UBM Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Four days without driving. It has been fine all year. It has had the software update and the extra wiring loom fitted to prevent battery drain. Still got a problem. Now getting very fed up. Any ideas? Seriously considering changing brand..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyliss Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 An email to Mr. Hicks perhaps..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nelson_R32 Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 Have you got any hardwired items such as phone kits or speed detectors? Also, any problems with the doors? Sometimes the drivers door control unit (located in the door) can cause Battery drain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted December 29, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 None of the above. Only Dension IceLink Plus wired to the back of the stereo head unit - this has been there and tested to be OK. No doors open or lights left on. No items left plugged into the boot or front cig 12v sockets. I'm frankly very cheesed off and may well be changing brand.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S3_Scot Posted December 29, 2007 Report Share Posted December 29, 2007 you need a new battery if your battery has been drained a few times. this happened to me before, leave it for a day or two & the battery was flat - yet there was nothing (unusual) to drain it. I got a new battery & 18 months later have had no issues (touch wood!!!) (inc. leaving the car for 6 weeks w/o starting) - expensive but worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 [ QUOTE ] may well be changing brand.... [/ QUOTE ] Now don't be silly. Disconnect anything that didn't come with the car for a few nights and monitor the battery. Or better still, get the A6 you wanted. I've never had a battery issue on my A4 or S3, but then I only have the usual OEM crap connected. Are you 100% certain the Denison is not at fault here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyccr Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 So the car hasn't been to an auto electrician then to do a full test on the current drain on the battery? I used to get this sort of complaint all the time after we had fitted aftermarket alarms - and of course I got the blame, when in fact it was not the alarm Why not get someone to put an ammeter test meter inline with the battery feed and check through all the fuses to see what circuit 'might' be causing the current drain. This is the first thing I would do if it were my car. The problem nowdays is that main dealers simply plug the car into the 'diagnostics' systems and if the systems says there isn't a fault - then there isn't !!!!!!!!!!! But I'd just do a simple test with a £7 multimeter from Maplins etc. Simply set the meter up for DC AMPS, ideally on the range thats less than 5amps / 2 amps (depending on meter). Undo the battery positive terminal. Put one end of the test meter probes onto the battery +VE terminal and the other end onto the lead you've just taken off the battery. Now look to see what current drain the meter is showing. Ideally it sould be showing something around 50mA drain or less. To give you some idea, a Clifford alarm draws less than 20mA when fully armed. Be sure to make sure all the doors are closed etc, so no interior lights are left on. You may have to wait a couple of minutes for the car to 'settle' before checking the current drain. Hope this helps. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 I have a similar problem My car will be fine for weeks, even months and then on the odd morning I will find the battery is flat and I have to jump start it, I replaced the battery last year. I have found this happens when it is damp outside, and normally when I have been on a long run the day before. It doesnt happen that often so I can't be bothered having it investigated, I do have a Nav+ unit which has a in built fan which sometimes runs even when switched off for a few minutes and a DVD changer which I have a master switch. I have noticed that since I have started to switch the interior lights to the O position and switch the heaters off I haven't had this problem since.......touch wood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Uber, what is this extra wiring loom? did you do this or the dealer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtiller Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 If you DO get a £7 multimeter, be sure that you don't turn the ignition on, as more than an amp or so going through the meter will blow the internal fuse or worse still fry it. The test itself is easy to do, and is something that typically an Audi technician would not be briefed to do, as it couldn't be diagnosed via the OBD port of the car. ... give it a try, you have nothing to lose! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyccr Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 gtiller - depends on the multimeter, but £7 don't get you much nowdays !!! Fluke meters are much better. ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Uber, what is this extra wiring loom? did you do this or the dealer? [/ QUOTE ] Dealer - it is a recall fault on the early B7's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted December 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 [ QUOTE ] I have a similar problem My car will be fine for weeks, even months and then on the odd morning I will find the battery is flat and I have to jump start it, I replaced the battery last year. I have found this happens when it is damp outside, and normally when I have been on a long run the day before. It doesnt happen that often so I can't be bothered having it investigated, I do have a Nav+ unit which has a in built fan which sometimes runs even when switched off for a few minutes and a DVD changer which I have a master switch. I have noticed that since I have started to switch the interior lights to the O position and switch the heaters off I haven't had this problem since.......touch wood [/ QUOTE ] I also find it occurs when it has been raining or after a hefty wash of the car - almost as if the water is causing a short somewhere. The dealer performed a full electrical test last time it had a new battery - 2 years ago - and there were no faults reported. The current drain was a little high but within the "tolerable limits" - meaning it should last 3-4 weeks without being started. Going to book it in tomorrow - fingers crossed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timps Posted December 30, 2007 Report Share Posted December 30, 2007 Just a thought have you checked the drain holes beneath the battery tray & servo are clear. These were blocked with pine needles on mine & the water rose to the height of the pollen filter and entered the cabin. I also assume it gained entry to the electrolyte of the battery through the vent hole as the battery performance deteriorated considerably to the point of needing to buy an new one. Edited to add: The blocked drain holes are a very common problem on the A4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 A4Sline might be able to throw some light on this but i'm not sure if he still visits this forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted December 31, 2007 Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I had some worrying moments during the cold spells a few weeks back. The car had been left for a few days and although it started, it was a little laboured. I mentioned this to the dealer when it was in for the wiring loom fix (Christmas Eve). (I was fishing for a new battery aka UBM.) He said they checked the car out and it was ok. I'm sure all they've done is check for fault codes. This might be enough nowadays, but I'd have been happier if they'd told me they actually checked the battery/alternator/whatever to make sure all was well. To make matters worse, earlier today a piece of trim fell off my dashboard. It's a little piece of plastic, in line with the aluminium facia, just next to the fuse box cover. I'm guessing it was damaged when they were doing the wiring loom fix. All but one of the little pegs has been snapped and they stuck it back on with some tape. Only they used the tape you find covering wire looms, the slightly fuzzy, felt like tape, folded back on itself to make a double-sided tape. So I'll shortly be calling them to ask for an explanation. If they'd admitted the damage and organised to replace the part I'd have been satisfied, but to try and hide it as they did really angers me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 I will go and check the drain holes now. No reponse from either Huntingdon or Cambridge Audi today - I guess they are still on holiday. Will try and book it in on the second. Sponge - My trim round the headlight switch is not right - this also after the wiring loom fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted December 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2007 Have checked under the bonnet and it is as dry as a bone everywhere - no blockages in the drain holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted January 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2008 Booked in today for 3 days. Will drop off later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 I thought my recent experience would be best placed here, despite the thread being several weeks old. We were going out on Good Friday. I turned the ignition and it turned over rather slowly and didn't start. It's been laboured before, but it's always started. I was worried. Another go and it was even slower than last time, still wouldn't start. I left it a moment and gave it one more try. Nothing. Battery flat. I knew I could jump start it, but I wanted to get Audi Assist to check it out. The RAC turned up very quickly and a very nice man did his stuff. His '£1000' piece of kit told us everything was fine, just that the battery was flat. After a little chat, he concluded it was because we don't use the car enough, so the battery isn't being charged sufficiently. The car was last used the previous Monday. So it had been sat for only 4 days. Now we do tend to have frequent short journeys, but our habits haven't changed much over the last 10 years and we haven't had this problem with car batteries before. A previous check by Audi, before Christmas, said the same thing - no fault found, although they offered no explanation/thoughts. Am I being unreasonable to expect a battery to hold it's charge for more than 4 days? We'd used the car alot on the previous Monday, so it should have been well topped up. He said it might be worth trying to get a new battery out of Audi, but they'd probably do the same checks (again) that he did and find no fault. I haven't contacted Audi since the incident, but am considering it. The warranty expires in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 It happened again to me the other day, I have found a way to avoid the battery going flat, when you have finished with the car at night swich off the stereo, interior lights and climate control, it never happens when all three are switched off, I know this isn't a fix but its an option. The other day I had to meet a family who were veiwing my house and I was running late so I jumped out of the car without switching off any of these, I didn't use the car again that night, next day..... yep flat battery, I should of known better because it was damp outside and it only seems to do this when its damp....weired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 I'm considering the purchase of a battery charger/conditioner (see this thread). It'll work fine for the battery that goes in my Land Rover, as I can easily take it out and I don't use the LR daily. But I can't think of a way to keep it routinely attached to the Audi, as that's parked in the street. I do have one of those solar panels that plug into the 12V accessory socket. They're meant to keep the battery topped up, but it never seemed to accomplish much when I used it in the LR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeA2B Posted March 30, 2008 Report Share Posted March 30, 2008 A friend of mine suggested getting a solar charger, but for now i'll just switch everything off at night, i'm getting used to the ritual now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UBM Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Sponge - this is exactly the problem I had with mine - exactly. It's been fine since the last "episode"..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sponge Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Another flat battery this morning. This time it only took 1 day to drain. I've called the dealer but all their service advisors were busy. I await a callback. I'm going to push for a new battery, but I don't fancy my chances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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