Electrical drain.

A2ismine

New Member
Hi, this forum is my bible to all things fixable on my A2 1.6tdi.
Unfortunately I now come to a crossroad. My car won't start, fuses checked, starter checked, battery checked, alternator checked. Still she will not start on her own.
Prior to this problem, she has never ever let me down. If I can't get her to start, it'll be car heaven for her, this I do not want to do.
I am desperate, so any help will be greatly appreciated.
Here's keeping my fingers crossed for my A2 guardians for help??
 
Can we assume "she will not start on her own" means it will start if you have to jump start? if so what is battery like?, age?, Voltage check?, Terminals secure? Why do you suspect a battery drain?

Andy
 
It’s almost certain to be that the earth cable behind the left headlight is not making contact with the chassis. It’s very hard to get at and you will need a long wrench extension to reach it. Clean everything up, back to bare metal , and you should be ok. You could try connecting the starter earth direct to the battery negative first to verify that your problem is indeed an earth fault.
 
You can test it with jumper cables from the block to the engine mount


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Hello Andy, that is correct, jump-start fine and runs perfect. Battery at rest 11.85v after jump start and running 13.85v. Battery age 4. Terminals are clean and secure. After car has ran for an hour took her up the road, unfortunately stalled her, tried to start didn't have enough power to turn over.
Have now lost indicators and hazard lights, both fuses ok
 
Hello A2A2, cleaned that earth to bare metal and starter connections to bare metal, hasn't cured the prob I'm afraid, but thanks for replying
 
Can we assume "she will not start on her own" means it will start if you have to jump start? if so what is battery like?, age?, Voltage check?, Terminals secure? Why do you suspect a battery drain?

Andy
She will jump start and run perfect.
Battery age 4 years
11.85 at rest
13.85 when running.
Left car running for an hour, went down road, came back stalled her, then wouldn't start again.
Have now lost indicators and hazard lights, checked fuses, both ok
 
Or old battery that has gone flat too often and now does not hold enough charge.
Hi I think you could be right, as I don't know what else to check, then I'm thinking a battery should last longer than 4 years, I'm I going to have this same gremlin again.
Thank you for replying
 
When you jump started, where did you attach the leads?
However, 11.85V at rest is very low and does suggest a dead/faulty battery. What type of battery is fitted?
 
When you jump started, where did you attach the leads?
However, 11.85V at rest is very low and does suggest a dead/faulty battery. What type of battery is fitted?
Hi, Car to car via jump leads.
Exide premium EA852 85ah 800 A(en)
thanks catnip64
 
A battery's age is no guide to it's condition. It depends on how it has been treated. Get it tested and take it from there.

RAB
 
11.85V at rest is too low. It sounds like one of the six battery cells has gone bad and won't hold the full approximately 2.1V (ie. 6cellsx2.1V=12.6V).

You can test this theory by disconnecting the battery (just the negative terminal is ok) and charging the battery. Leave it overnight (or about 12 hours) once the charging is finished and then check the voltage. If the voltage drops to below 12.0V (with at least the negative battery terminal disconnected) the battery has gone bad.

You don't need to fully charge the battery to perform this test, as even a half charged battery should still have over 12.0V after being left overnight.
 
When checking the resting voltage, switching on anything which gives a small current drain - eg sidelights, can give a more realistic reading when a battery is on its way out.

Cheers Spike
 
Hi everyone, following all the advise, in August I brought a new battery and everything worked well.
Unfortunately today she will not turn over and start again.
Not enough juice to turn the engine over.
Any advice or anywhere I can take her to get looked at would I would be grateful.

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The battery will drain naturally if the car is not used anyway. But if the car has been driven very frequently then there is an issue. Either a local independent garage or a battery centre will be able to check both the battery and charging circuit. Try to find someone doing the free winter checks but do not get caught up in "extras".

If the car is not used much then would be a good idea to connect a mains charger that is capable of maintaining the battery charge. These are ideal if you have a garage or off street parking, not so good if you park on the street.
 
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