Battery drain issue on 1.4SC Ibiza

[dm222]

Thanks RUM4MO, can't check now, I'm in France away from the car, but mine is from 07/2008.

But as I told before my car had the problem within the first month of life and it was taken to SEAT, don't know what was done to it but probably already had the update back then.

Also seen people before reporting this, inclusive in portuguese foruns and apparently all solved with the update, so I hope yours is fixed too.

Mine doesn't have the problem with the battery drain right now, I'm here because I'm curious , it was stopped many times before, as long as 1 month, for long periods without discharging the battery.

 

[RUM4MO]

I find it very annoying that, for instance, SEAT main dealers, can not connect to an individual car and check if this software update or patch has been applied already. So what happened for me was, I had checked all that car's paperwork from when it was bought new by my daughter, and as there was no main dealer worksheet with a task doing that update, I asked my main dealer to apply 30EB, they have completed a worksheet outlining that that has now been done.

I need to look in that car's main service record booklet, but surely all updates, and not just safety related ones should be getting recorded in there and in SEAT factory records!

Note, that car was already had its rear hatch mechanism replaced under warranty - and that was covered by SEAT as a workshop campaign and not just an in-service early failure.

It is time that car manufacturers, for instance, started to establish and maintain a software record of all their products - well any updates carried out when the car was in one of their agents.

If not, for issues like this, if that update did not fix that car and I got fed up with that car and sold it, when the next owner tried to sort that problem, they would need to pay for an hour of tech time, then once SEAT confirmed that that car was within the "maybe needing that update", they would need to pay for another hour of tech time?? Not an honest way to provide a service?

 

[RUM4MO]

dm222, now that I have monitored the battery voltage over a period of days - to make sure that the car is not discharging its battery again, at the moment - and it is not, so that is good though I've been here before - and then things turned bad! I have carried out an oil and filter change on that car and ran a full scan using VCDS. As you suggested some time ago, using a scan tool like VCDS and maybe all others, does not let you see any software changes, the only thing that has changed, is the identification of BCM sub system1 - instead of being known as J386_TSG_FT 001 0250, it has become J3 (nn 11 , , _FT 011 0250 ! The nn have an accent above them and the 11 are powers, ie nn to the power 11. This might just be a corruption due to workshop reprogramming - though I think when I went back to Central Electronics again that component name had changed back to its original. So maybe not important - now I just hope that scanning that controller has not meant that I've undone that change!

 

[dm222]

RUM4MO I dont think you changed anything by doing a scan, the central electric has many modules inside maybe it was showing different modules each time.

 

[RUM4MO]

RUM4MO I dont think you changed anything by doing a scan, the central electric has many modules inside maybe it was showing different modules each time.

I don't know if you know this, but in the past, when VW group made changes to the structure of their controller programming, sometimes, scanning a newly released car caused damage/corruption to some of the controllers - in all fairness to VCDS I think that this also happened in dealerships using the VW group's own diagnostic tools. I was just adding that possibility as an outside chance that I have done something wrong to that controller - which I'm sure/hope that I have not!

 

[dm222]

I was under the idea vcds did not write anything unless you wanted to, its only a read software.

Makes more sense to me that maybe its the reader that is not prepared to read the new version, because each vcds version only works for the cars that were made before it was released.

 

[RUM4MO]

I would hope so too, but remember that VCDS can be used to alter coding as well - so it could be that during a read session, something went wrong and codes were being changed without the user needing to confirm these code changes - ie doing something that was not expected. Having not, as far as I know, having had that happen to me does nothing to change the facts that some people have recorded having experienced this happening - only a very small number though worldwide, and that was put down to VW group being over zealous in protecting their coding, to the point that some VW group main dealers, at that time, also fell foul of this trap!

Edit:- I would think that if this was still happening on a regular basis, VW group would be in court trying to justify their protectionism - which would cause them a lot more trouble than the dieselgate issues!

 

[dm222]

I cant imagine how that could happen unless there is a bug in the update released by VW at the time.
I'm sure that's not your case, besides probably if that would be the case the central electrics would not be working now.

 

[RUM4MO]

I hope so, this car has made me very hesitant to accept success!!! When I first got the car back from getting the new code loaded, the battery drain looked okay, but it has also done so in the past, I have driven the car again and it is back out of use with a monitoring lead across the battery and looks like the battery drain is still okay, so maybe it is finally sorted!

 

[dm222]

mine also fits in the range.

 

[RUM4MO]

Well 10 days or so on since I have had that software update, things still look okay, car was left unused for 5 days immediately after the update and seemed to be okay, used for two journeys as well as having its oil and filter replaced and then left unused for 5 days and again it seems to be okay.

At least we both now know that our cars from within that range have had their BCM software updated.

 

[everson38]

i am having same problem

i am having same problem. i would love to know whatis cause this

 

[RUM4MO]

i am having same problem. i would love to know whatis cause this

If your car was built on or round about late 2008 to late 2009 or maybe even slightly later, and it is a 1.4 16V 85PS Ibiza SC, then there is a good chance that you need a BCM S/W update/patch, that is if nothing else is wrong with that car.

The only way to find out and get this fixed is to let a SEAT dealership run a diagnostics check on that car, if no faults are found, they show check on line for available S/W updates for that car and apply them, if none are found on their dealership technical resource, they should raise a technical query with SEAT worldwide forum, that normally gets replied to within 48 hours, in my case SEAT came back to the dealer with an update/patch for the J519 module, ie BCM or Central Electrics, that update/patch was 30EB or 30eb .

The dealer can not scan that car and work out if it has had that update/patch applied already, so it is really up to them to firstly confirm that that car has no outstanding fault/failures, then look for and apply an update/patch. I had been using another, what I thought was a good SEAT dealer and all I got was a £4?? bill for replacing something that I'm guessing was not faulty, as well as money, that also wasted about 8 months, that SEAT dealership closed and I needed to find another local SEAT dealer and it was them that were quite open to consider that my car had a BCM ie J519 module software problem.

 

[everson38]

how did you get on in end???

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.

hey coleslaw, how did you get on, im intrigued to know if you dont mind?

thanks.

 

[RUM4MO]

hey coleslaw, how did you get on, im intrigued to know if you dont mind?

thanks.

I don't think that you will get a reply as that poster probably only joined to try to resolve that issue, I have a funny feeling that I have also, round about the time that posting was made, asked her the same question, I might be wrong though!

My experiences might not be typical, which is a nuisance as I trusted that maybe inner city "old school" dealership, which in all fairness also held Suzuki, SAAB and Alfa Romeo on that same site - and probably only had 2 or 3 workshop staff!

What initially confused me quite a bit was that this problem really appeared out of no where, I would have expected a S/W issue to should up during the car's early life - but it did not!

Edit:- if I was a gambler, I'd be betting that that person got rid of that car, which might account for them not posting again in this forum.

 

[dm222]

RUM4MO according the vins you posted before its not late 2008 but all of 2008.

 

[RUM4MO]

RUM4MO according the vins you posted before its not late 2008 but all of 2008.

So that could mean from the very beginning of the MK5 Ibiza production run yo until ?? - which I'm guessing will be maybe some time in 2010 - at a guess.

Edit:- just to keep all my updates on that issue on this thread, my car is still okay, it survived being parked at the airport for 9.5 days and showed no signs of having a partially discharged battery on our return to UK.

I have been using it now and again since January 2017 and each time have fitted a long battery monitoring lead prior to locking it up, so far there have been no repeats of the battery discharging and so far I have recorded 20 sets of voltages over a period of 3 > 5> 9 days of it not being used. Maybe a bit of overkill, but I now have hard records of what the voltage has been doing based on me recording it daily roughly at the same time and also making remarks on overnight temperatures - well maybe not actual temperature values but climatic conditions, like COLD/VERY COLD/FREEZING/COOL to help understand an unusual changes in voltage values.

 

[olibruce11]

So that could mean from the very beginning of the MK5 Ibiza production run yo until ?? - which I'm guessing will be maybe some time in 2010 - at a guess.

Edit:- just to keep all my updates on that issue on this thread, my car is still okay, it survived being parked at the airport for 9.5 days and showed no signs of having a partially discharged battery on our return to UK.

I have been using it now and again since January 2017 and each time have fitted a long battery monitoring lead prior to locking it up, so far there have been no repeats of the battery discharging and so far I have recorded 20 sets of voltages over a period of 3 > 5> 9 days of it not being used. Maybe a bit of overkill, but I now have hard records of what the voltage has been doing based on me recording it daily roughly at the same time and also making remarks on overnight temperatures - well maybe not actual temperature values but climatic conditions, like COLD/VERY COLD/FREEZING/COOL to help understand an unusual changes in voltage values.

Hi, sorry to jump on this old thread, but wondered which dealership you went to. I took mine in last week to try resolve this issue and got nowhere with them. Willing to travel if it gets it sorted finally! Cheers

 

[RUM4MO]

Quote from my earlier posting:- "The only way to find out and get this fixed is to let a SEAT dealership run a diagnostics check on that car, if no faults are found, they show check on line for available S/W updates for that car and apply them, if none are found on their dealership technical resource, they should raise a technical query with SEAT worldwide forum, that normally gets replied to within 48 hours, in my case SEAT came back to the dealer with an update/patch for the J519 module, ie BCM or Central Electrics, that update/patch was 30EB or 30eb"

You need to request them to raise a technical query with SEAT's worldwide to get them to check their database, your dealer probably only checked for any logged faults, checked their locally held information which will probably only reflect recent issues - which this is not.

I think that the words you need to use are "now that you have charged me for a diagnostic check, found no faults logged and can not find any outstanding updates for my car - now raise a technical query with SEAT and get back to me with their response" - if that is successful, and it should be if your car is within the suspected VIN range, then after this all you do is book the car back in, that dealer will have been given instructions how/where to locate this software, it is free to you all you need to pay for will be 30>45 minutes of Tech time to download this patch and apply it and recheck the operation of that car. Now, if they can find that patch I mentioned, they will not need to contact SEAT at all. All they need to look for is "j519 code 30eb".

My dealer was Arnold Clark SEAT in Edinburgh. Good Luck, having a car with that problem is absolutely a nightmare.

Edit:- by the way, my daughter, who has been back in UK since last July still owns that car has left it at Newcastle airport for 8 days last month with no issues.

 

[Greyibiza09]

Hi all, I have the same problem with my Ibiza 2009 1.4 battery draining but I m hesitate to take it to a main dealer. You would have thought you can rely on them knowing what to update as soon it's plugged in. I was thinking of taking of booking my Ibiza in at my local VW dealer as the Seat is quite far away. But after reading this thread, I think I will use my jump pack when necessary.