Flat battery results in unnecessarily expensive day

[Degudodger]

I have a flat battery, which is due to my own stupidity and nothing else.

Recently replaced my RCD300 with a RCD510 and after some investigation and feedback from a couple of members on this forum I concluded the Gateway currently in the Jetta MIGHT be ok and wouldn't need replacing. After one week of happy motoring, driving 70+ miles a day and with no signs of battery drain this morning the car failed to start. The battery is so flat you can hear faint a "bong" sounds like a little horn.

So far today I have spent

£25 on a return Taxi journey from home to Halfauds
£70 on a booster pack on to find the dam thing needs to be charged for 36 hours before it can be used. Great!
£60 to add homestart to my AA recovery policy which i can't use for 24 hours
£40 Emergency callout fee due to the above.

So i'm now waiting on the RAC to turn up so that I can take the car for a two hour drive in the hope that it charges the battery enough to last overnight so that I can start the dam thing in the morning

Less than a happy camper! 

[MAT ED30]

Bump start it

[Degudodger]

Bump start it

Tried that but I live on a flat stretch of road and just couldn't get enough momentum. Plus I think being a diesel didn't help.

[MAT ED30]

Call some mate round and push it it will bump start

[Degudodger]

Call some mate round and push it it will bump start

The AA should be on their way now, well they said 3-4 hours so should be her for 6pm ish.

What are the chances of the car starting in the morning after only a 1 hour drive?

[MAT ED30]

What you should have done is bought a battery charger pulled the battery out and charged it all day

[Degudodger]

Strange thing is that Halfauds were out of stock of battery chargers and there were only a few charger packs left on the shelve.

Just hope I can give the car a long enough drive this evening so that the battery holds enough charge to start in the morning.

[Degudodger]

Battery was down to 7.50 volts hence why it wouldn't turn over, connected it up to a booster pack and it started straight way. Left it ticking over for 5 minutes, switched it off and the AA guy checked the battery health and all is well.

RCD500 is going on the classifieds this evening, back to the RCD300 if is well for the moment anyway. 

[gti265]

mine went dead flat after i left it for 3 weeks whilst on holiday, i used a garage booster pack to get it started left it runing for 10 mins drove about 10 mins to work, n has started fine after that no problems. couldnt you of brought a new battery in halfords??

[ub7rm]

Take the booster pack back and cancel the homestart.  If they only sting you £40 for out of policy claims it seems cheaper doing it that way than having the homestart - golf's aren't that unreliable.  Usually.

edit for spelling

[LouCyffer]

There's always the jump leads. If you haven't a second car to jump from, a mate or a nieghbour may help. I would also recommend a trickle charger if you're concerned about battery condition. I keep my motorbike on an Optimate3 to maintain the battery, usually for the entire winter period. It worked well on my Impreza too (a lot of juice to crank an engine with compression like that) when it was left for any stretch. Just connect it, turn it on & leave it. It charges then maintains with trickle charging.

[RedRobin]

mine went dead flat after i left it for 3 weeks whilst on holiday, i used a garage booster pack to get it started left it runing for 10 mins drove about 10 mins to work, n has started fine after that no problems. couldnt you of brought a new battery in halfords??

....The battery, assuming it's in good condition and a proper VW one, shouldn't go flat after being left for 3 weeks. It sounds as if you have a battery drain somewhere - It's not an uncommon issue and will happen again unless it's sorted. I speak from experiencing this problem.

RCD500 is going on the classifieds this evening, back to the RCD300 if is well for the moment anyway.  

....You need to find and solve the source of your battery drain rather than sell your RCD500 imo, Dodgydegu 

[gti265]

hello redrobin,

i dont no what the battery is on my car atm, i had the same problem on my ford focus which went dead after 3 days not being driven, i just use a booster pack or charge the battery back up and it works fine :).

the previous owner installed alot of electronic bits on like parking sensers, hid kit (i no there not legal so dont shout at me i didnt put them on) and aftermarket head unit so culd be somthing to do with one of these. im chaning some of the bits soon so hopfuly that should solve the problem.
thanks
tom

[RedRobin]

^^^^
Hi Tom,

Yes my dashboard is packed behind with all sorts of 'aftermarket goodies' and it was inappropriately not wiring via the ignition which caused my slow leak. I don't have any electricity or lighting in my Batcave and I refuse to remove and lug a heavy battery to and from the distance to my house.