General 2010 Panda 1.2 Clock zeroing.

[portland_bill]

I seem to remember the article you refer to and I think it was in Car Mechanics Magazine?

Can't thank you enough for the recommendation for the battery. That looks like exactly the one I'm looking for, case size is identical, Capacity (ah) is up by 3ah (50 to 53) but the cranking amps are massively more 360 to 540 - that's progress for you, I've noticed how much CCA has gone up in newer batteries of late. The price is excellent. I'll be going for that one when the time comes - Thanks again, much appreciated. I'll go onto their site and have a more detailed look this evening. I'm assuming these guys know what they're doing as regards packing, they've been doing it for many years, but can I ask how well your delivery was packed? I believe they plug the vent so fluid leaks are unlikely but I'm just slightly nervous about the possibility of internal plate damage due to impacts if it's handled roughly during shipping?
regards
Jock

Now you remind me, it could well have been Car Mechanics. Over many years I have had a few letters published, and 5 of them have been 'Star Letter'. Only ever received two of the gifts though, but as that was never the incentive to write it never bothered me. Can't remember the subject matter of any of them though, except one of the earliest, to Bike magazine, sometime around 1983/4, about bleeding motorcycle front brakes. Story for another time perhaps. Recently had a letter published in Classics Monthly, that was a surprise, as I was just trying to help diagnose or prevent ignition problems with a Ford Escort Mk3.

Tayna batteries use sturdy boxes, much sturdier than usual, bespoke polystyrene mouldings, and use a carrier who is aware of the contents. Mine arrived with no visible damage to the outer box.
The battery is plugged, as well as sealed inside a special bag, that I think is acid resistant. Took me ages to dispose of the packaging, seemed such a shame, but really could not find a use for them.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Morning PB. Car Mechanics is my favourite car magazine with Practical classics not far behind. I've had a few letters published in CM but never a "star" letter - well done. I have had a couple of submissions published, the most memorable being an account of the trials and tribulations of lifting my Ambassador's power unit (engine and gearbox combined) out of the car, rebuilding the gearbox, which turned out to be a "bitsa" with ill fitting parts from various versions of the box, overhauling the engine - crank regrind, shells, cords rings, and a general "refresh". Then the fun of lifting this very heavy power unit back in with my home made gantry and block and tackle. I actually did it twice because the first time I did it I bought in a, so called, reconditioned, gearbox which turned out to have a first gear which would not select with the engine running. Once I'd stripped it down I found that the first gear syncro hub striking ring is asymmetric - but not obviously so and it can be slid on to the hub either way round. If you fit it the wrong way round it doesn't push the syncro ring properly against the gear's cone face so it doesn't slow the gear and so the selection is blocked. Once I found out what was wrong it was easy to reverse the striking ring and the box ran smoothly and well. I contacted the supplier who refunded half the price of the box to me which I thought was very reasonable. I might not have thought so if I'd been paying labour on the job! The article was published under the "Mechanics Nightmares" heading and ran to two and a half pages if I remember. I think I still have a copy in my NAS somewhere - must look for it and reread it!

I'm very impressed with Tayna batteries. I gave them a ring late yesterday afternoon (Satyrday) - around 5pm?, just on the off chance, and was surprised to find them still open. Had a very pleasant and informative chat with a chap, whose name I forgot to ask, who told me that although occasionally they do have a damaged battery reported it's very rare. He told me who they ship with - DHL and another I forget just now, both "big names" - So, together with your recommendation and other comment I've read on our forum, I'm feeling pretty happy about ordering from them when the time comes.

 

[jackwhoo]

Hi everyone,
I can give a thumbs up to tayna batteries too. Small motorcycle battery delivered very quickly , packed very well.
The motorcycle is a very low miles 1991 suzuki gs125 , 2 owners from new. Engine runs perfectly. Nice little project if anyone interested , needs a dam good clean , tyres and couple of other things. I dont have time or room at moment.

Best wishes
Jack

 

[varesecrazy]

My 1st Tayna purchase was for my Ducato.. it lived on our drive..and had monthly trips out to keep it all moving.

Loaded up for hols one April morning..
Time to go : not even a click

Went to the local autoparts store .. had a correct spec battery - £145..!! Gulp

Bought a battery for a 2.0 s.max - £90

Enough to prove it was a battery issue.. and it did a few trips away before it migrated to my sisters s.max,

and I got Tayna to delver the £145 equivalent for @£100

Ive probably bought @10 from Tayna over the years.. no issues whatsoever.. and having it delivered to an address of your choice can have major benefits

 

[DaveMcT]

Tanya sold me a Yuasa Silver for the 100HP. I would suggest its ideal for any Panda as its also recommended for the JTD. so should be more than good enough for 1100/1200.

Halfords £103

Yuasa HSB012 Silver 12V Car Battery 5 Year Guarantee | Halfords UK

Shop the latest Yuasa 5 Year Guarantee HSB012 Silver 12V Car Battery at Halfords UK

www.halfords.com

Tanya £60 delivered next day.

YBX5012 Yuasa Silver High Performance Car Battery 12V 54Ah HSB012

<h4>Yuasa</h4> <i>Advanced Engineering, Premium Quality, Unmatched Reliability</i> GS Yuasa located in Japan, all started in 1895 and is one of the biggest battery manufacturers in the world. Manufacturing batteries for the automotive, commercial and infrastructure markets. Yuasa Battery, Inc...

www.tayna.co.uk

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Thanks very much to everyone for their experiences of TAYNA. I'm definitely going to give then a go for the Panda battery but I'm preparing the Ibiza for it's MOT on Friday so that comes first. The Ibiza, now 6 years old, has stopped having stop/start available except when I've been a long drive with it - for instance down into the border country to visit my brother, a round trip of 70 miles approx. Then it comes back on after maybe 20 miles or so. However within a couple of days back in town, despite me always turning it off anyway, it comes up unavailable again.

I've been in touch with my local VAG indy (AVW Autocentre) to ask if there's a typical parasitic current drain problem or are they bad for batteries? and they "happily" told me they've done a few of my model of late at about the age mine is and all have needed their batteries replaced. They warned me the battery needs to be coded to the vehicle and there are three possible (although only one very likely) protocols involved. The battery is an Enhanced Flooded type so a bit cheaper than an AGM but even so they quoted £210 for a direct OE replacement (it'll come from TPS if I know them) which includes the recode then a road test and then a fault code reading "just to be sure". I'm still checking, but Tayna seem to do them for around half that amount. I do have VCDS but don't know how to use it to do the recoding. There are 2 more VAG indies in our area so I'm going to see what they quote before making any moves. The car actually still starts and runs absolutely fine but we'll be doing our annual Devon pilgrimage in the spring and feel it would be wise to renew it before then so still plenty of time to troll you tube for VCDS videos on battery recoding!

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Hmm. A lot to chew over here:

Not quite sure if I dare?

 

[chris3234]

Hmm. A lot to chew over here:

Not quite sure if I dare?

Trust the Germans to make the simple thing of monitoring a battery condition to be made stupidly complex and over the top

 

[DaveMcT]

Thanks very much to everyone for their experiences of TAYNA. I'm definitely going to give then a go for the Panda battery but I'm preparing the Ibiza for it's MOT on Friday so that comes first. The Ibiza, now 6 years old, has stopped having stop/start available except when I've been a long drive with it - for instance down into the border country to visit my brother, a round trip of 70 miles approx. Then it comes back on after maybe 20 miles or so. However within a couple of days back in town, despite me always turning it off anyway, it comes up unavailable again.

I've been in touch with my local VAG indy (AVW Autocentre) to ask if there's a typical parasitic current drain problem or are they bad for batteries? and they "happily" told me they've done a few of my model of late at about the age mine is and all have needed their batteries replaced. They warned me the battery needs to be coded to the vehicle and there are three possible (although only one very likely) protocols involved. The battery is an Enhanced Flooded type so a bit cheaper than an AGM but even so they quoted £210 for a direct OE replacement (it'll come from TPS if I know them) which includes the recode then a road test and then a fault code reading "just to be sure". I'm still checking, but Tayna seem to do them for around half that amount. I do have VCDS but don't know how to use it to do the recoding. There are 2 more VAG indies in our area so I'm going to see what they quote before making any moves. The car actually still starts and runs absolutely fine but we'll be doing our annual Devon pilgrimage in the spring and feel it would be wise to renew it before then so still plenty of time to troll you tube for VCDS videos on battery recoding

Not having Stop Start has to be a bonus and your starter motor will love you for it. Personally, I would run the old battery until it gives up though a permanent wired-in voltmeter to watch charge trends and recovery from discharge (cold starts etc) is always a good idea.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Not having Stop Start has to be a bonus and your starter motor will love you for it. Personally, I would run the old battery until it gives up though a permanent wired-in voltmeter to watch charge trends and recovery from discharge (cold starts etc) is always a good idea.

Aye Dave, I try to always disable stop/start on every startup, not just for the sake of the poor starter motor and battery but also in sympathy for the turbo. Unfortunately I do sometimes forget thus how I picked up on the stop/start not working. I now know it also displays an A with a line through it on the info dash. I like your idea of just continuing to run with the existing battery and monitoring it with a meter. Problem is, with spring approaching, we will soon be doing our trips down south and I certainly don't want the hassle of a car which won't start when away from home.

I've wanted a super capacitor type jump starter ever since I first read about them a couple of years or so ago. Maybe I should buy one of those instead and carry on with the existing battery. The present battery seems to charge fully after a good drive in the country but falls back to a fairly stable 11.8 to 12.1 volts after sitting for 24 hours. Alternator is working exactly as it should. The conclusion must be that the battery isn't all that long for this world so I think I'll replace it before we go south, which is still maybe 3 months away. I think the voltage monitor reset via VCDS is probably doable, I just lack the confidence. I lurk around on the Cupra forum as well as here and there is a chap on there who is quite near me. I just might see if either he, or someone else can help me use my VCDS to do this. If that can be achieved renewing the battery with one bought from TAYNA becomes the obvious thing to do.

 

[DaveMcT]

Capacitors have a straight line discharge curve from full to empty. The charge "volume" is triangular. Batteries have a flat topped curve which gives a more or less rectangular shape charge volume (area under the curve). It gets worse for capacitors because the usable area sits above the 12 volts line while most of the energy content is below that voltage.
The best option for back up power is a LiFePo4 (LFP) lithium battery. They deliver full voltage over about 95% of their charge curve while a typical lead acid starter pack can deliver only 30% of its power at full voltage. A 50AH lead acid can literally be replaced by a 15AH LFP. But it gets better because the Lead-Acid is big because they degrade quite fast and need the excess capacity to remain useful over time.

I tried a 4AH LFP bike battery on the 1.4 Panda. It happily cold started the engine and powered the steering with all electrics on full load. It would be no good in cold weather as the internal resistance rises but for back up power all you could ever need will cost about £60. Check out the stuff from JMT. You would need a split charge relay and voltage monitoring but unless you are intending some arctic weather trips, its all you'll ever need.

4AH LFP weighs about 1kg. Competing 14AH lead-acid weighs about 5kg.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Capacitors have a straight line discharge curve from full to empty. The charge "volume" is triangular. Batteries have a flat topped curve which gives a more or less rectangular shape charge volume (area under the curve). It gets worse for capacitors because the usable area sits above the 12 volts line while most of the energy content is below that voltage.
The best option for back up power is a LiFePo4 (LFP) lithium battery. They deliver full voltage over about 95% of their charge curve while a typical lead acid starter pack can deliver only 30% of its power at full voltage. A 50AH lead acid can literally be replaced by a 15AH LFP. But it gets better because the Lead-Acid is big because they degrade quite fast and need the excess capacity to remain useful over time.

I tried a 4AH LFP bike battery on the 1.4 Panda. It happily cold started the engine and powered the steering with all electrics on full load. It would be no good in cold weather as the internal resistance rises but for back up power all you could ever need will cost about £60. Check out the stuff from JMT. You would need a split charge relay and voltage monitoring but unless you are intending some arctic weather trips, its all you'll ever need.

4AH LFP weighs about 1kg. Competing 14AH lead-acid weighs about 5kg.

Thanks Dave. I was aware that the capacitor type gives a very limited cranking time but I didn't know why. Your description of the "charge volume" as being "triangular" says it all and I now understand. Not so sure if I really want one now. I want something I can carry around in either the Ibiza or Panda - depending on which I'm using at the time - but which is also highly portable. The capacitor units appealed because of the way they charge up so quickly. My big old (ex diesel vehicle) lead acid battery sits in my garage on maintenance charge so is always "good to go" but I'm not going to carry it around in the boot just on the off chance it's going to be needed. Now I'm not feeling very sure about what would be my best option.

Edit: Can you buy these lifepo4 batteries in a handy "jump pack" configuration?

 

[portland_bill]

My Fabia is now 7 years old, and displays similar 'no stop/start' symptoms. The alternators are not charging all the time, so it seems to take longer to top the battery up after a start, seems silly, as could be a problem for short journeys.
The Fabia generally only gets used on Wed and Thur, as those are my working days, with only occasional other trips, as mostly I prefer the Panda. I was a little suspicious of the battery capacity when I bought the car, early 2019, but it is still working. I researched a replacement then, coming across the recoding issue. I have a diag program, (OBDEleven) which works off an Android device. (Sorry Jock) I have an old tablet that works with it, and that program claims to be able to recode the battery ok.
I have found that if the car is started with a battery a little weak, the system will disable the stop/start for the whole journey. Even after a short time, if stopped and restarted, the system will usually then work. Like a stubborn child, once its made up its mind, it won't budge. So far, original battery still working fine, as is the stop/start. It'll die sometime, probably sooner than later.
Of course, no aftermarket battery comes with a code label. The best replacement for mine seemed to be a Yuasa, so I emailed them to ask abour recoding. Their reply was interesting. They suggested to just increment the original code by one digit.
From this, I suspect the battery has no internal electronics to talk to the car. The battery condition monitor needs resetting to know it is a new battery, or else it will take longer to properly read the new battery. I'm guessing, but if not recoded, I'm sure the monitor will eventually catch up and work fine, recoding it tells it to start from a default base, therefore any valid code will work, hence the single increment.

Meanwhile, instead of carrying a spare battery, jump pack, or whatever, I have a Green Flag breakdown membership card in my wallet. I'm sure they'll manage a jump start if needed.

 

[DaveMcT]

The lithium jump pack batteries use what amounts to laptop cells. These give the best power per weight and volume but they are extremely fussy so cant be used as a permanent starter battery and have to be charged slowly to avoid thermal runaway.

LFP can be a direct swap for a lead acid but the issues are poor cold weather performance. That's partly solved by insulating the battery and adding a small warming pad. BUT that's useless on a cold winter morning.

LFP can be used as a boost pack. Just get a reasonable size motorcycle version 4AH @ 12 volts is more than enough. The cells are not damaged by long term disuse (they can't get hard sulphate) and self discharge is less than 10% per month. They are damaged (killed actually) by over voltage so never go near with an Optimate or similar recovery charger. Just get an LFP rated charger with the battery and keep the lot in a suitable case.

Bill's point about recoding by one digit is interesting. A Yuasa Silver from Tanya Batteries is not silly money and will do the job more than well enough.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

My Fabia is now 7 years old, and displays similar 'no stop/start' symptoms. The alternators are not charging all the time, so it seems to take longer to top the battery up after a start, seems silly, as could be a problem for short journeys.
The Fabia generally only gets used on Wed and Thur, as those are my working days, with only occasional other trips, as mostly I prefer the Panda. I was a little suspicious of the battery capacity when I bought the car, early 2019, but it is still working. I researched a replacement then, coming across the recoding issue. I have a diag program, (OBDEleven) which works off an Android device. (Sorry Jock) I have an old tablet that works with it, and that program claims to be able to recode the battery ok.
I have found that if the car is started with a battery a little weak, the system will disable the stop/start for the whole journey. Even after a short time, if stopped and restarted, the system will usually then work. Like a stubborn child, once its made up its mind, it won't budge. So far, original battery still working fine, as is the stop/start. It'll die sometime, probably sooner than later.
Of course, no aftermarket battery comes with a code label. The best replacement for mine seemed to be a Yuasa, so I emailed them to ask abour recoding. Their reply was interesting. They suggested to just increment the original code by one digit.
From this, I suspect the battery has no internal electronics to talk to the car. The battery condition monitor needs resetting to know it is a new battery, or else it will take longer to properly read the new battery. I'm guessing, but if not recoded, I'm sure the monitor will eventually catch up and work fine, recoding it tells it to start from a default base, therefore any valid code will work, hence the single increment.

Meanwhile, instead of carrying a spare battery, jump pack, or whatever, I have a Green Flag breakdown membership card in my wallet. I'm sure they'll manage a jump start if needed.

Yes PB, I'm almost certain my Ibiza (1 litre 3cyl 98hp EA211) has a "smart" alternator. I believe this means that when power is being demanded it cuts charging back to almost zero. When in the cruise it charges more or less as a normal setup would and when decelerating it whacks out as much current as it's rated to deliver - if the battery is needing charge - thus using energy "wasted" by braking. However as it's fitted standard with an EFB I'm wondering if it actually does the "regenerative function? Here's an article for those who are not so knowledgeable about the types of battery now in use and which may be best to use in any given situation: https://carbatterygeek.co.uk/efb-vs-agm-battery-best-for-stop-start/ I notice mine also has an overrunning pulley - another silly thing to go wrong.

I think I'll just stick with an EFB - it was original equipment after all so, presumably, if it makes any difference, the alternator performance is optimized for EFB? Also I don't think my CTEC Multi XS 7000 is recommended for AGM batteries? Quite a bit less money for the EFB too and I doubt if I'll be keeping the Ibiza until the next battery fails.

Thanks for the info on code labels, I didn't realize this. So if I want to do the coding using my VAG-COM does this mean I'll have to buy a genuine VAG battery from a VAG dealer to get the BEM code do you think? I've also read somewhere about increasing the code number by one digit but have no idea if it will work and I've read several accounts to the effect that if you just fit the new battery without recoding then it will fail much more quickly, possibly within a year to 18 months? but I've no direct evidence to support this. My "gut feeling", like you, is that I doubt very much if these batteries have any internal electronics for a control unit to read so can't really see any reason why it shouldn't just relearn battery capacity parameters as it's run with the new battery in place. But what do I know, dinosaur that I am! Must say I'm a bit disappointed that an expensive "big name" battery like this is staring to give problems when not quite six years old. My boy's Punto, with an original Exide, went to 9 years and our Panda, another original fit Exide, is just starting to give trouble now after just under 12 years.

I have breakdown with Britannia Rescue (Now affiliated with LV I believe) I've never had to use them but I've been with them ever since I worked at the wee country garage south of Edinburgh where I did night shifts on breakdown standby. We were subcontracted to Britannia and I thought they were a thoroughly good lot. Of course maybe all changed after all this time and now being part of LV.

Having had time to think about it all I think I'm still quite enamoured of the idea of a super capacitor jump pack. I know it's only going to crank the engine of your average "bodsmobile" for a few seconds (from what I see in the review vids) but I don't have to "worry" about keeping it charged or of it's internal battery failing (because it doesn't have one) and if it fails to start on the first attempt I can be cranking again within less than 5 minutes due to it's fast charging up time. It also occurs to me that when I've appreciated being able to crank for extended periods it's usually when something complicated has gone wrong and I'm trying to fault find. On a modern vehicle it's often the case that if it doesn't fire up rapidly then you're needing a workshop full of tools to sort it out? So, if the capacitor pack fails to start it I've always got Britannia to fall back on.

Here's a video of the Autowit 2 Lite which is the one I'm thinking of buying:


Edit. just dug out the instruction sheet for my CTEC and, apparently, it can do AGM! Probably still going to get an EFB though I think because the AGMs are quite a bit more.

 

[DaveMcT]

AGM = Advanced Glass Mat. This reinforces the battery plates allowing faster charge/discharge, because the active material can't fall out. The chemistry is lead acid so any lead acid charger will do fine. Fancy AGM chargers simply work harder than the usual 2A/4A varieties.

If power capacitors really had value, Elon would be using them at least for his high performance "Plaid" models. He is not because battery cells are more than good enough. Jump packs using lithium cells (LFP, NCA or whatever) really are the best option. They carry more than enough energy to start a large engine and charge from USB (car ciggy lighter or mains plug). There is no point going too big as the starter motor isn't rated for continuous cranking.

eBay number 393865920948 will keep your phone topped up (a capacitor will not) and has more than enough oomph to start an engine. I can't vouch for this product so serious research is needed. The cable connectors will never meet the high current claims but they are good enough to start the car so it hardly matters.

This cell pack will do the same job for longer and with minimal self-discharge. https://www.allbatteries.co.uk/lifepo4-battery/12-8v/3-3ah.html
You'll need to add a case, battery management protection circuit and switched USB port(s) are good to have. It will charge to 90% via a car ciggy lighter socket. LFP mains charger will take it to 100%.
It says quote · "Fast recharge - charges to 90% of its full load capacity in 15 minutes"

** Cheap USB ports often do not fully cut off when not in use. Buy carefully to avoid flattening the pack.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Update on the battery coding "thing".

I've been spasmodically, as the mood takes me, pursuing info on coding the VAG vehicles after fitting a new battery and I'm slowly climbing the knowledge tree. For those who haven't been following here's a good basic summary of what these devices do: https://www.samarins.com/glossary/battery-sensor.html

Of course I'm interested specifically in my 2016 Ibiza and I've discovered that the little monitoring sensor on the battery negative post is feeding info on battery performance - current flows and voltages - to the body control unit (an ecu) which uses this real time info to decide stuff like whether there's enough oomph in the battery to allow stop/start to initiate and also, perhaps if the battery charge state is low, to cancel other "luxury" functions to preserve basic functions. It also controls charge rates (current). So it will bump up the charge rate when it thinks a battery is failing with age.

I'm a long way from completely understanding how this all works but it seems that one of the big problems if you replace a battery in poor condition with a new one and don't tell the body ecu that it's a different, new, battery (code it) then the ECU will continue to pump big charge rates into it and possibly cause damage to the new battery. I believe, in the end, it would learn the new battery requirements but by then the damage may have been done. Same problems apply if you change the capacity of the new battery when compared to the old one and don't "tell" the ECU you've done this.

So, how does all this relate to my actual Ibiza? Well, I still haven't connected my VCDS up to the car for a look see but I believe, and am expecting to find, that my car has the later UDS protocol. If so this will be a great relief as I believe earlier cars use the stricter regimes which require you to know the BEM codes and most batteries available through places like Tayna will not have this info! Here is the UDS proceedure from VCDS: (don't know if I did that right, it should start at about 4 minutes 40 secs.) However UDS doesn't, apparently, require you to be too precise in it's inputting fields. It needs to know if you're using an AGM or EFB and what it's rated capacity is (Ampere Hours) As far as the serial number goes it couldn't care less so all you have to do is alter one number for it to recognise it as a new battery and reset it's charging rate back to a low initial level - of course it will "learn" what to do from there but it's not going to cause over charging of the new battery. I believe it needs to know the new battery's manufacturer code too, but that's on a drop down menu so should be quite easy to do.

My intention is to replace the existing Exide battery with the nearest equivalent I can find (so probably another EFB Exide of the same or very similar capacity). I think it likely that all I'm actually going to have to change will be the battery serial number - and if I'm feeling lazy all I'd need to do is increase the last number of that by 1. Apparently, as long as the capacity of the new battery is within an amp or two of the original it's not really necessary to even change that, but I will just to maximize performance of the charging system.

I'm not feeling absolutely confident about all this yet but I'm feeling a lot less nervous than I was a week ago. We've also had a pretty hectic week with Mrs J's sister staying, two family birthdays and lots of outings to the boy's houses and meals out at restaurants local to them. I've run through best part of a tank of petrol in a week! - and guess what? No prizes, Stop Start is working again! The battery is still not showing as good a state of charge after standing for some hours though so I don't think I'm "off the hook" but I think it's going to go on working for a while yet

When I do need to buy it looks like this is the size that fits: https://www.tayna.co.uk/car-batteries/types/096-efb/ and there is a good selection for me to choose from. Here's the spec and BEM sticker on the original battery:

Looks like I'll definitely be changing the capacity field doesn't it?! Amazing how battery technology is moving on 70ah and 720 cold cranking in the same case size - if I go for the direct replacement Exide. Serial number is still bothering me a wee bit, but I'm getting there now I think.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Well, I am having "fun" with the Ibiza battery coding. But first, more on Becky, the Panda, and her battery. Apart from the problem I previously mentioned regarding the clock zeroing for no apparent reason, she's been behaving impeccably. No problems with power steering or anything else which could be battery related. I've been regularly checking battery voltage after she's been standing for a few hours or overnight and it consistently comes out a bit low at around 11.9 to 12.3 volts. So I decided to put the C-TEC on and do a "recond" charge. Checked her since doing this about a week ago and she's showing 12.5 and, once, 12.6 volts. The clock is behaving itself too. So I think I'm likely to get the summer out of this battery and will probably put a new one in for next winter.

I've been having some pretty in depth conversations with a chap on the Cupra Forum (the only other forum I post on) who is having similar problems to me but with his wife's Ibiza. (it's slightly older than mine but same model which would seem to support the garage's claim that these original fit batteries are not particularly long lived?) He seems a bit more capable with using VCDS than me and has messaged me the procedure he's trying to circumnavigate the need to purchase a very expensive genuine VAG battery. If he's right it seems that there's no way round the earlier control systems but our later vehicles, using the UDS protocol, can be "fooled". Anyway, he's keeping me informed as to how he's getting on. Possibly as a result of the warmer weather we're currently experiencing, the Ibiza stop/start is working again just as it used to and battery voltage after standing for maybe a day or so is showing at around 12.2 to 12.3 volts. Although a little lower than I'd like to see, I'm thinking I may get away with keeping this one for the summer too? but am a little "worried" about not replacing it before our trip down to the "deep south" this summer. I'm also wondering if, being an EFB, I should try "reconding" it too? I believe AGM shouldn't be "reconded" but an EFB will have liquid electrolyte so I'm guessing it might benefit? Anyone got an opinion? The chap on the Cupra Forum has told me he lives on the south side of our city, probably about a half hour's drive from me, so I'm rather hoping that when the time comes to renew the Ibiza's battery he might entertain giving me a hand - more for moral support than anything else.

 

[koalar]

clock reseat when cranking, Voltage dropping below what require to keep the real time clock alive in the body computer 6.5V

is only other 1.5V and you start to loose the 5V reference needed by some of the sensors to start the engine

resting voltage of 11.9V overnight is close to loosing 100%

going to be very marginal in lasting till next winter.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Thanks Koalar. It cranks very well at this time, but it starts very readily so doesn't do extended cranking. I'll keep a very close eye on it - wouldn't want Mrs J getting stranded somewhere inconvenient.