Battery dying?

[Jondalar]

Hi,

My wife's 2014 Golf 2.0 TDI has been behaving a bit strangely lately. If it sits unused for a couple of days it cranks rather slowly the first start, and can be a bit sluggish in firing up even after making sure the glow plug light goes out. She's also noticed that the Bluemotion is not letting the engine stop as often when stationary. She called the dealer who said the battery checked fine in Feb so probably just the cold weather, but it's sluggish even in the middle of the day if it hasn't been used. Does it sound like the battery is on the way out?

Cheers,
Karl

[Martin]

It's common for batteries to go in winter - harder to deliver current when colder
But I would not have thought your QLD winter was all that cold

A battery test in Feb is fine for the month of Feb, it's now 4 months later and there is a problem
You'll have to get a automotive electrician or a battery shop to test your battery capacity
Then again - it's a little early for a 2014 battery to die (mine is 2011 and is fine)

Another option is to disconnect the battery and charge it - see if the next start is noticeably better
The problem is - that does not indicate the battery capacity - only it's charge state

Are you sure there is nothing plugged into the car draining the battery when the car is not in use?
No vehicle electrical modifications, lights, accessories, etc

The wife's Mazda3 will let the operator leave the interior light on to drain the battery flat (my Skoda is smarter)

[Jondalar]

Some of the times when it's cranked a bit slowly the temperature has been close to 20C. No mods, only accessories are two dashcams in power sockets but the Golf cuts power to these when ignition is off. Will check interior lights.

Cheers,
Karl

[brad]

If it is on the way out then you should be hoping it will die before the warranty period is over. VW cover batteries under the warranty IIRC.

[Jondalar]

Can anyone confirm the battery warranty? We still have 6 months of new car warranty.

[The_Hawk]

Sometimes things die prematurely... just because. So while it's possible it's dead, chances are it needs a good charge.

Short trips can kill batteries since the car doesn't get a chance to re-charge itself. If this is the case then something like a CTEK charger for a topup can be a great buy (my car is prone to short trips so I plug it in every other month for a full charge). The wifes car get's a much better run but I will still plug it a couple of times a year for a refresh cycle.

I bought (and recommend) this one:
MXS 5.0

I'm actually tempted by this little gadget too:
Ctek CTX Battery Sense Bluetooth Battery Monitor Iphone Android Data Logging | eBay

[MIRSAD]

Can anyone confirm the battery warranty? We still have 6 months of new car warranty.

Battery on my Mar 2014 GTI was replaced in Feb this year (under warranty)
Call VW Roadside assistance

[Martin]

Short trips can kill batteries since the car doesn't get a chance to re-charge itself.

Great point!

I bought (and recommend) this one MXS 5.0

I've had that charger for ~4 years - it's totally awesome
It's one of the safest and smartest chargers out there and very affordable

I'm actually tempted by this little gadget too:
Ctek CTX Battery Sense Bluetooth Battery Monitor Iphone Android Data Logging | eBay

It's just expensive bling mate, leads to the dark side it does, resist you must

[Jondalar]

My wife usually does a 35 km trip each way to work. Plenty of time to charge. Do we need to wait for the battery to totally die?

[Martin]

My wife usually does a 35 km trip each way to work. Plenty of time to charge.

Agreed

Do we need to wait for the battery to totally die?

No - accidentally leaving the radio/etc on for a few days could help bring the issue to a point where a resolution is required

[AdamD]

See this way of checking the state of charge of the battery without a voltage meter:

https://www.vwwatercooled.com/forums/f197/battery-state-charge-soc-93476.html

[The_Hawk]

Batteries get a much harder life in winter because of a few factors. It's cold so they don't work as well (although heat soak largely deal with that), but it's also darker (and wetter at the moment too) so you're running lights and wipers far more often than in summer.

I have a simple sign that my battery might need a top up... the power windows. I find that the auto up function gets a little spotty when the battery is a little low. It's like it doesn't quite have the voltage (and torque) to get up and it senses a jam so goes down again in what should be normal operation. Charging the battery and everything moves quicker and cleanly again. Funnily enough I tend to notice these things in summer more than winter since now it's cold I don't have the windows down nearly as much

It's just expensive bling mate, leads to the dark side it does, resist you must

Oh I understand that, but I like shiny things... and data. That little line showing history intrigues me, especially given my usage patterns it would be very interesting to see what its reporting over time. I would actually like two of them so I could run them in both cars and see how they compare given very different day to day usage. If anyone wants to buy them for me I'm willing to test them and report back

[Jondalar]

Thanks for the very helpful replies. I do have a multimeter but I'm not sure what voltages should be apart from around 12. I'll try the tripmeter function. Helpfully we'll soon be away for 4 weeks and I'm pretty sure sitting that long will be enough for the battery to fail.

Cheers,
Karl

[Eaglehawk]

3 years old (and 2 weeks) MY13 Golf 110TDI. Battery died yesterday.

Was hard to start in -3 degree temp in the morning. Drove fine during the day (started twice). Arrived home, then went to pick up the kids..."Low Battery"...

NRMA Battery replacement, $352...

[brad]

3 years old (and 2 weeks) MY13 Golf 110TDI. Battery died yesterday.

Was hard to start in -3 degree temp in the morning. Drove fine during the day (started twice). Arrived home, then went to pick up the kids..."Low Battery"...

NRMA Battery replacement, $352...

Wow! They saw you coming... Not good batteries either.