DRAINED BATTERY

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TARZAN100

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Today unfortunately,I could not start my Audi A2 Y reg plate.
I had left it standing for 4 days and the battery was flat,Hope someone may be able to help.
All the best

\Chris. ps I was told when i phoned the audi garage that this is comon because the alarm system and the clock draw enough power when left idle to drain the battery,
 
Tarzan,

4 days is not normal. Any car must be capable to hold its power for about a month or so. 4 days means then when you go on a holiday not only do you have to find someone to water the plants but also someone to start the car every day or so.
There must be something draining to much power. Some faulty wired cellphone carkits are known to do this.
Either that or the battery is damaged.

The story from the dealer is nonsense, a clock will only draw current in the order of milli amps.
Let's assume that a clock will dray 20 mA, which is already to much, and that the battery has 40 aH capacity (Mind you, my Tdi has 80). The car would then last 83 days before the battery is drained.
If the alarm draws as much this time is reduced to about 40 days.

good luck


Dennis de Held

Amulet Red 1.4 Tdi
 
Four As Dennis says 4 days sin;t normal. I have just left mine for a week in freezing temperatures, started first time. I left my old car for three weeks last year and that started too. If its not a sealed for life battery check the water levels in each cell. I had a Fiesta which started being sluggish on starting, checked the battery and the water had almost gone, topped it up and no problem. If you can't check the water level get it to an autoelectricians who will be able to test it for you.
 
i have left mine for 2 weeks and other than being noisy had no problems keep checking the green light on the battery to see if it is still illuminated when this fades or goes out i will be worried about the battery but so far since having the car for a year and a half had no problems encountered with the battery.
maybe check the the battery cables+water and have someone do a voltage test on your alternator to see if it is charging your battery after start up.

Hope you find the problem and it is just something simple non expensive!!

cheers



A.D.Simmons
 
Hello Tarzan,
I had this same problem on my MkIV Golf about 4 years ago - when I went away or left the car for 4 or 5 days or more the battery was drained and I wouldn't be able to start it up. Pathetic! I also got feedback from the dealer saying that it was due to the alarm draining the power.

It just can't be right. I have left A2 for over 2 weeks last summer with absolutely no problem starting when I got back from holiday. So I too would question what your dealer says.

[img=left]http://www.a2forum.net/stuart.gif[/img=left]Stuart Diamond: A2OC Founder | Forum Administrator

2001 TDi SE:http://www.audi-a2.co.uk/uk1.htm Cobalt Blue Metallic | Open Sky Roof | Kenwood Mask CD | Front Centre Armrest | Front Centre Tray

A2OC Website | A2OC Forum | Join the A2OC!
 
Darren,
Sounds like another fishy explanation from the Audi garage. I've left mine for a month before now and as expected it started first time.
Was this a one off because it could be something simple, inadvertantly leaving the interior light on springs to mind, or the radio. It could be that the battery has had a hard life. I'd echo the comments above and have the battery tested. Hope you get to the bottom of it.

Stuart, we should collate all these fishy Audi dealer explanations and send them to Audi, if not they'll stil make entertaining reading !!

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE
 
Utter utter rubbish. As stated previously the battery should last 3 months or more. I did some work on car alarm systems and they try like crazy to keep the power consumption down.
I frequently left my old car for three weeks or more, and that was a 6 year old battery
3 years is a bit short life for a battery, but it could just be worn out, especially if it's a petrol car doing a lot of stops and starts. More likely there's an alternator problem or connector and the battery wasn't charging. Just because the dash alternator light is off doesn't mean it's working.

Read your A2 manual, it gloats about how clever the electronics are at going to sleep to save power.

You didn't leave the radio on did you....?

You'll need a new battery anyway. "deep discharging" a lead acid battery is really bad for it, it'll never be the same again. Not worth the risk of soldiering on with it, it'll let you down on a cold winter morning.

A competent mechanic will be able to tell you what's caused the problem. To drain the battery in a couple of days something would need to draw around 1 amp which they'll spot from a mile off.
 
Tarzan

Have not had the problem with the A2 - Yet! BUT on boxing day, after one day stationary, our Passat would not start, would not even turn over. My immediate reaction was that the battery had failed as it did 18 months ago. After 30 minutes the AA man pronounced the battery to be fine !!!!! He then started looking for what had drained it. After closing all the doors, radio and air con off, checking boot and glove box lights he still had 5 Amps flow on the battery - turned out to be the microswitch on the bonnet - when that was closes it fell to 1.5 A - within spec for a 1.8T SE. He believes that there is an intermittent fault on one of the units which caused it to continue to draw current and recommended a visit to VW to download fault codes - sounds as if you have somethig similar.

Meanwhile I am waiting for the second time - thank god the car is due to be changed.

Ian




2002 1.4 Petrol SE, silver with climate control.
Why are NEARLY all the A2s in Lichfield are silver ? ? ?
 
Don't you just love the answers some dealers give you. The thing is-is it them who are just so inept, or do they think the customer will swallow anything? Either way it's not on. Be honest with the customer-they will love you for it.

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
Steve, it's probably a bit of both. I imagine a good proportion of Audi service centre customers are company car drivers. At the end of the day they probably aren't concerned as long as there is an explanation when they report a fault. This probably gets interpreted as gullibility by the dealer hence the number of dodgy answers/apparent explanations. I'm sure though half the time they don't know what they are talking about.

To people in the know, we are enthusiasts after all, these explanations are laughable, that's why I suggested getting them all collated, just for entertainment value at the very least.

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE
 
quote:Originally posted by Shaf

Steve, it's probably a bit of both. I imagine a good proportion of Audi service centre customers are company car drivers. At the end of the day they probably aren't concerned as long as there is an explanation when they report a fault. This probably gets interpreted as gullibility by the dealer hence the number of dodgy answers/apparent explanations. I'm sure though half the time they don't know what they are talking about.

To people in the know, we are enthusiasts after all, these explanations are laughable, that's why I suggested getting them all collated, just for entertainment value at the very least.
Click to expand...

Shaf, maybe, but that doesn't change a dishounest answer into an honest one.

I am a company driver myself and when I drove vauxhall (and I wasn't a Vauxhall enthousiast) I still got annoyed at the stupid answers and the arrogant attitude of the dealer.

My Audi salesguy was different. He told me that to him it was very simple, I bought an A2, and he would like my next car to be an A3, perhabs even an A4. And while my career would proceed he would like to sell me a fitting Audi. When I would retire he would like to sell my a A8. I couldn't agree with him more, perhabs I would like the A8 somewhat sooner.
To accomplish this he had to keep me happy as a customer and keep me connected with him. So he would greet me when I came in for maintenance (he even remembered my wifes name) and he would invite me to new car introductions.
It worked, cause I really felt treated like a valuable customer.
But now he is gone, and the new guy is not like him. So my appreciation is started to slip.
Pity, cause sometimes it's so simple to please a customer. Just listen to them, pay some attention and give them a free Audi cap and you're doing more then a dozen ads.

Dennis de Held

Amulet Red 1.4 Tdi
 
Dennis, I couldn't agree with you more, after all we're not asking for something out of the ordinary, it's just common courtesy. It's good to feel valued as a customer no matter who you are dealing with.

I've bought 2 A2's from the same dealer, the sales side does seem to give you the personal touch in my experience but when it comes to the service side even the freebie gestures of mints and chocolates don't compensate for shoddy workmanship or fishy explanations.

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE
 
Shaf/Dennis

I know we are going off topic here, but it does relate to the original story.....

I found that my Audi dealer was great with sales-if only the back-up was there to keep me as a customer. Even to the end he was polite, but the managers and service guys just didn't cut it. They just didn't understand the concept of customer service. Maybe they should have pay directly linked to customer satisfaction.

As for my SEAT dealer-I have nevr met a company so customer focused. Test drives on your own, no pressure, will do anything for you, fit you in for service at short notice, if I have a major problem like once when I hit something in the road, they took the car in straight away and had it up on a ramp to inspect it.

I feel guilty now I went with Toyota. I test drove a Leon and Corolla ansd went for the Toyota for a change. Wished I hadn't!

Steve - 2002 1.4SE petrol, Silver, black/black interior, Then an identical replacement 2003 A2. Now a Toyota Corolla 1.6 T-Spirit
 
Tarzan100. 3 years of life for a battery that has worked hard, i.e. lots of starts and relatively short runs, or left nearly discharged for periods, is not unusual. I would not feel hard done by if a battery lasted 4 years, and happy if it lasted longer. After similar troubles on the Volvo, I always wait to see all interior lights go off before I leave it (cos there's no keyhole on a Volvo, just electric locking.
I dreamt that all Audi dealers were perfect, then I woke up screaming. I have just completed the Auto Express survey re the A2, I marked all good except ride and dealers, which I marked very low. Why don't Audi U.K. wake up and kick a***? Why don't Audi Germany, kick Audi U.K. a***?
 
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