Problems with battery draining on a Passat

[pegs]

Hi

We recently brought a second hand 2004 Passat Estate from a large dealership, 2 weekends ago we went to go home from doing the weekly shop to discover that it was not turning over when we tried to start it, we managed to get it going by pushing it and got it back home. We then looked at the battery and discovered that it looked alot older then the the 3 years old that it should be for the cars age and it was also too low a voltage (according to Halfords for the make and model of car), we went to halfords and brought the correct battery for the car and fitted it. All seemed well and it was fine for another week but this weekend just gone we went out in it, when we tried to start it again to go home it was dead again, we managed to get it going again with the help of a push from some local cabbies. We then took it to Halfords again and they tested the battery and told us that it was nearly flat. We managed to get it home with the aid of a jump start from them but it is totally flat now and not even locking with the central locking system (we are having to manually lock it). We have it booking into a VW garage tomorrow for them to have a look at it and hopefully tell us why it the battery is draining but i wondered if anyone has experienced this before and if so if you ever solved the problem and what was causing it. The car is only used for short journeys Mon to Fri as we both travel to work by train.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[bora(ing) nick]

Hi

We recently brought a second hand 2004 Passat Estate from a large dealership, 2 weekends ago we went to go home from doing the weekly shop to discover that it was not turning over when we tried to start it, we managed to get it going by pushing it and got it back home. We then looked at the battery and discovered that it looked alot older then the the 3 years old that it should be for the cars age and it was also too low a voltage (according to Halfords for the make and model of car), we went to halfords and brought the correct battery for the car and fitted it. All seemed well and it was fine for another week but this weekend just gone we went out in it, when we tried to start it again to go home it was dead again, we managed to get it going again with the help of a push from some local cabbies. We then took it to Halfords again and they tested the battery and told us that it was nearly flat. We managed to get it home with the aid of a jump start from them but it is totally flat now and not even locking with the central locking system (we are having to manually lock it). We have it booking into a VW garage tomorrow for them to have a look at it and hopefully tell us why it the battery is draining but i wondered if anyone has experienced this before and if so if you ever solved the problem and what was causing it. The car is only used for short journeys Mon to Fri as we both travel to work by train.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Firstly, hello and welcome to the forum.

Your problem to me sounds like the alternator..... You can test this by getting a volt meter on the battery terminals while the car is running. Should read about 13.7V.

Haven't got a clue what halfords are talking about...... most (if not all) cars in the world, run @ 12V so the voltage would be the same for any battery, the only thing that changes is the amperage (how meaty the battery is).

Did you get any warranty with the car when you purchased it? The alternator should be covered, as it is not a wear and tear item.

Good luck

Nick

[pegs]

Hi

Thanks for the welcome and advice. Halfords said something like it was a 100 battery whereas it should have been a 400 or higher?

Unfortunatly no warrenty with the car (you had to buy that seperatly for quite an expensive cost, i know now that we should prob have got it but did not think it was necessery at the time).

We were wondering if it was the Alternator or someone else said they had the same problem with their car and it was the glove box light not turning off.

I think the volt meter thing may have been what Halfords tested for us and he said it was 4 and should have been a lot higher (though i may be wrong on that)

Thanks for your help Nick, its much needed

[bora(ing) nick]

Hi

Thanks for the welcome and advice. Halfords said something like it was a 100 battery whereas it should have been a 400 or higher?

Unfortunatly no warrenty with the car (you had to buy that seperatly for quite an expensive cost, i know now that we should prob have got it but did not think it was necessery at the time).

We were wondering if it was the Alternator or someone else said they had the same problem with their car and it was the glove box light not turning off.

I think the volt meter thing may have been what Halfords tested for us and he said it was 4 and should have been a lot higher (though i may be wrong on that)

Thanks for your help Nick, its much needed

I doubt it's the glove box light, but you could check by removing the bulb, and seeing if it happens again.

TBH it's most probably the alternator, re-reading your symptoms.

Nick

[clint]

they were probably referring to the amp hour rating of the battery and not the voltage but it does sound as if the alty maybe draining the battery

[pegs]

Garage have just called, they think that it is one of the earthing points that is draining it and so are going to replace that, fingers crossed that is it and it won't go flat again in a weeks time