Don't hear any noises...kind of odd that it was fine right up to the point that it went cold and the batt died. But a properly working alternator should keep the volts up even with a bad battery so I guess I'm screwed then.
I'm doubtful whether it'll even start anymore now. It needs a new fully charged batt before I can do anything.
Ah yes, and the very first turn of the wheel on a cold morning gives a short screech of the power steering pump...which goes silent after that.
Do they handle (proper) cold?
You should have gone to live in Bora Bora instead of Moscow 
Where does the car sleep overnight? Can you get a battery conditioner? I use one on mine and always keeps the battery tiptop.
Where does the car sleep overnight? Can you get a battery conditioner? I use one on mine and always keeps the battery tiptop.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Car has to sleep outside. There's no alternative 
Indoor parkings are very rare in Moscow and none in our area. We live in a nice new apt building with an underground garage unfortunately it's completely full and no-one is offering a space for rent (when they do, it would cost no less than 500 quid a month up to 1K)
Battery conditioner I could get but there are no power plugs outside, to make things worse. Living here is definitely more complicated than Belgium, but then again in Belgium I wouldn't have an RS6.
When I replace the battery, will there still be a sign of the alternator being bad? I don't want to swap batts and then show up at the dealer who thinks there's nothing wrong with it.
Indoor parkings are very rare in Moscow and none in our area. We live in a nice new apt building with an underground garage unfortunately it's completely full and no-one is offering a space for rent (when they do, it would cost no less than 500 quid a month up to 1K)Battery conditioner I could get but there are no power plugs outside, to make things worse. Living here is definitely more complicated than Belgium, but then again in Belgium I wouldn't have an RS6.
When I replace the battery, will there still be a sign of the alternator being bad? I don't want to swap batts and then show up at the dealer who thinks there's nothing wrong with it.
IMHO it's more likely to be the battery than the alternator - cold will kill a battery, but there is no particular reason why it should affect the alternator. I'd change out the battery and see if the problem remains.
Another approach would be to take the existing battery out of the car, bring it into the warm and put it on charge - see how it behaves. I know it's a pain taking it out at -15C (been there, done it!) but it should give you a better idea what the problem is.
The screech from the PS pump would just be cold fluids - but do check the levels just to be sure.
Dave
Another approach would be to take the existing battery out of the car, bring it into the warm and put it on charge - see how it behaves. I know it's a pain taking it out at -15C (been there, done it!) but it should give you a better idea what the problem is.
The screech from the PS pump would just be cold fluids - but do check the levels just to be sure.
Dave
Well interesting development, I went to check codes and see if it would start again. It did, albeit barely, but then the volt gauge went straight back up to 14.
Considering the engine had warmed up on the previous trip and then had some time to soak, I think it may have been a slipping belt or something else that caused the alternator to not work when it was stone cold. Cranking up the heated seats + low battery probably placed a big load on it.
It did have 4 A4 pages worth of fault codes after the low voltage thing...though this time it includes 17125/P0741
though I'm not panicking about that one yet.
Considering the engine had warmed up on the previous trip and then had some time to soak, I think it may have been a slipping belt or something else that caused the alternator to not work when it was stone cold. Cranking up the heated seats + low battery probably placed a big load on it.
It did have 4 A4 pages worth of fault codes after the low voltage thing...though this time it includes 17125/P0741
though I'm not panicking about that one yet.Definitely test the battery first. Charge it up and see how it behaves. The cold severely affects lead acid batteries, especially if they are weak. Given your environment, it might not be a bad idea to replace the battery as a matter of breakdown prevention.
The cold shouldn't affect the alternator, except that the load on it wlil be greater when you have a depleted battery and heated seats and heated steering wheel going. I would expect that it could handle the load, but if the alternator was weak, perhaps the increased load has pushed it over the edge.
The cold shouldn't affect the alternator, except that the load on it wlil be greater when you have a depleted battery and heated seats and heated steering wheel going. I would expect that it could handle the load, but if the alternator was weak, perhaps the increased load has pushed it over the edge.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
I posted at the same time as you.
Clear all the codes, they are meaningless when the battery is low. Even if it's not the low battery that caused the 17125 DTC it'll probably be the extreme conditions affecting the viscosity of the ATF. Be particularly gentle with it in such cold conditions.
Clear all the codes, they are meaningless when the battery is low. Even if it's not the low battery that caused the 17125 DTC it'll probably be the extreme conditions affecting the viscosity of the ATF. Be particularly gentle with it in such cold conditions.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Yes definitely going to change the batt. It was mentioned by the dealer as an item to replace when we did the pre-buy dealer check. But then they conditioned it the next service and it was suddenly "normal" again so I left it in to see how it would hold up to the cold - obviously not very well.
I normally baby it around here, very little full throttle driving (traffic does not allow) and not before the oil temp hits 90C. I imagine the box stays cold for very long though.
I did get on it a few times just now, before checking the codes, after the alternator seemed to work again I went for a drive on quieter roads to top up the battery. Also did some logging but not of the gearbox unfortunately. Was planning to get a gearbox service along with the air leak stuff as early as this week if the dealer has time for me.
I normally baby it around here, very little full throttle driving (traffic does not allow) and not before the oil temp hits 90C. I imagine the box stays cold for very long though.
I did get on it a few times just now, before checking the codes, after the alternator seemed to work again I went for a drive on quieter roads to top up the battery. Also did some logging but not of the gearbox unfortunately. Was planning to get a gearbox service along with the air leak stuff as early as this week if the dealer has time for me.
There's a heat exchanger oil / ATF to get the ATF up to temperature quickly from cold. I would have thought that this would maintain the temperature of the box so that if your engine oil temp is 90 degrees, then the ATF should be similar. Depends how much cooling effect the ATF radiator has though. It would interesting if you could log the ATF temperature in those conditions with the engine up to temp.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
Tonight while on a trip I logged the temps and TC behaviour, will check out the log tomorrow though, bit late here now.
But I can tell you that the only way to get it up to reasonable temp is by standing still or in a traffic jam. Then temps rise pretty quickly, topping between 70 and 80C after a while of bumper to bumper.
When cruising at any speed above 20mph temps of the ATF go down quick, while the display on the dash showed -14C my ATF had gone down to 32-33C and stayed there. When standing still for a minute it'd already be back up to 38-39 but quickly back down again when getting up to speed.
But I can tell you that the only way to get it up to reasonable temp is by standing still or in a traffic jam. Then temps rise pretty quickly, topping between 70 and 80C after a while of bumper to bumper.
When cruising at any speed above 20mph temps of the ATF go down quick, while the display on the dash showed -14C my ATF had gone down to 32-33C and stayed there. When standing still for a minute it'd already be back up to 38-39 but quickly back down again when getting up to speed.
B7 RS4 saloon Misano red, comfy seats, JHM tune & JHM full exhaust with cats and resonators - gone.
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
That's really interesting. So at cold temps the atf cooler is over cooling. You wouldn't want to drive it too hard in that case. I bet that at less than 40° the TC isnt closing either.
Daytona RS6 C5 Avant. Viper'd, Billies, Waggers, MTM box brain, C6 stoppers, xcarlink, R8 coolant cap (woohoo)
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
///M3 E46 | XC90 (V8, natch) | Passat GTE | RR Classic V8 flapper
"The major difference between a thing that might go wrong and a thing that cannot possibly go wrong is that when a thing that cannot possibly go wrong goes wrong it usually turns out to be impossible to get at and repair."
This morning same temp, same issue. Cold start -> alternator doesn't work, 11 volts. Slightly wiser from yesterday decided to save power, no seat warming. Turned the heater fan off as well. Brrrr.
Came home after a few mile trip driving my gf to work, turned off the engine, turned it back on now that it was warm-ish and the needle went straight back to 14 volts all was normal.
Weird really. Can't hear anything like a slipping belt, the only thing I hear when driving on the battery is a slight buzzing that seems to come from the left side of the dash (keep in mind this is a LHD car) that goes away when the alternator works.
So basically it works all right when it's not cold anymore
Tomorrow we've got an appointment with the audi dealer, their PR set us up with what is supposedly a very good mechanic. It's going to cost an arm and a leg I can sense that much. Dealer prices here are probably close to twice what they are in Europe.
Came home after a few mile trip driving my gf to work, turned off the engine, turned it back on now that it was warm-ish and the needle went straight back to 14 volts all was normal.
Weird really. Can't hear anything like a slipping belt, the only thing I hear when driving on the battery is a slight buzzing that seems to come from the left side of the dash (keep in mind this is a LHD car) that goes away when the alternator works.
So basically it works all right when it's not cold anymore
Tomorrow we've got an appointment with the audi dealer, their PR set us up with what is supposedly a very good mechanic. It's going to cost an arm and a leg I can sense that much. Dealer prices here are probably close to twice what they are in Europe.
The gearbox log - first part isn't very interesting just a traffic jam, a lukewarm start after dinner at a restaurant starts at line 988. The TC does lock up with the ATF in the low 30s, even at 29C I can find some cells where it went into lockup. http://www.greenringer.net/various/gearboxlog2911.CSV
About my previous post : is there anything outside of a slipping belt that can make the alternator not work when cold? It won't turn "on" by itself when its stuck off but does work as soon as a warm restart is done...any relays involved?
About my previous post : is there anything outside of a slipping belt that can make the alternator not work when cold? It won't turn "on" by itself when its stuck off but does work as soon as a warm restart is done...any relays involved?
B7 RS4 saloon Misano red, comfy seats, JHM tune & JHM full exhaust with cats and resonators - gone.
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
-22 this morning and all was not well. The usual low voltage so I took it for a short spin to warm it up and barely made it back into the parking lot because when the battery started going down it did so quickly. Wouldn't turn over anymore, doh. Luckily leaving it to rest for 15 mins was enough for the battery to work up the courage to try one more start, which worked. Being warm now the problem was no longer there and everything had enough power.
So off to the Audi dealer, where we were met by their "VIP technician" I doubt that job title exists outside of Russia but he was a surprisingly nice bloke who understood some english even if he didn't actually speak it.
Wrote down the "issues" which now include a puddle of what appears to be power steering fluid having formed overnight in front of the RF wheel. And a rear brake light bulb failure, that I can handle.
Asked what a gearbox oil swap was going to cost me, the answer was that Audi don't actually recommend it. I said I know it's not in their schedule but what would it cost, so around 550 quid apparently. And he did agree it was a good thing to do for these cars which gave me some confidence this guy is actually knowledgeable. From what he told my girlfriend my alternator issue is not uncommon, they'll check it out. Fingers crossed.
So off to the Audi dealer, where we were met by their "VIP technician" I doubt that job title exists outside of Russia
but he was a surprisingly nice bloke who understood some english even if he didn't actually speak it.Wrote down the "issues" which now include a puddle of what appears to be power steering fluid having formed overnight in front of the RF wheel. And a rear brake light bulb failure, that I can handle.
Asked what a gearbox oil swap was going to cost me, the answer was that Audi don't actually recommend it. I said I know it's not in their schedule but what would it cost, so around 550 quid apparently. And he did agree it was a good thing to do for these cars which gave me some confidence this guy is actually knowledgeable. From what he told my girlfriend my alternator issue is not uncommon, they'll check it out. Fingers crossed.
B7 RS4 saloon Misano red, comfy seats, JHM tune & JHM full exhaust with cats and resonators - gone.
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
C5 RS6 Avant Daytona/Cognac - gone.
981 Cayman GTS Gray/Orange.
My youtube
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