milasilver22

Seat Leon starting issue

My 2009 Seat Leon with a gasoline engine is being a pain to start lately. I think it's related to the Terminal 30 continuous plus getting interrupted somehow. The car cranks, but really struggles to fire up. I've got almost 150000 km on the clock. I suspect it could be a heavily discharged or defective battery causing some kind of electrical fault, especially with the ignition switch. Has anyone experienced anything similar or have any ideas on where to investigate a potential power supply issue?

4 comment(s)

I had a similar issue with my Leon. Terminal 30 is your continuous positive power supply, so an interruption there is critical. A significant voltage drop during starting could point to a failing battery, or a problem within the charging system itself. Have you measured the battery voltage both at rest and while cranking the engine? What readings did you obtain?

Thanks for the reply. I understand Terminal 30 is the constant power, but I'm not sure where to start diagnosing. How exactly did you check the voltage drop and where did you connect the multimeter?

Yes, the voltage drop test is crucial. Connect your multimeter, set to DC voltage, directly to the battery terminals. Have an assistant crank the engine while you observe the voltage. It should not drop below 10V during cranking. If it does, the battery is likely failing, or there's an excessive load somewhere which could lead to a discharged battery. Given that, and your starting issues, my educated guess is on the battery being heavily discharged or defective. If it isn't that, you may need to check the charging system or the ignition switch. I would advise getting it properly tested at a workshop to confirm.

Took the Leon to the workshop, and you were right. A new battery solved the problem. The charging system was fine. Total cost was 290€ including the battery and labor. Thanks again for your help!

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