2015 Passat battery

I have to start out by saying here in Mexico I drive my car very seldomly because of the ULSD requirement. So far only LSD here, not the drugs!

About four weeks ago my car would not start. Put a Ctek charger (max 3.5 amp charge) on it and overnight charged the battery. Yesterday I had to use my car and drove for one hour to another city. A few times under way instead of D6 I was shifting down to D3 or D4 for higher revs and try to force a regen cycle. When I got to Walmart I shut the car off, my hand was quicker than my eye. I noticed my Scangauge was showing EGT and CAT at over 1,200°F. Restarted and waited til the temps had come down to about 400°F. Came back about 30 minutes later, no problem starting. Drove about 15 minutes and parked again. I did hear the fans running as I left which has happened before. When I got back about 15 minutes later, the engine wouldn't turn over.

Called a friend who suggested I buy booster cables, which I did, the only ones available. Said he would be there in 20 minutes. In the meantime some kind friendly Mexicans also had cables. But using theirs or my new cables did not start the car. I suggested to use both, their and my cables doubled up in parallel but they said no and indicated the battery would go "boom". Both, their and my cables were getting warm used one or the other. Obviously not enough amperage.

My friend came long, also with skinny cables, no start. I again suggested to double up on the cables which we did, the engine turned over and started.

I know this is along story to ask if the OEM battery is sealed or can it be opened to see if the fluid levels are low? Can the fluid evaporate sitting here in the heat? According to my Scangauge I am charging at 13.7 volts, this was last night with lights and AC on.

After charging the battery overnight and the charger disconnected the voltage at the terminals reads 11.6 volt. Since it's OEM the indicator window on the battery shows black for good. Yellow would be a bad battery.
Any suggestions at all? If I have to replace the battery, what amp value should it be?

Thanks
RM

I'm not an expert at all, but I'm fairly positive the OEM batteries are not supposed to be opened. Lots of others have noted that due to very high electrical load, the OEM batteries don't last long - several have reported getting only ~2 years out of them. (Though I still had the original battery in my 2013 when I did the trade in last July, so it lasted me 5 years in a mild climate.) Likely you just need to get a replacement.

There should be ports to add distilled water underneath the stickers. It's worth a shot. Don't try to charge it up using the alternator though- it's not designed for that duty. Use your charger. If you can't get it to 12.4 volts, it's time for a new battery.

After charging the battery overnight and the charger disconnected the voltage at the terminals reads 11.6 volt.

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Sounds like it has a dead cell.

Since it's OEM the indicator window on the battery shows black for good. Yellow would be a bad battery.

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That indicator window is ONLY for the fluid level. It has nothing to do with charge level or amp capacity.

Time for a replacement.

Pick up an OEM battery from your dealership (its the best value considering the warranty) or if you must go cheaper, you would want a group 48 or even better is a group H8

i just had to replace the battery in my 2015 Passat. I went with VW original

Ok i did a bit more checking. My multimeter is inexpensive, less than $ 5.00 and reads 11.6 volts. But my ScanGauge, a lot more expensive, reads 12.4 volt.
11.6 volt means replace, 12.4 volt is OK.
I'll meet with a friend tomorrow to see how our multimeters compare.

Now let's say I'll need to replace the battery, can someone please give the exact CCA required or what other info needed. Please note that I am in Mexico now and until May of this year. The only VW dealer is 1 1/2 hours away and access to the correct battery may not be as easy. About the same distance for an Autozone store.

Not sealed, just covered with large stickers that make it LOOK like it's sealed, but simply hides normal screw type access covers. No big deal checking electrolyte level.
Yes, in the heat, electrolyte will evaporate. Yes, a battery sitting in heat won't last as long if it isn't working (my son's CMax battery just went bad, 2.5 years, sits around on campus in Denton, TX...HOT!...of course, it's a totally different animal...)
Someone else will post CCA numbers.
Replace the battery, avoid the inconvenience of further failures.

You have a 4+5 year old battery in the car, they fail, replace it.

The only stories I remember of people adding water to a "low battery" resulted in boiling over and leaking battery acid all over the battery tray.

The size of the '15s were dropped in CCA and AH (weight savings?), buy a battery for a 2010-2014 CR TDI, group 48 i think? you'll be fine and will have extra capacity.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=5460947&postcount=1302

for my 2015 i went ahead and bought the biggest battery i could find (H8 i think?) from costco (best/longest warranty) , took off the battery covers, trimmed the battery tray it sits on and made it fir perfect.

the battery covers now dont fit since the battery is bigger but i had a battery warming blanket that can be plugged in so i wrapped the battery in that and called it a day. now i have a piece of mind that the CCA are higher and battery "should" last longer

I'll write down all the necessary info received and ride my motorcycle to the VW dealer and/or Autozone to see what they have or can do. While I can get by here in some situations, there is a language barrier involved!

As I mentioned earlier i am in Mexico and I do not have the luxury of shopping around at Costco or any other NOB stores.

Thx

Very strange battery numbers !


At Autozone USA batteries to fit are a H8, H6 and H5 plus a two day one way trip across the border to Laredo,Tx, NOT a viable option !


At Autozone Mexico the batteries that fit are 47 AGM or 47 DLG, but are not in stock !


All having the required cranking amps for the TDI

Sounds like it might be easiest to buy one through Amazon etc., delivered. The dealership didn't have them?

turbobrick240 said:

Sounds like it might be easiest to buy one through Amazon etc., delivered. The dealership didn't have them?

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From my # 6 posting!


Please note that I am in Mexico now and until May of this year. The only VW dealer is 1 1/2 hours away and access to the correct battery may not be as easy. About the same distance for an Autozone store.

Just for what its worth, Amazon Mexico has a AC Delco 47 AGM 630 cranking amps battery but I'll be damned if I pay $ 602.00 for it! It is also on the low spec side for the TDI.



The one I would like from Autozone is a Duralast Platinum 47 AGM @ 825 cranking amps. No idea if it can be ordered and what it costs ?? 750 cranking amps.



One they apparently may have in stock is a Duralast 47 DLG @ 750 but I think the specs are bit on the low side for the TDI, About $ 144.00

Translation to English description:
The guarantee consists of 1 year of free replacement
plus 4 years of apportionment. ***
600 cold start amps (750 start up amps) ***

Apparently Johnson Batteries build the Sears Die Hard,
AC Delco and Duralast batteries

Jetta_Pilot said:

From my # 6 posting!


Please note that I am in Mexico now and until May of this year. The only VW dealer is 1 1/2 hours away and access to the correct battery may not be as easy. About the same distance for an Autozone store.

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It sounded like you were prepared to make the journey from post #10. I'd get one from the dealership provided prices are comparable. The factory/OEM battery in my '11 was still going strong after 8 years and 175k miles. Better than parts store batteries I've bought in the past.

Not only do you need to be concerned about CCA, but with the TDI engine you need to be concerned with power reserve. Which the group 47 battery doesn’t have.

You need a group 48 or a suitable substitute would be an H6

I could be wrong but I think VW dealers get their batteries dry with electrolite seperate.If so, perhaps you could get a battery shipped directly to you dry.

Fixmy59bug said:

Not only do you need to be concerned about CCA, but with the TDI engine you need to be concerned with power reserve. Which the group 47 battery doesn’t have.
You need a group 48 or a suitable substitute would be an H6

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That's very useful information Thanks

From what I can see on the Autozone Mexico website a group 48 does not seem to be available in Mexico. Their US website lists H8 AGM and a H6 AGM, both at US $ 194.99

I'm not stuck since I have my motorcycle to use. Sometime this week I'll ride to Manzanillo and see if Autozone can get me a H8 AGM ordered in special from the USA! The H 8 has slightly higher CCA then the H 6. Failing that I'll try the only VW dealer within about 100 miles. The may also have order it in since TDI Passats are very scarce here.

Having said all that, I'm sure I could get a stop-gap battery here and then buy the correct one in April on my trip home. But that idea doesn't appeal to me.

thundershorts said:

I could be wrong but I think VW dealers get their batteries dry with electrolite seperate.If so, perhaps you could get a battery shipped directly to you dry.

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I don’t know if that is the case in Mexico. But here in the US, that is definitely not the case. The batteries are filled, ready to install.

Jetta_Pilot said:

That's very useful information Thanks

From what I can see on the Autozone Mexico website a group 48 does not seem to be available in Mexico. Their US website lists H8 AGM and a H6 AGM, both at US $ 194.99

I'm not stuck since I have my motorcycle to use. Sometime this week I'll ride to Manzanillo and see if Autozone can get me a H8 AGM ordered in special from the USA! The H 8 has slightly higher CCA then the H 6. Failing that I'll try the only VW dealer within about 100 miles. The may also have order it in since TDI Passats are very scarce here.

Having said all that, I'm sure I could get a stop-gap battery here and then buy the correct one in April on my trip home. But that idea doesn't appeal to me.

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H6 is the same as a group 47.

I suppose the H6 would work as a stop gap filler until you got home.

The Vw dealer should have them in stock as they are used in several models, not only with TDI engines. My dealer would sell almost as many 48 batteries as they would 47’s.

If I remember correctly, the correct part number for our Passat’s is 000-915-105-DG-DSP.

The dealer may drop the DSP at the end as it only stands for drop ship, but make sure you get the DG and not the DE

do you have a tune on your passat ?!?!?! at what stage of diesel gate fix are you ?!?! I had a 2012 jetta tdi with over 320k miles on it and never had problems with charging until that damn diesel scandal fix !! soon after my alternator died followed by battery. PS: im days away from purchasing 2016 passat and im fishing for possible modifications any recommendations ?

kwiatekch said:

PS: im days away from purchasing 2016 passat and im fishing for possible modifications any recommendations ?

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no 2016 TDI available... must be a gasser?

JettaPilot... do you have an opportunity to test your old battery in another vehicle, or vice/versa?


It would be nice to rule out the possibility of some other problem before making the commitment to travel to pick up a replacement battery.

if its the original battery, IMO it'd be just wasting your time.

Thanks all.


I have a friend driving down through California and he bought me an Autozone H8-AGM battery which I should get in 3-4 days.


Now I understand that I may need to get in with my VCDS to get the system to recognize a new, different from OEM battery.
Can someone steer me in the right direction as to where or what I need to change?

that is only for vehicles that have the battery life monitoring box on the positive cable.

I think it's only on the V6 models that is mounted in the trunk.

It's nothing that we have to worry about.

Fixmy59bug said:

that is only for vehicles that have the battery life monitoring box on the positive cable.

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Don't have that.

Thanks for the info Fixmy59bug

740GLE said:

if its the original battery, IMO it'd be just wasting your time.

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If I haven't missed something along the way... the car refused to crank even when connected to a working battery by booster cables.


That would cause me some concern about the possibility of other problems.

Possible, not not all the time....

Think about it. If the dead battery is so dead it only has 50 amps of cranking power, then one set of small-ish jumper cables isn’t going to be able to provide enough amperage to start a TDI engine where two sets of jumper cables could provide just enough to start the car.

He did say it got started with two sets of cables. If it were something besides a battery, it wouldn’t matter if it were one set of jumper cables or 30.

When he said the cables were getting warm i tossed out the idea they were actually helping the situation.