Battery Issues

[musttriharder]

At the beginning of Jan I was fiddling around in the van on the drive for a couple of days and then it wasn't used for a couple of days. When I came to start it, the battery was flat.

I charged it using a battery charger and then did a bit of research on here and found out lots about T6 batteries and a general battery drain if you don't use the van, so I bought a BM2 and also a Noco Genius 10. Put the BM2 on the van on the 27th and attached are the charts. The battery seems to charge OK (I first used the Noco on the 31st) and gets to 14.8 volts when charging / driving, but then seems to decay quickly. For example, on the 1st Feb I went out about 13:15, returned and unloaded the car and then went back out to the car a couple of times between 19:00 and 22:00 as unlocking / opening the door seems to generate noticeable dips. Van has LED interior lights (standard highline lights though)

The battery is a Varta, not a Moll, so I assume has either been replaced or that's what it came with. The van is a 2017, so out of manufacturer warranty, but I have 2 months of a 6 month extended VW warranty remaining (inc. VW Assist). Would VW Assist replace the battery in this case? I know that the extended warranty is basically useless (wouldn't cover gearbox oil leak nor water ingress).

I'm going to do a battery drain test tomorrow (when it's not raining) to see if there's a drain - I don't want to buy a battery for the same to happen straight away.

Anyone offer any advice please?

Thanks

 

[Insert Coin]

My factory battery (2017) was hovering around 12v too, even after a night on my Ctek charger the voltage would soon (24 hrs) drop back down again to around 12v.

So I took my bus to a local battery specialist. They tested for any drain, checked the alternator and said the battery just wasn’t holding a charge and I couldn’t be bothered faffing about at the main dealers so just got it from these people instead.

£120 inc vat, fitting and a no-quibble 3 year guarantee.

 

[musttriharder]

My factory battery (2017) was hovering around 12v too, even after a night on my Ctek charger the voltage would soon (24 hrs) drop back down again to around 12v.

So I took my bus to a local battery specialist. They tested for any drain, checked the alternator and said the battery just wasn’t holding a charge and I couldn’t be bothered faffing about at the main dealers so just got it from these people instead.

£120 inc vat, fitting and a no-quibble 3 year guarantee.

I have a new battery and issue resolved.

Long story short, van wouldn't start so called VW Assist. They diagnosed that the battery was OK, but needed charging and that I had a 4 amp drain on the battery. He diagnosed this after 5 mins - I asked him if he needed to wait longer for the van to 'go to sleep' - he said no and advised trip to VW to get van 'short circuit' checked out.

2 days and £300 later, van is sorted - no short circuit / drain but knackered battery (an 18 month old Varta fitted under recall for a Moll apparently)

Morale of the story is to trust your gut and not listen to an 'expert' VW Assist technician

 

[Insert Coin]

Yup, even my local battery specialist wasn't too clued up on smart alternators, it's like black magic to the old school mechanics.

£300 sounds a bit steep though?

 

[musttriharder]

Yup, even my local battery specialist wasn't too clued up on smart alternators, it's like black magic to the old school mechanics.

£300 sounds a bit steep though?

An hours wasted labour to search for a none existent short circuit and a battery. Got 20% off the battery but still pissed off with VW

 

[Pauly]

Surely the original battery is under warranty !
That kind of thing really annoys me, you pay for there mistakes/wasted time/lack of knowledge etc etc (delete as appropriate)

 

[musttriharder]

Surely the original battery is under warranty !
That kind of thing really annoys me, you pay for there mistakes/wasted time/lack of knowledge etc etc (delete as appropriate)

Van is a 2017, so the manufacturers warranty has expired. I bought it it 4 months ago and had a 6 month VW warranty with it, which appears to cover nothing. At its inspection service 2 months ago, the dealer I bought it from found a gearbox oil leak. Warranty wouldn’t cover that, nor the rusty door seals. Dealer covered those fortunately but wouldn’t sort the leaky side window nor leaky roof due to roof rails.
I had hoped that VW Assist might’ve known about smart alternators and how to test, but clearly not.
To say I’m pissed off atm would be an understatement!