Battery drain still happening... Completely stumped :( **UPDATE**

[Craigh1983]

Hey,

I've had this issue too, and decided yesterday to pay VW £300 odd to do it. Just signed up to answer this :)

There were several reasons as to the drain:

- Alarm horn fault
- Aftermarket stereo - This was coded out of the ECU today, as when no VW stereo is present, the ECU CONSTANTLY searches for one.
- Auxiliary heater - This is the issue they are currently fixing, they believe there was a resistance to ground across something on the heater, hence the drain.

I'll update if I hear any more.

Cheers mate keep me posted!

[Craigh1983]

Did it cost u £300 for all the work and labour?

Thanks

[Craigh1983]

Right guys,

I have a multimeter and im testing the fuses now to see if there is any drain

I want to make sure I am using it right so do I choose the V side or the A side? On the A side do I choose 20m or 200m? If its the V side then there is 2000m and 200m?

By the looks of it there is a drain on a lot of fuses. Its been nearly an hour now and they haven't gone to sleep! will try again later but help with the settings would be much appreciated :)

Thanks
Craigh

[OSB]

Switch to 10A for safety - it will be much less than this. Don't forget to plug the red lead into the hole next to the 10A

[jamma]

I had same problem , battery was fine but after three days was completely dead . VW took a look and it was my after market stereo draining the battery . All fixed now .

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Craig - you've now had TWO people telling you of problems caused by incorrectly specified lower capacity batteries - and those problems were CURED after fitting the correctly specified battery.  I really don't understand why you don't listen to and accept that factual advice?!?!?!?!   

If your engine blew up, and you had to get a replacement engine - would you fit, say, a 1.6 litre engine (presuming your car is a 2 litre GTI)????  No, so why are you appearing to accept that a lower spec battery is OK?

WHO sold you those incorrect batteries?  You need to take them back, and get a FULL refund - the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) states that a product must be "fit for purpose" - the batteries you were supplied are NOT fit for purpose. 

Just stop fannying around, get the correct spec battery (I would personally recommend a Varta E44 - which is a 77Ah with a five year warranty) and your problems will be solved.!

[ekaJ]

I was having battery drain issues and it was due to my heated mirrors being constantly on when left on the heated position. Not sure why it was doing it but now I leave it off the heated setting its been fine.

[Craigh1983]

Craig - you've now had TWO people telling you of problems caused by incorrectly specified lower capacity batteries - and those problems were CURED after fitting the correctly specified battery.  I really don't understand why you don't listen to and accept that factual advice?!?!?!?!   

If your engine blew up, and you had to get a replacement engine - would you fit, say, a 1.6 litre engine (presuming your car is a 2 litre GTI)????  No, so why are you appearing to accept that a lower spec battery is OK?

WHO sold you those incorrect batteries?  You need to take them back, and get a FULL refund - the Sale of Goods Act (SOGA) states that a product must be "fit for purpose" - the batteries you were supplied are NOT fit for purpose. 

Just stop fannying around, get the correct spec battery (I would personally recommend a Varta E44 - which is a 77Ah with a five year warranty) and your problems will be solved.!

For a start.... There is no need to have an attitude!

Secondly... Exide batteries have a good reputation and I know many people who use them so that is just your opinion.
I also did a battery drain test last night with a multi meter... left the car for 2 hours and tested... the car isn;t going to sleep. There were very big drains on a few of the fuses so this is actually the cause. The battery may be incorrect and will need to be changed but when you say change your battery and all the problems will be solved, that is actually incorrect.

[rich83]

Did you work out which circuits were pulling a current?

[Craigh1983]

Did you work out which circuits were pulling a current?

Well I know the fuse numbers but I am going to do it again tonight to make sure I got the numbers right but it was Fuse19 in the engine bay that had the biggest drain. That is the stereo fuse if im correct. I left the car over 2 hours and checked again and they were still active. About 5 fuses. And I didnt even check the ones by the drivers side door. When Ed checked last time they were all going to sleep.

I am going to test again tonight and will post of the numbers.

[rich83]

remind me/us.... aftermarket head unit? or rns510?

[Eddie-NL]

RCD510 is the stereo

If the car doesn't go to sleep then the radio won't

When I did some testing there were about 5 circuits that didn't go to sleep straight away (after about 20 - 30 mins), then the relay in the engine fuse box clicked and power was cut on those.

[Craigh1983]

RCD510 is the stereo

If the car doesn't go to sleep then the radio won't

When I did some testing there were about 5 circuits that didn't go to sleep straight away (after about 20 - 30 mins), then the relay in the engine fuse box clicked and power was cut on those.

To be honest Ed I think it was the exact same fuses that you looked at before that are now not switching off. There are about 6 of them... I remember them cutting out after 15 - 20 mins. But last night I pressed the bonnet latch down. armed the alarm and the little red light was flashing. I left it like that and checked after 20 minutes. then an hour and then 2 hours and the same fuses were all still active. Sods law I will try it again tonight and it will be a different story. But that obviously means that sometimes its going to sleep and sometimes its not.
These are the fuses in the engine bay that are staying active.

Fuse 3
Fuse16
Fuse 17
Fuse 18
Fuse 19
Fuse 24

[eltel]

Hi
I had the same issue fuse 19 draining ,everything pointed to the rns 510 and I had quite a few people look at it, in the end I had no choice and took it to vw Chelmsford they charged £132.00 +vat per hour it took him 3 hrs to find the drain , it turned out to be the climate panel and that was £300 but I had to wait 8 days for it to come.
So all im saying is sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take it to vw its not cheap but if you want it sorted that's what I had to do.
Good luck

[Craigh1983]

Hi
I had the same issue fuse 19 draining ,everything pointed to the rns 510 and I had quite a few people look at it, in the end I had no choice and took it to vw Chelmsford they charged £132.00 +vat per hour it took him 3 hrs to find the drain , it turned out to be the climate panel and that was £300 but I had to wait 8 days for it to come.
So all im saying is sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and take it to vw its not cheap but if you want it sorted that's what I had to do.
Good luck

Thanks for that info mate that's really interesting! And yea I may have to resort to take it to VW but like u said if I want it sorted for good then I may have to.
But first.... Here are the results from my battery drain test this evening.... They are absolutely terrible!!!!

Hi mate,

So with car all locked... left for 2 hours...

Fuse 3 is using 91ma
Fuse 16 is using 66ma
Fuse 17 is usage 33ma
Fuse 18 is using 123ma
Fuse 19 is using 747ma
Fuse 24 is using 73ma

No wonder my car is draining so fast!!

I took a battery voltage reading at the start of the test which was 11.9V (due to it being drained slightly yesterday) and in just an hour and half this dropped to 11.7V.

For some strange reason my computer is not shutting these circuits down!!!