First time attempt to do DIY battery replacement for my VW Golf.
Checking through the Google some suggest I need a reprogramming after the battery replacement. I’m a bit hesitant if I can do it without a programming tool or should I let a dealer (or service centre) do it. Or programming is actually not needed at all?
Any suggestion on this? And which battery brand do you recommend?
Thank you all.
Sounds positive.
Alternator makes volts, cheers.
My alternator was making volts but it never cheered. It did scream a few times,then i had to get repairs.
Shocking, but true.
That could be a negative comment !
Holy smoke I had no idea this was a thing (seems unnecessarily complicated, anti DIY)… so what happens in a run of the mill Toyota (in terms of the alternator not knowing how new the battery is)?
Google battery replacement Mercedes Benz to have your mind blown.
Prepare your anus.
Most cars are similar to this now ie has some kind of "smart" charging plus usually calibration of sensors.
VW dealer will overcharge.
Yes all Golf need battery reset from the battery configurator
sell it and buy a camry.
Or programming is actually not needed at all?
Problem is that you can do it without the programming tools, but it may reduce the service life of the battery. It may also throw a heap of lights on the dash until you do a drive cycle.
Doing at the dealership is going to cost you about the same as buying the dongle and doing it yourself (Unless they are nice and do it for nothing, but it's VAG…), but at least with the dongle, it will do you car again in the future and your friend's VW and Audi shitboxes (as well as being able to read and do other things with your car through the OBD port)
Any suggestion on this?
My suggestion is buy the OBD tool, like the OBD Eleven or something similar, that way if you need to do the battery again, you can just use it. It will also come in handy for doing a lot of other functions and code reading as well, not just for resetting battery.
Maybe you can get more up to date info from the likes of @brendanm or @brad1-8tsi, They seem to know more about VAG products than I do…
If you get a flat battery and call out the relevant RAC for your state to get it replaced, do you know if they have the dongle to do the programming as part of the service?
Dealers have a procedure, like an OBDII plug with a 9V battery attached.
When my battery on my VN Commodore died 2 months from new that is what the battery place used.
Golf builders are technocrats. Have a look in the car manual.
VW Golf
And so begins many a tale of woe …
You can get this done at super cheap or most standard places. It is easy. They might even do it after you install the battery. Ring around a few places. It is 10 min job.
Ignore the morons telling you it is your euro car. Many cars have this. If you don’t do it the car’s computer will “think” there could be a battery issue.
I changed my battery, so many codes showed in dash afterwards. Walked away 30mins started with zero codes away i went. Goodluck
I installed an Exide AGM battery from Costco and bought OBD2 scanner (Ancel VD500).
(https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B07BS7PDC2/ref=ox_sc_ac…)
When I connect the OBD2 to the car and turn the ignite on, I got 5 error messages on the dashboard, eg) Error: Stabilisation control (ESC), Start-Stop system, Auto Hold, Tyre pressure loss indicator and Park pilot.
Have gone through the OBD 2 diagnosis and erased error codes but it doesn't seem to work.
Also it shows 'Linking Error - Failure to connect' when I select the Battery Rego on the menu, other menus no issue to connect.
Any advice please? Did I buy a wrong OBD2 device?
As far as I know you need VCDS for VAG vehicles. Your cheap OBD2 scanner can read codes but only reset a limited selection. VD500 can reset Oil Service, Throttle Position Adaption and Brake Pad(EPB).
All the error messages gone within seconds when I turn the steering wheel full lock-to-lock driving out of my garage.
I am not sure if the OBD2 did anything good (I erased some but the error messages didn't disappear though) and if I still need a battery reprogramming (I changed the same battery type from AGM to AGM with the exact same spec). Very confused.
I was a bit paranoid about this when I was looking to get my VW battery done. Battery world changed the battery over and insisted that recode was not necessary and didn't do the recode.
There was a light on the dash that went away after driving out of the carpark.
From what I've read elsewhere it seems the car will adjust to the new battery but it just takes some time as long it was the same type of battery (EFB in my case).
I was wondering about that so glad you posted. Battery World connects a small gel battery in parallel so the car remains powered during a battery swap. Seems the car can figure out the battery is new..
I had it changed a bit over a year ago and haven't had any issues.
Why cant the cars software identify the battery has been disconencted and ask you if its a new battery or existing?
Bring on right to repair rules in Aus.
I had the same issue last month. Bought a new agm battery and Veepeak odb scanner (decent quality) from Amazon. Got car scanner from appstore, select mqb Golf as your car, change battery to agm, adjust capacity (70A was my new battery) and change one of the numbers in the serial number.(as long as it is different from before). took 5 min
Basically it's just something that tells the system the battery is new and hasn't had any cycles on it.
As the battery in a Eurotrashcan gets older/increases the cycles the car runs the alternator for longer to maintain the charge. When you reprogram the car this tells the car to run the alternator less often to maintain the charge. if you don't reprogram it the battery's lifespan may drop faster than expected. Not critical, but may impact the life.