Battery drain issue on 1.4SC Ibiza

[Coleshaw]

Hi, I have a 1.4 2009 Seat Ibiza and I'm having huge battery issues. They began about a year ago and have gotten progressively worse. Initially my battery would drain if the car wasn't driven for a few days, however, now it can drain in about 24 hours. In fairness most days I only do short journeys, but even on a fully charged battery (removed and charged in house) the car will still drain quickly. I ensure my car does also get long runs though of a hundred miles or so regularly too.

Initially, I thought it was the battery and replaced that. After that I read some forums about software updates so I took the car to Seat and they plugged it in. After they informed me that my car didn't require a software update (kindly they didn't charge me). However, they did shrug their shoulders and say that it could be anything and would cost me hundreds to discover what. I declined that offer and thought as long as I drove the car daily it would be ok. However, my daily short trips do not seem to be enough to make it last through the week and i'd rather not have to drive the car just for the sake of driving the car.

My husband has checked all the obvious things - boot lights left on etc. Recently, sometimes the car stereo turns itself on when I unlock the car with the fob (no key in ignition). We tried removing radio fuse for a few days - battery still eventually died.

Now if we go away we disconnect the battery!

If anyone could offer advice I'd be really grateful.

 

[RUM4MO]

Sorry not a very constructive answer, but, you need to get the "natural" battery drain checked just in case there is an easy to find fault. I thought that daughter's 2009 1.4 S/C was just another one of these reported "S/W problem cars" - but it seems not as that issue did not repeat itself - to date!

 

[Coleshaw]

Thanks RUM4MO, I'll do that (well, my husband will) and let you know how I get on. The battery is back in the hall at the minute charging again

 

[IbizaNI]

Mine didn't start again the other day even though I only left it for 1 day, 2nd time it hasn't started and had to be jump started but this time the trip computer didn't reset itself unlike the 1st time it happened. Mine was 1st registered in April but was an ex-demo before that from Jan-Apr 2009 so it seems like the battery issues affect mostly 2008-2009 models.

 

[RUM4MO]

I still think that lots of folk would like to know exactly what the root cause of this seemingly erratic control of certain power switching/availability is so that they could rest easy that either it could not affect their cars or that Seat dealers could address it if their car current S/W version was not correct - I think that is all most people want/expect, we as owners know that there is potentially a problem that we want bedded down!

There has been postings that just infer that re-flashing "that" controller's S/W is all that is needed - can't dealers, when they "check for S/W updates" as claimed on the Seat site - during servicing - not spot that? I think that even the dealer techs functions have been dumbed down so all that happens is, you book the car in for a service, service reception at the time of taking that booking, checks online for any outstanding S/W updates on that individual car against, I'd hope centrally stored records held by Seat UK - if that check comes back clear, no further action - as far as I know at no time will you be getting a trained user of the VAS diagnostic equipment connecting to the car with the purpose of checking the S/W of every controller for correct S/W version - this action should be just a connect to and walk away, the VAS tool should have the ability to runs checks and report, if it can not, then maybe someone needs a good kicking! If VAG were honest about this, they could make available to owners a list of possible S/W versions that their car controllers should be brought up to - car manufacturers and dealers just don't seem to be living in the real world since S/W became a part of a product like a car.

 

[MJ]

I still think that lots of folk would like to know exactly what the root cause of this seemingly erratic control of certain power switching/availability is so that they could rest easy that either it could not affect their cars or that Seat dealers could address it if their car current S/W version was not correct - I think that is all most people want/expect, we as owners know that there is potentially a problem that we want bedded down!

The issue is usually:
incorrect battery being fitted
faulty alternator
BCM software issue

There has been postings that just infer that re-flashing "that" controller's S/W is all that is needed - can't dealers, when they "check for S/W updates" as claimed on the Seat site - during servicing - not spot that?

It's a complete rouse that seat uk or the dealer can actually check what version of software your vehicle is currently running through their booking systems alone.

I think that even the dealer techs functions have been dumbed down so all that happens is, you book the car in for a service, service reception at the time of taking that booking, checks online for any outstanding S/W updates on that individual car against.

This is not possible and a completely fabricated process. As nice as it would be foe that to actually happen - dealers are not provided with this info, the most that can be checked for using elsa is outstanding recalls.

I'd hope centrally stored records held by Seat UK - if that check comes back clear, no further action - as far as I know at no time will you be getting a trained user of the VAS diagnostic equipment connecting to the car with the purpose of checking the S/W of every controller for correct S/W version - this action should be just a connect to and walk away, the VAS tool should have the ability to runs checks and report, if it can not, then maybe someone needs a good kicking!

VAS was phased out 18 months ago in favour of ODIS. ODIS reads everything but the tech using it only gets a portion of info as most of it is background stuff that the manufacturer doesn't want us to see.
Also once a full scan has been completed you can only see the current software levels and have absolutely no automatic option to set to read and update every out of date module, it has to be done via each module individually and can take up to 15 minutes just to read then check the software on a single module and on a car that might have 75+ modules that time mounts up.

If VAG were honest about this, they could make available to owners a list of possible S/W versions that their car controllers should be brought up to - car manufacturers and dealers just don't seem to be living in the real world since S/W became a part of a product like a car.

there's millions of software variants kicking about and if a system similar to the likes of BMW where every module is checked then subsequently updated on regular intervals then each seat dealer would need additional in house servers and the manufacturers would need more central servers to store said info on. This all comes at a great cost and who does that end up effecting? you, the customer in the form of higher labour rates, longer diagnostic processes and procedures that might end up costing the customer a lot of money with no real positive outcome. hence why bmws average labour rate is about £150 an hour and seat's £90, not to mention the much higher initial costs of buying the car.

that's not saying it'll never happen though but what you're suggesting is currently on the edge of the horizon.

 

[RUM4MO]

MJ, thanks for clarifying that - shame that a few people are still being left with "will it start today?" if their only problem is a controller S/W issue. I think that in the case of daughter's car, I was aware of there being potential for this problem maybe due to its build date and so S/W version, but its alternator failed and I replaced it with a genuine Bosch rebuild before the first "flat battery" episode, still waiting for the next "flat battery" episode like others and that is just not good, not normal for a properly build and maintained car, turns it into a bit of a liability, luckily, most of the time we have a back-up plan/car.

 

[RUM4MO]

Well, I've just had a repeat of this mysterious battery drain problem!! Car last used on Thursday - on a reasonably long run, went to use it this morning - dash lights went out when I tried to start it. Checked battery voltage after I came back having to use wife's late 2002 106K miles (reliable) Polo, it was 11.7V so am now charging the battery back up and it is taking a long time - as you might expect as it seems to have been discharged!!

 

[dm222]

Well, I've just had a repeat of this mysterious battery drain problem!! Car last used on Thursday - on a reasonably long run, went to use it this morning - dash lights went out when I tried to start it. Checked battery voltage after I came back having to use wife's late 2002 106K miles (reliable) Polo, it was 11.7V so am now charging the battery back up and it is taking a long time - as you might expect as it seems to have been discharged!!

I know my car had this problem when new, right in the first month, but I don't know what was made to solve it because I bought it used and I didn't mantain contact with the old proprietary.
The battery doesnt discharge but mine doesn't like the sun, when exposed for long times takes a while to start...

MJ, thanks for clarifying that - shame that a few people are still being left with "will it start today?" if their only problem is a controller S/W issue. I think that in the case of daughter's car, I was aware of there being potential for this problem maybe due to its build date and so S/W version, but its alternator failed and I replaced it with a genuine Bosch rebuild before the first "flat battery" episode, still waiting for the next "flat battery" episode like others and that is just not good, not normal for a properly build and maintained car, turns it into a bit of a liability, luckily, most of the time we have a back-up plan/car.

Unfornatly this car has a lot of "personality"...

Can't solve most problems and the ones I solve like the power steering and the brake rotors come back.

I know the feeling, my heart races and my hands are shaking everytime I turn the key and check if the steering is still working and if the car starts, i'm getting tired of this.
To be honest if I could spend the money right now I would buy another car because I cannot trust a car that always lets me down... For example last month I made a trip and had to drive 500 Miles without power steering and ruined my whole vacations because i spent most time wondering about it...

 

[dm222]

What voltage has usually your cars when idle?
Mine varies a lot yesterday it was 13,8V/13,9V today 14,34V, same conditions (everything turned off)

 

[RUM4MO]

That voltage sounds a bit high for a car at idle though as long as it did not rise above 14.65V when the car engine was at maybe 3000RPM then that should not be a problem, unfortunately, at the moment I can't check that as the Ibiza has once again drained its battery!! Next job is to remove battery, fully recharge it and leave it in the garage - ie not connected to the car for about 5 > 8 days to see if it discharges due to an internal fault. What I did do today was, unlocked Ibiza, checked voltage, it was down to 11.9V, checked current in earth side of battery = 2.6Amps, did same on wife's new 6R/C Polo - it was 12.55V and 2.8Amps, left both cars for 3 hours and both had shut down their supplies so battery voltage was increased slightly and current drain was approximately 0.0Amps (using a current clamp). So, that was not what I expected to see for the Ibiza, it would be a lot easier if it was just a duff battery, time will time. I think that the Ibiza will now drain its battery every time it is left unused, so maybe 4 days of not using it is the absolute maximum at the moment if it is expected to start when required!

 

[dm222]

Mine was 20 days unused last month and didnt drained the battery.
If you have 0.0 amps could be the battery indeed or something that only activates at times like the alarm... Did you made any service at SEAT after buying it? There are some updates that they made to solve problem like this, and if you never went to SEAT you could still have it. I know mine had this problem when new just one day after the preivous proprietary buyed it but dont know what SEAT dos.

Well 14.34v seems a bit high and 13.8 seems seems to low. I dont know what causes such a variation at the same conditions(right after starting the car with everything turned off) but probably nothing good will come from there.

 

[RUM4MO]

No, the current dropping away to 0.0Amps just indicates that the "go to sleep" auxiliary supplies have been shut down as intended. This car has been in the Seat dealership service program from new and Seat claim to make sure any changes in S/W are checked and corrected when the car is in for its service, so all that happens is that I ask if any S/W is requiring updating and always get told that there is no update required.

I don't think that the variation in charge voltage is anything to worry about, it might just mean that the battery is closer to being fully charged so the alternator's output has been reduced to match the demand for supply.

 

[dm222]

No, the current dropping away to 0.0Amps just indicates that the "go to sleep" auxiliary supplies have been shut down as intended. This car has been in the Seat dealership service program from new and Seat claim to make sure any changes in S/W are checked and corrected when the car is in for its service, so all that happens is that I ask if any S/W is requiring updating and always get told that there is no update required.

I don't think that the variation in charge voltage is anything to worry about, it might just mean that the battery is closer to being fully charged so the alternator's output has been reduced to match the demand for supply.

What about changing the battery from the Ibiza to the Polo and the other way, if they are equal, and check what happens?

 

[RUM4MO]

What about changing the battery from the Ibiza to the Polo and the other way, if they are equal, and check what happens?

Unfortunately, the Polo is only two days old and it has start/stop technology so that and other things means that its battery is a bit special to that car, fitting its battery to the Ibiza would be okay, fitting the Ibiza battery to it would not work as the battery type needs to be same as originally fitted. The time to try this was really last week before trading the old Polo in, but we were too busy with visitors and I don't "like" my wife needing to use my Audi S4!!

It has taken me a long time to consider that it might be a battery problem, even now I might buy another battery, the Ibiza battery has been recharged and is still in the car with the earth lead removed, I intend to leave it like that for at least five days before checking the battery voltage.

 

[dm222]

Unfortunately, the Polo is only two days old and it has start/stop technology so that and other things means that its battery is a bit special to that car, fitting its battery to the Ibiza would be okay, fitting the Ibiza battery to it would not work as the battery type needs to be same as originally fitted. The time to try this was really last week before trading the old Polo in, but we were too busy with visitors and I don't "like" my wife needing to use my Audi S4!!

It has taken me a long time to consider that it might be a battery problem, even now I might buy another battery, the Ibiza battery has been recharged and is still in the car with the earth lead removed, I intend to leave it like that for at least five days before checking the battery voltage.

Well, just made a voltage drop test from the alternator case to the negative from the battery with ac on maximum and headlights and it gave me 0.25V. Looks like I have a bad connecting to earth, just have to figure out where...

 

[RUM4MO]

I'm not convinced that the method used to connect the earth and the =ve to the battery is as good as it could be. When I removed the earth lead from the Ibiza yesterday to charge the battery, it come off without me needing to loosen it very much - and it was me that connected it the last time it was off - I probably thought that the clamp was just bending/deforming so I did not want to over tighten it and damage the clamp - also, the -ve post of the battery looked very matt grey, just was not what I had expected, I seem to remember that I thought that the first time I removed that lead. I did not use any grease etc as that can make thing worse as most greases are insulators. I might clean up the -ve battery post until it is shining and find some electrical conducting grease to apply to it. None of that would cause the battery to discharge over 5 > 8 days though, but might not allow correct charging in an otherwise okay car.

 

[dm222]

I'm not convinced that the method used to connect the earth and the =ve to the battery is as good as it could be. When I removed the earth lead from the Ibiza yesterday to charge the battery, it come off without me needing to loosen it very much - and it was me that connected it the last time it was off - I probably thought that the clamp was just bending/deforming so I did not want to over tighten it and damage the clamp - also, the -ve post of the battery looked very matt grey, just was not what I had expected, I seem to remember that I thought that the first time I removed that lead. I did not use any grease etc as that can make thing worse as most greases are insulators. I might clean up the -ve battery post until it is shining and find some electrical conducting grease to apply to it. None of that would cause the battery to discharge over 5 > 8 days though, but might not allow correct charging in an otherwise okay car.

Removing and installing the battery many times eventually will degradate the battery connectors and the earth lead... Mine is well secure. If the voltage reads 0,0V from the earth lead to the battery when you turn on all your electronics you should not have problems at that point.

 

[RUM4MO]

Has anyone with this problem made any progress on solving it? So far, Ibiza continues to drain its battery over over 4>5 days or 7>8 days, no logic over which or when it does either! I've checked the "normal" battery drain after the BCM has shut down the usual power supplies and it is always 4.47ma - checking that this time using an in-line current measurement - current meter between battery -VE post and main battery earth lead, then loosen and lift battery end of main battery earth lead. That value is what I'd expect, I think that the guide lines are "max of 5.5ma" - my dilemma is, the battery, if left off the car and charged up, holds its charge over a week, ie still looking fully charged by way of measured O/C voltage, also, when badly discharged, takes a long time to charge up again - which I'd expect if the battery still had potentially its original capacity. It is getting down to fitting a new battery and just taking the hit if that battery also discharges over a short period of time. It turns out that wife's new Polo just has a normal battery, but it has EFB technology to help it work with the START/STOP - so if I was not a whimp, I could swop them over! (or replace her one with a AGM battery)

 

[marklaruk]

Hi guys I have had a seat ibiza 1.4 sc since 2009 (bought brand new at time). A couple of years later I started finding my battery was having problems if left for a week or more and progressively got worse over time to the point where I had to buy a brand new battery this year in April as I thought maybe was a duff battery.

After a month or so of the new battery been installed my car was left for a week and yep that's right totally dead... I knew obviously there was a problem of earth leak or some other problem...

I had a friend borrow his friends ac meter from work and we set about one day finding out if the ecu wasn't shutting down properly. After a couple of minutes of taking the keys out of the ignition the draw on the battery was 0.28 (think it was volts). We called his friend and told him the readings and although he said it was quite high it wasn't ridiculous... anyway we decided to go on to the second part of the test which was pulling fuses. We got through loads and I was thinking that it was all in vein when suddenly after pulling fuse 23 (engine Injection module / rain sensor / gear lever / starter relay) the meter dropped to 0.04. It was at this stage I realised the ecu wasn't shutting off correctly and this was causing the dead battery.

Called a seat dealer, told them the issues and what I had found and they said they need to do a diagnostic and extract 99 quid out of me. Anyway I got a call saying they had looked into what I had told them, performed a diagnostic and had installed a software patch, checked the readings before and after and found there to be no drain.

Had the car for 2 weeks now and left it for several days at a time and starts up perfectly.

Hope this helps people with the same problem as I know how frustrating it is!!!