Random VR issues

[Jon94VR 10]

Right, my vr seems to be misbehaving, popped a brand new Bosch s5 battery on it at the start of the month and its been fine, come to it today after maybe two weeks and it wouldn't even turn, just clicked and all the displays went off but came back when released the key

 

Got it going with a jumppack and it seems to be fine, only a problem if left for a time it seems, can't see anything obviously wrong under the bonnet apart from the big thick cable in the corner of the passenger side of the bay appears to be broken, guessing that's not good...anyone shed any light on this and/or where to get a replacement cable from?

[dumptyboy 0]

My battery is brand new and if I don't use the car for more then 4-5 days the battery struggles to turn the engine over. I think this is fairly common from what I've heard? The black cable off the battery is earthed to the Chassis behind the battery, it looks like the cable is split but it's secured down with a 10mm nut, is this the part of the cable you are referring too? If it is then this is also normal.

[Jon94VR 10]

I'm guessing its just part of the joys of vr ownership =/ the cable I'm referring to looks like braided steel wire, connects to the bonnet and goes down into the scuttle, not sure of its purpose, earthing maybe?

[clumpy1 11]

I'm guessing its just part of the joys of vr ownership =/ the cable I'm referring to looks like braided steel wire, connects to the bonnet and goes down into the scuttle, not sure of its purpose, earthing maybe?

It may be a previous stereo power cable (for amp/sub) possibly.

[VWVW 1]

The black cable is the bonnet earth cable I changed mine a year ago for £10 from VW dealership. Maybe its the cold weather has taken a toll on the battery even for a new one.

 

Do you have the cloth battery jacket to keep the battery warm to keep charge. Also if you have an alarm system it will be a slow drain on the battery if you have not driven the car for a month.

 

Maybe the battery just need a charge up and all will be fine again.

Edited January 27, 2013 by VWVW

[dumptyboy 0]

Yeah the bonnet earth like VWVW says, I believe it's also the same on a mk3 Golf . They break easily, and don't seem to do much. I replaced mine with a Mk3 one just to tidy things up.

[nrc 0]

My battery is brand new and if I don't use the car for more then 4-5 days the battery struggles to turn the engine over. I think this is fairly common from what I've heard?

 

Hmm, my battery's 4-ish years old and has been deeply discharged on several occasions so isn't in top condition yet will still crank the engine after two or three weeks of standing. While this might be fairly common it's probably not inevitable.

 

An ammeter you can stick in the fusebox can help narrow down the source of the drain. You can get one from Maplin.

[dumptyboy 0]

Hmm, my battery's 4-ish years old and has been deeply discharged on several occasions so isn't in top condition yet will still crank the engine after two or three weeks of standing. While this might be fairly common it's probably not inevitable.

 

An ammeter you can stick in the fusebox can help narrow down the source of the drain. You can get one from Maplin.

 

Yes I agree. My car is fitted with a Clifford alarm system with a few bright flashing led's and I think this contributes a lot to the battery drain. Also I only do about 3 miles a week in my car with the music up loud, so I'm probably draining the battery before giving it a chance to charge, lol. It's usually fine for about a week before the battery won't turn the engine over in the winter, but seems to last longer in the warmer months.

:)