Battery problem?

[Dippy]

Here's an interesting situation.

My car's about 4 and a half years old now and still on the original OEM battery. I have actually been expecting to have to change it for quite a while now, although not because of any problems (car has been starting fine), just that I can tell it's not as healthy as it used to be (starts on second or third turn of the engine instead of the first).

Last night I went to leave my office and the car wouldn't start. The battery had enough charge for all the electricals, but not the starter. So I got the RAC out to jump start it, and we checked the alternator: After only a few minutes of running, the car could start unaided again.

I gave my ageing brain the benefit of the doubt and put it down to leaving my lights on. Yes I know it beeps but I have done it once before!

Last night I checked for DTCs and got:
Address 03: ABS Brakes
1 Fault Found:
01435 - Brake Pressure Sensor 1 (G201)
35-10 - - - Intermittent

Address 17: Instruments
1 Fault Found:
01304 - Radio
49-10 - No Communications - Intermittent

Address 35: Centr. Locks
2 Faults Found:
01367 - Central Locking Pump Run Time Exceeded (Likely Leak)
35-00 - -
01134 - Alarm Horn (H12)
76-10 - Terminal 30 missing - Intermittent

Could these all be triggered by low battery voltage?

So I cleared them and they did not return. I managed to start the car (it had been left for over 2 hours), and I also monitored the voltage for a while with the engine off. It was about 11.9V but not dropping.

So I went to bed thinking that maybe everything was OK.

I was wrong. This morning it wouldn't start. Battery charge worse than before. I called out the RAC who jump started the car again. This time I let the car idle for about half an hour before going off to Kwik-fit. Who tested the battery and said it was fine!

So I'm expecting something more that a dead battery now.

Can't afford to mess around so took it to my local Audi dealer (Reading) and now have it booked in for Thursday (earliest they can do a collection service). They made it clear that I will be charged 65+VAT just for the diagnosis. I have heard both good and bad stories about Reading Audi, but that seems to be typical of dealers these days and I can't keep messing about going to the indie tuners for everything.

I'm not sure what is going to be worse: Paying 65+VAT for them to tell me that I need a new battery, or to find out I have an electrical fault and the whole dash needs to come out...

[SimonS4MTM]

A flat battery does cause some fault codes but not sure which.

I would put it down to a dead battery and just buy a new one, saving on diagnostic time.

I had one for my old S4, about £50 i think. I noticed the voltmeter was lower than normal for a while before it finally went.

[PhilT]

I have a constant headache with mine... Leave it for a week, and it's as dead as a dodo. My suspicions lie with the aftermarket electrical items I have.

The "Central Locking Pump Run Time Exceeded" is something I see regularly and associated with the aftermarket alarm I have fitted.

[ChipHazzard]

It might be handy to get one of these

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 3204&g=107

or

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/product.as ... 3204&g=107

mine's got me and a few mates out of a 'flat' spot on several occasion's and the built in compressor comes in handy too

[Nige_RS4]

Dippy, I would put money on it being the battery - fit a new one (circa. £65) and see what happens - mine went at 5 years. Did Kwik fit measure your charging voltage?

Nige.

[tombs]

Yep...I agree with the above..get a new Battery, Euro Car Parts sold me a Bosch battery for £62.00 (inc) took 20 mins to replace!!!

[clived]

When I upgraded the s/w version on the Nav+ it decided to never go fully to sleep - and drained the battery if left for a day. A pulling of the fuse seemed to reset it though - not done an update have you?

[confusionhunter]

Just change it.... The battery testers arent that great to be honest, at all depend in what state it is at that moment in time. I would not bother taking the car in. Change the battery and see how you get on. Better spending the money on something the might be at fault now and WILL fail in the future, than spend the same money on a diagnosis that might not tell you anything.... Process of elimination mate!

[TWH]

I've had the same problem although it taqkes about 4 days to go flat enough to not start at all. It's been into Reading Audi and after the diagnosis they said there's something draining the battery which is not standard on the car - they disconnected the audi electricals and there was still a drain. They suggested that if there's something like a tracker on the vehicle it could be that, so I should get Tracker to inspect the unit and see if it's installed correctly. I haven't yet phoned tracker to see how much it'd cost but I think a new battery will be my first option. My only question to do with that is; is there any difference between an Audi battery and getting one from an aftermarket supplier (I'm thinking there can't be but wanted to check in case )

[Tomson]

Yes same thing happens on my car, but like PhilT I have a stupid aftermarket Stereo and a ridiculous Alarm/Tracking system and I think it is one of these that is causing the problem. I am currently thinking about investing in a split charge system with another battery towards the rear of the car. I had a new battery last year

[ChrisG]

Just replaced the 6 1/2 year old battery ( in her 1.8T quattro Sport) because of alarm problems -- 60ah £45 Eurocarparts
One of the fault codes look familiar


The codes were:
Address 35: Centr. Locks
Part No: 8D0 862 257 E
Component: CV-Pump, Alarm, RC D13
Coding: 13130
Shop #: WSC 06325

3 Faults Found:


01134 - Alarm Horn (H12)
76-10 - Terminal 30 missing - Intermittent ----- appears to be the same


01134 - Alarm Horn (H12)
77-00 - Internal Supply Voltage
01134 - Alarm Horn (H12)
49-00 - No Communications

Still have the problem though - but at least she will not be stuck at work in the evening with a flat battery ( not that we have ever had a problem with it)
PeterB is checking the codes again this evening, thanks Peter

[Dippy]

Thanks for all the replies.

Yes I have been soooooo tempted to just go out and buy a new battery and have been worrying over what to do. After reading all the good replies, I am still going to let Reading Audi take it away for diagnosis. These are the reasons why:

1) I found out that 4.5 years is actually not that long for decent batteries
2) There was NO warning whatsoever that this failure was going to occur, and so I don't believe it is simply end-of-life
3) The battery can hold a decent charge enough to restart as long as the engine runs regularly, and when it does so, even at less than 12V, the engine starts easily. This doesn't sound like the battery is giving up the ghost. Yes Nige, Kwik fit did measure that the charging voltage was OK.
4) All my electricals are OEM except the Phatbox. The SatNav has been in there (upgraded) for ages, including when my car sat in an Airport car park for 2 weeks. No problems. Only the Phatbox is recent, and had been in there for 3-4 weeks before this happened. If it was to blame then I'd have had problems before.
5) I have read that discharging a battery completely causes damage to it. If true then if I fit a new one and there is an electrical fault, then I may have to get a new one anyway.
6) My car's been good to me. 4.5 years service so far with no major problems. With this issue I think a diagnosis is deserved rather than a "suck-and-see" approach.

Good to read TWH's post - so Reading Audi are used to doing this sort of diagnosis - I'm a bit more confident now...

[craigyb]

When you added the NAV system, did you add the Alaram gnd to pin 1 of the 26 pin harness from the central locking. When you fire the central locking from your remote fob it tells the NAV system or symphony to power down and shuts down the +12V remote feeds to the rest of the car, like the amps and in your case the phatnoise.

I suspect that the phatnoise could be draining the battery as its not shutting down for a long time.

I switched from RNS-D to E on my RS6 and have just recently attached the alarm wire to DWA-GND of the RNS-E to force the shutdown of the peripherals.

Craig

[tartan_rob]

Guys - if you are changing the battery, don't goto Halfords or something, goto batteries direct or somewhere like that, they assemble the batteries for the dealer and smaller motor factors. Take in your old one or measure the dimensions and get the largest capacity battery you can find. I had an 80 amp/hr. I replaced it with a 120amp/hr. so instead of being able to draw 1amp for 80 hours, I can now draw for 120hours....(or 120amp for 1 hour). if the battery will fit, then get it in there. You never know when you'll be stuck somewhere and need the power.

One other thing, battery manufacturer's such as batteries direct DO NOT add the electrolyte until they make the battery for you, that means it has not been sat in a warehouse for 3 months and sat on a shelf for 6 months waiting to be sold.....

[peterb]

...
4) All my electricals are OEM except the Phatbox. The SatNav has been in there (upgraded) for ages, including when my car sat in an Airport car park for 2 weeks. No problems. Only the Phatbox is recent, and had been in there for 3-4 weeks before this happened. If it was to blame then I'd have had problems before...

If I remember correctly, you have the RNS 4 Navigation system fitted. Is the PhatBox a Euro spec unit, or US spec? When the PhatBox is playing, do you get brief, irregular interruptions to the sound, and do the track/time figures on the HU flicker? If so, it just could be the PhatBox/Nav combination which is causing your problem.

Over a period of two years, the battery in my RS6 would go flat in the space of 48 hours. This happened about three of four times. On other occasions I could leave the car for three weeks and it would start perfectly well. I concluded that, because the well-publicised problem with control communications between HU and PB, sometimes the PB just didn't receive the 'power down' command.

Since installing the RNS-E, the sound and display problems have gone away, and the battery has never gone flat.