re: Something's Draining my Battery

["Dr. Bob" <rmalinka@spec.net>]

Cab:

These are all signs of a bad battery.  The problem is that our engine
compartment is very hot and this really cooks the batteries.  Mine only
lasted 5 years then suddenly just went over night without any warning.  The
car started fine until one day it just didn't crank at all.  I at first
thought it was an electrical problem also such as a bad ground but soon
realized that the battery had just given up real quick.  I even tried
boosting the battery which then damaged the ECU (Warning to everyone else
don't try this - not recommended on our cars even if your boosting under the
recommended current they have posted in our VW manual - it doesn't work).
Fortunately the Service Manager who I've done business with for years
figured out some way to get me a new ECU at no-charge.  My advice is to just
bite the bullet and get the best battery you can find, and to those who are
running 4 plus years on your battery - get it replaced soon or you'll find
yourself stuck somewhere unexpectedly.
Also make sure your insulation blanket is on your battery and properly
secured, which helps protect your battery from the heat soaks after stopping
the car.  I have wondered if perhaps more insulation would be helpful? This
might be another good mod to put into our cars. Or simply relocate battery
to the trunk, but this would be a real pain in the neck job.  BTW on all the
new A4's VW has relocated the battery into a tray area behind the firewall
as on all the Audi's, gets it away from the heat and batteries should last
longer. 

Dr Bob



At 02:26 PM 7/20/00 -0400, you wrote:
>I've been having a similar problem with my car not wanting to crank up lately.
>I'm attributing mine to the fact that I still am using the stock battery, which
>is just shy of four years old now, and until this last year the car had been
>living in warm climes, so had never seen winter.  I know the alternator and
>regulator are running fine, because once it starts, all is good (and there was
>much rejoicing).  However, when it sits the night or all day at work, it is
>sluggish.  I am planning on getting a new battery tomorrow on my day off.
>However, since you mentioned that your battery is new, I really couldn't tell
>you.  What's the voltage of the battery when the car is off?  The 14.2 you read
>with ignition running isn't really a telling figure, because you're really
>reading the regulator and not the battery.  One thing I can suggest is if it is
>a very new battery, it probably needs to be cycled a few times.  I'm hardly an
>expert on batteries, but I do know that lead acid batteries have to be cycled
>regularly to stay good.  If it was sitting on a shelf for a long time, it
>probably just needs a little while to get used to being in action.
>
>I hope it's nothing more serious than that.
>
>Good luck, and let me know what you find out.  It's possible I have a similar
>problem.  One weird thing I noticed yesterday was that when I started my car
>after work, it didn't want to crank, but when it did, my clock and trip
computer
>had been reset, as if the battery had been disconnected, but the radio wasn't
>locked out.  Normally, if power is lost, you have to re enter the code to the
>deck.  Anyway, I'm hoping my problems go away with a new battery.
>
>Cab
>97glx
>72bug
>
>
>>From: John Corbishley [mailto:JCorbs@gtresort.com]
>>Sent: 19 July, 2000 2:01 PM
>>To: jettaglx@igtc.com
>>Subject: Something's Draining my Battery
>>
>>
>>Help!!
>>
>>New Battery, 14.2 volts at the terminals with the engine running.  No idiot
>>lights.
>>
>>BUT, from time to time when you go to start her, she cranks with great
>>difficulty and the alarm sounds for a moment before she fires.
>>
>>I'm guessing that something is discharging the battery while the car is off.
>>Anyone have any similar experiences?
>>
>>TIA
>>
>>John Corbs
>
>
>