The Audi Thread

Hi chaps,

I'm hoping someone here can offer some suggestions with this issue on our A3.

Since Sept/Oct 2017, the A3 has been struggling to start, so I thought the battery was dying, seeing that the car is 4 years old.

In Nov, I kept it on a Ctek charger for 3 weeks while we were overseas in the hopes of rescuing the battery, but the issue persisted.

In Jan, I went to Battery Centre, who tested the battery and told me it's busy dying. But since they didn't have stock of an AGM replacement I went to my trusted Sparky, who tell me there's nothing wrong with the battery.

So I left it as is, with Ctek charging when the car is not in use.


In April 2018, we went away for 5 weeks and on purpose I left the car as is, without hooking up the Ctek charger.

When we came back, I fully expected the battery to be completely kaput, but the car started on the first swing!!!

And then 2 days later it struggled to start again... which would point to the problem NOT being the battery.


anyone have any ideas?
 
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It’s the battery.

Considering you’ve done everything possible NOT to replace it and it’s four years old it’s really the most logical conclusion.

Remember a battery can show perfect voltage but not carry enough amps to start the car which would be the case if there are dead cells.

Battery Centre already told you this because they probably tested it for amperage while starting it.

CTek charger can’t fix dead cells.

So just get a new one instead of wasting your time and money looking for every illogical Avenue when a battery specialist already told you it’s the battery.

Does the car live outside? Do you take very short trips to work and back? All these things affect the battery and 5 weeks doesn’t mean it will discharge necessarily but that first start is enough to discharge it and then if it doesn’t get to refill you loop the same problem again.

****

Has your one touch window up/down started to behave erratically? This is another sign the battery is gone on some VW/Audi products.
 
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StrontiumDog said:
Ouch, I have xenons too :erm:. Since you know what part it is, it would be interesting to see what other places charge even if you just call them for a quote. Try calling Ferroli's in killarney gardens or Wackers in Paarden Eiland?

Is it N1 Audi that quoted you the 5k? When I called them a couple years back for a service they were at least 50% more than Audi Claremont. They were very non-committal about the exact amount but theirs was 3k or just under that and Audi Claremont was R1800.
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Had it done at Wackers. What a nice, no nonsense setup. Whole job hardly took 20 minutes and was only R1200+VAT. They use Bosch bulbs, i.e. quality parts.

Just crazy how Audi can think their markup is acceptable.
 
StrontiumDog said:
Did you guys hear about this Audi catching alight due to electronic issues?

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1983790575005342&id=125598370824581
Click to expand...

I agree with the lemon issue but I don't think electronic issues would have caused the fire, looking on his repair list that he posted most of the items involved around speakers and woofers.

Unfortunately he does not make mention how the fire started, was there smoke first, did it come from the engine bay.

His last repair was a thermostat, my likely guess is that tech didn't tighten something, probably an oil pipe or fuel line popped off and that is what caused the fire.

So it is more of a dealer liability I would I assume, don't know why the guy has gone the route he did on Facebook.
Maybe insurance not paying out, or mobility problems due to insurance claim taking long ?
 
blowdart18 said:
I agree with the lemon issue but I don't think electronic issues would have caused the fire, looking on his repair list that he posted most of the items involved around speakers and woofers.

Unfortunately he does not make mention how the fire started, was there smoke first, did it come from the engine bay.

His last repair was a thermostat, my likely guess is that tech didn't tighten something, probably an oil pipe or fuel line popped off and that is what caused the fire.

So it is more of a dealer liability I would I assume, don't know why the guy has gone the route he did on Facebook.
Maybe insurance not paying out, or mobility problems due to insurance claim taking long ?
Click to expand...


They probably didn't give him a courtesy car as he requested a cutesy car, they probably had no idea wtf he was asking for.
 
Cr419 said:
They probably didn't give him a courtesy car as he requested a cutesy car, they probably had no idea wtf he was asking for.
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A car to look cute in maybe, I'll check the urban dictionary.
 
A battery only lasts say 5 years max, then throw it away...

How does your car struggle to start? Does it crank and crank at full steam, over and over again.. because then you know the battery is good. If it cranks slower and slower and slower each time, well then your battery had enough ommpf the first time but then said cheers.

Go to Midas and get a new one, each battery has a code on it which tells the amps and size etc, they stock almost all sizes etc. You WILL get one there, different makes to choose from. They'll even help you swop it out...

Leaving a battery a long time (5 weeks) will kill it, as soon as a plate is exposed its game over... get a new one, no matter how many deep cycles you put it through.

1) Get a new battery... its the cheap and first way to go...
2) Maybe your starter motor is poked
3) You can go to a decent garage that will measure the exhaust gas fumes to tell you how the car is running, rich / lean etc...

Since its a VW just don't believe the CO2 readings! hahaha
 
This morning I’ve dropped my Audi to the dealer in order for the door locking mechanism to be replaced.

As usual, I took off everything including the SD card which remained in my laptop bag.

Since I got the car back and reinserted the SD card, it reads «*media unreadable*».

Anybody has had this experience?
 
SauRoNZA said:
Blow on it like an 8-bit cartridge? :)
Click to expand...

I’ve blown, tried on exFAT and FAT32, formated it once more, nothing.

I’ve tried on two laptops and it works perfectly.

I think I’m good for another visit at my favorite dealer!
 
Did you blow the car side though?

Maybe they worked on the dash somewhere and dislodged the connector.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Did you blow the car side though?

Maybe they worked on the dash somewhere and dislodged the connector.
Click to expand...

The messages I get when I insert it are either:
"support unreadable" or "empty"

Yesterday, during 20 sec, it detected the card and I could see the folders but they were all appearing empty.

Will try to blow in the car slot, good idea.
 
f2wohf said:
The messages I get when I insert it are either:
"support unreadable" or "empty"

Yesterday, during 20 sec, it detected the card and I could see the folders but they were all appearing empty.

Will try to blow in the car slot, good idea.
Click to expand...

Sounds very much like some pins aren't connecting.

I would imagine it's not a case of pins being bent like in the Compact Flash days unless Audi uses a very odd system.

Fact that you says it did work for a moment tells me it's a conductivity thing and possibly just dirt.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Sounds very much like some pins aren't connecting.

I would imagine it's not a case of pins being bent like in the Compact Flash days unless Audi uses a very odd system.

Fact that you says it did work for a moment tells me it's a conductivity thing and possibly just dirt.
Click to expand...

No luck. Will just go to the dealer when I have time.

Thanks for the help!
 
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