Help needed. Car wont start
Dear members,
I have a 2018 e-Golf and it no longer starts. Earlier this week, I got the message “12V battery low”, telling me that I needed to drive the car in order to recharge it.
Using the OBD port, I checked the voltage of the 12V battery, and it showed between 12.7V and 13.3V while driving. However, the warning message remained. The next day, the warning was gone. I then made two trips totaling about 80 km and stopped at a parking lot. After that, the warning came back.
I drove home and checked the car again using the OBD scanner. The battery voltage was 14.4V. When I tried to drive away again, the car had some kind of hiccup, so I pulled into a parking space, switched the car off, and tried to restart it.
It would no longer start.
The car displayed the following message:
“Towing will damage the electrical system – consult owner’s manual.”
I checked the manual, but unfortunately there was nothing useful in there.
I then scanned the car again and got the following fault codes:
Volkswagen trouble code U041600
Volkswagen trouble code U011100
There were also 28 other errors, but I assume these are related to the fact that communication between various modules is no longer possible.
The most logical next step seemed to be replacing the 12V battery, so I installed a new one today. Unfortunately, all the warnings are still there. Clearing the fault codes does not help, and the car still refuses to start.
The new battery also appears to be discharging. It is currently showing 11.64V, and the voltage does not seem to increase.
Has anyone experienced something similar or knows what could be causing this?
I have also checked all the fuses, and none of them are blown.
The strange thing is that everything else seems to work: electric windows, keyless entry, infotainment screen, lights, etc. The only problem is that the car will not start or go into gear.
The electronic parking brake does not work either. I can press the button, but nothing happens.
The new 12v battery is the same as the old one. Same value.
All help is welcome