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

[Craigh1983]

Hey guys,

Sick of going on about this now to be fair...

Had a problem with my battery draining all of a sudden. I bought a new battery and car electrics went mental and in the end it kinda fixed itself (the electrical problem that is). However battery was still draining. Took it to Eddie off this forum and he tested every fuse in the car multiple times and said there is nothing running that shouldn't be. Everything is going to sleep as it should.

Drove home and battery died a week later. Went and changed the battery for a good Bosch one just incase the battery was faulty. I've had it in for a week... didn't drive my car yesterday so I thought id check on it this morning and it was completely dead again. I've had the alternator checked and is working fine and is chargning the battery. The battery doesn't die over night... it seems to be when I haven't driven it for a couple of days. it is dying to the point that it is completely flat.

I really don't know what else to do. Something is draning the battery very very quickly. The canbus and things like that seem to be all fine. Another forum member said it could be a faulty boot or door switch but if intermitent could be hard to find. There are no lights staying on when I lock the car. Checked the glove compartment light and that is turning off including the boot light.

Any other thoughts??? Really really stuck for what else to do :(

Craigh

[Teutonic_Tamer]

What is the full spec of your batteries?

[Craigh1983]

What is the full spec of your batteries?

Previous New one I bought was...
Exide Excell Battery 075 3 Year Guarantee
Exide Excell Batteries are high quality and high performance batteries for everyday applications. They are normally recommended for standard cars, with standard electronic systems. For higher drain systems we recommend using Exide Premium batteries.
•Amp Hours: (Ah): 60Ah•Cold Cranking Amp: (CCA): 610CCA•Length: 242mm•Width: 175mm•Height: 175mm

The one I have in now is...
Bosch S5 Battery 027 5 Year Guarantee
•Amp Hours: (Ah): 63Ah•Cold Cranking Amp: (CCA): 610

[Teutonic_Tamer]

What is the full spec of your batteries?

Previous New one I bought was...
Exide Excell Battery 075 3 Year Guarantee
Exide Excell Batteries are high quality and high performance batteries for everyday applications. They are normally recommended for standard cars, with standard electronic systems. For higher drain systems we recommend using Exide Premium batteries.
•Amp Hours: (Ah): 60Ah•Cold Cranking Amp: (CCA): 610CCA•Length: 242mm•Width: 175mm•Height: 175mm

Holy crap Batman - Exide batteries are truly shyte. 

And 075 60Ah is well below standard specification!

The one I have in now is...
Bosch S5 Battery 027 5 Year Guarantee
•Amp Hours: (Ah): 63Ah•Cold Cranking Amp: (CCA): 610

027 is also well under spcification.

The correct OEM spec is 72Ah, CCA 380A DIN, 640A EN/SAE.  This equates to a UK battery ref 096.  The Mk5 is VERY picky about having the correct spec battery.

[Craigh1983]

Would the 027 cause that much battery drain though?

[Craigh1983]

And would it really die in just 2 days still?

[rich83]

Maybe its not charging correctly... Could be a dodgy alternator?

[Craigh1983]

Maybe its not charging correctly... Could be a dodgy alternator?

Had the alternator checked by about 3 people with a multimeter and they all said it was working

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Would the 027 cause that much battery drain though?

It's not the battery 'drain' per se - it's simply the fact that lower capacity batteries simply can't 'store' enough power when the engine is running.  Then when you stop the car and lock up, it can be up-to two hours later before all electrical modules go to sleep.  And don't forget that TIM settings on your RDS head unit can draw power for two hours twice daily, even if the car isn't used.

The fact that not enough power was stored, systems running on, RDS auto updating . . . . and then two or three days later, your battery doesn't have enough juice to start the car.

Like I said, they are extremely sensitive to the correct spec battery.  My GTI had the wrong battery fitted at the factory - instead of mine being fitted with the correct 72Ah, CCA 380A DIN, 640A EN/SAE spec, it was fitted with a 70Ah, CCA 340A DIN, 570A EN/SAE - and we would frequently be stranded due to a flat battery.  After MANY visits to my truely incompetent stealer, banging my head against the wall to fit the correct battery, and being denied - I had to go to VW UK Customer Care, threatening them with Trading Standards regulations (not as described, not fit for purpose) - they then instructed my stealer to fit the correct 72Ah - and that correct item was perfect, and never let me down for seven and a half years.

Who sold you those incorrect batteries?

[Teutonic_Tamer]

Maybe its not charging correctly... Could be a dodgy alternator?

Doubt it - battery warning light would come on in the dash.  And multiple DTCs will be logged across various modules during normal running.

[marko]

So what value of amps is being drawn from the battery when the car is locked ???
In my opinion the battery is not really the issue..something is draining the storage in the battery regardless of weather it's the right size battery or not.
Lock the car with bonnet open and put amp clamp across the cables on the battery and get the reading after about 5 minutes.

What version can gateway is fitted??
Aftermarket radio??

[rich83]

So what value of amps is being drawn from the battery when the car is locked ???
In my opinion the battery is not really the issue..something is draining the storage in the battery regardless of weather it's the right size battery or not.
Lock the car with bonnet open and put amp clamp across the cables on the battery and get the reading after about 5 minutes.

What version can gateway is fitted??
Aftermarket radio??

If eddie did it correctly all current drains have been checked... so in theory its not a parasitic current draw problem.

[MJ]

I'd make sure that everything on the canbus network is 100% in sleep mode.

Any single wire faults indicate a can bus system error and will potentially mean certain control units remain in an awake state, which will flatten the battery pretty quickly.

[Craigh1983]

So what value of amps is being drawn from the battery when the car is locked ???
In my opinion the battery is not really the issue..something is draining the storage in the battery regardless of weather it's the right size battery or not.
Lock the car with bonnet open and put amp clamp across the cables on the battery and get the reading after about 5 minutes.

What version can gateway is fitted??
Aftermarket radio??

If eddie did it correctly all current drains have been checked... so in theory its not a parasitic current draw problem.

Yea Eddie did check every single fuse and then waited until everything was sleeping and every single time he did it they all went to sleep. He must have checked them about 5 times over.

This is so frustrating as I just wanna get it sorted. I can't keep coming back to my car to find it not working :/

[MJ]

So he did a current drain test from the battery terminal?