

[WelshGas]

Just back from VW Glasgow.. they checked the wiring of Dash cam and said it was wired correctly and they also checked the battery which registered 12.40 v and said that was AOK.... I asked about capacity and trickle charge and they said not needed .. just to monitor it ! So that’s where I’m at ... they said must have been something left ON ... no way as we even switch on/off entry lights to off !

Indicator Stalk not left On, in L or R position, as that leaves the Parking lights on on the side selected With no alarm or indication on the Dashboard.

 

[Lightning]

Glove box light?

 

[Lightning]

Glove box light?

Or sun visor lights?

 

[clarinetbcn]

I accidentally left driver's sun visor light on with visor down when putting in contacts before a hike. When I got back, it had turned itself off. I guess it's on a timer like the front courtesy lights.

 

[Teejay]

Left mine for about 11 days and the battery was dead. Had to open the drivers side with the key. AA/VW Assist reported battery needs replacing.

She's in VW now and they say she just needs a 12hr charge and they will retest. If it fails again it will be replaced under warranty.

2016, 204,DSG. Starter battery Varta 75Ah 800A AGM from new.

 

[Teejay]

Left mine for about 11 days and the battery was dead. Had to open the drivers side with the key. AA/VW Assist reported battery needs replacing.

She's in VW now and they say she just needs a 12hr charge and they will retest. If it fails again it will be replaced under warranty.

2016, 204,DSG. Starter battery Varta 75Ah 800A AGM from new.

Happened again today although VW replaced the battery around October November time. It's been able 10 days this time I could unlock but it wouldn't start. Something looks to me incorrect.

 

[WelshGas]

Happened again today although VW replaced the battery around October November time. It's been able 10 days this time I could unlock but it wouldn't start. Something looks to me incorrect.

Agree. I regularly leave mine for 4+ weeks when we go to Australia. Battery now 5 yrs old, alarm on, and it still started on first turn of the key despite the ambient temperature being 0c.
It doesn’t have an aftermarket radio/sound system?

 

[awayinmevan]

Looking for advice... 7 month old Cali Ocean, sat for 4 weeks in driveway only opened elect door couple of times went in on Saturday to find engine battery dead. Is it a coincidence that last time we drove was to VW to have a Kenwood DRV 410 dash cam fitted... they said that it was linked to the 'ignition' so that shouldn't have drained the battery ... or could it ?
We stuck on hook up for an hour and up it fired ... ( understand leisure battery can give engine battery a wee boost) went for a motorway run and all seems fine again ... any thoughts ?

Problem being that vw went from AGM batteries to EFB a much less quality battery

 

[Teejay]

Agree. I regularly leave mine for 4+ weeks when we go to Australia. Battery now 5 yrs old, alarm on, and it still started on first turn of the key despite the ambient temperature being 0c.
It doesn’t have an aftermarket radio/sound system?

Only thing not stock is dashcam, inline fused to ignition. Confirmed today that it powers off after key removal. I've disconnected all USB cables. May be VW replaced my battery with a duff one. Check with the garage if and when they are open.

 

[Teejay]

Only thing not stock is dashcam, inline fused to ignition. Confirmed today that it powers off after key removal. I've disconnected all USB cables. May be VW replaced my battery with a duff one. Check with the garage if and when they are open.

Its been a while but I thought I would just update and close off this battery issue I was having. Took it into the dealer and they did a eletrical test the only thing they found was the ODB thing I got from a VW car dealer was taking 10 times the current that is "allowed" cannot remember if it was 2 or 0.2 amps. Anyway, I binned the ODB device and have left her 11 days. Think the last time I left her 11 days I had to resort to the battery booster to start. This time started first time and after a short run the stop/start activated which is a good measure for me as to how the battery is fairing.#

 

[Feggers]

Alarm... VW data plug left in the ODB port? USB charger left in centre 12v socket in dash?

Hi do mean a usb charger plugged into the 12v dash socket without anything connected to it can drain the starter battery?

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Hi do mean a usb charger plugged into the 12v dash socket without anything connected to it can drain the starter battery?

Almost anything left plugged into the dash socket, which is connected to the vehicle battery, can slowly drain it. My neighbour has a T6 with a dashcam and phone charger etc plugged in and was asking me why his battery was draining. He now unplugs them.

 

[Feggers]

Almost anything left plugged into the dash socket, which is connected to the vehicle battery, can slowly drain it. My neighbour has a T6 with a dashcam and phone charger etc plugged in and was asking me why his battery was draining. He now unplugs them.

Thanks for your quick reply...I'm gonna check my stuff...have a good weekend

 

[Lambeth Cali]

Thanks for your quick reply...I'm gonna check my stuff...have a good weekend

It’s traditionally the socket we use for phones etc. This summer when we were camping at one site with 3 iPhones and 3 Kindles I was worried we would flatten the battery but we didn’t.
It seems more leaving things plugged in over a long time that drains it.

 

[clarinetbcn]

Hi do mean a usb charger plugged into the 12v dash socket without anything connected to it can drain the starter battery?

USB chargers use current when they’re plugged in even if there’s nothing charging. Only the ones with an off switch don’t.

 

[Hawthorn37]

Almost anything left plugged into the dash socket, which is connected to the vehicle battery, can slowly drain it. My neighbour has a T6 with a dashcam and phone charger etc plugged in and was asking me why his battery was draining. He now unplugs them.

With the change of the clocks, and weather not so great, our van is now sitting on the drive more than driving. We have a wired in dash cam and has a parking time lapse mode. Not a huge power consumption but enough to flatten the starter battery over time. We have the Cali plugged in, and a timer switches on the EHU for an hour during the night. It seems to be keeping the starter battery and leisure batteries healthy.