Why is my car beeping at me??

[Umai Naa!!]

Also look at alternator charge rate.

The alternator has a one-way clutch built into the pulley. Sometimes this can fail, meaning the pulley spins freely of the internals resulting in no charge output from the alternator.

You can test it by removing the belt and using a screwdriver (disconnect the battery, first!) to lock the internals through one of the cooling slots, and try turning the pulley in both directions. If it turns one way, but impossible to turn the other, it's fine. If it spins freely in both directions, naturally it's stuffed. You can buy the pulleys on their own from various suppliers, but you'll also need to buy the correct spline socket and Torx bit to undo it. It may also need pressing off the shaft, too.

[Idle]

A multi meter will let you know the voltage of the battery but doens't give you a real indication of the batteries health, as it needs to be tested under load. Go to someone that can do a battery health check, it's normally free.

I thought that a lot of VAG cars had battery draining issues due to the CAN BUS controller... I think Transporter has mentioned something about this and that it can be upgraded to fix this?

It's also not a good idea to leave the car unlocked for a long period (like over the weekend) as there are more things running when it's not locked.

[themarvel2004]

Thanks all. I'll try locking it tonight & see...

[themarvel2004]

So I was able to get a scan done this morning - thanks Milos!!
Seems there is a battery drain issue going on related to the radio. The warning must be a low voltage issue as I measured it and it was down to 11.2V before starting it up this morning. So - now to figure out why... probably need the canbus replaced is going to be my guess.

[Mattlock]

It's also not a good idea to leave the car unlocked for a long period (like over the weekend) as there are more things running when it's not locked.

That's interesting. I never lock the car in the house so it does it overnight like that. In addition, I haven't driven my Golf for nearly 10 days straight (in the last 2 weeks) and it was unlocked the whole time. It started perfectly on Friday.

But now that you've mentioned that, I could be putting the battery through a bit of strain.

[bazzle]

ABS module??

[themarvel2004]

So the issue was battery drain. But not just the radio!!
If you have had an iPod & Bluetooth pack fitted - it might be the cause!
Turns out I had a parrot BT module with out knowing it. And it was the cause of my drain. After can bus gateway upgrade failed, we pulled the radio out to see if it was faulty. Had seen the iPod adapter module previously, but missed the BT. Pulled the fuses on them (local in the harness) and voila! No more drain!
This was probably a dealer or aftermarket fit, not factory. Apparently not uncommon, but I had no idea it was there as I'm now the third owner. I'm curious to know if any one else has seen this with the RCD 510 upgrade?

Miro from MRL automotive was exceptionally helpful in getting to the bottom of this one. Put in many hours with me. Thanks!

[Lucas_R]

^ interesting......hmm i wonder if my P3 gauge is draining my battery then while the car is parked/locked? Its plugged into the OBD-II port.

[themarvel2004]

Easiest way to check is run a metre on it and see what it sits at after 2-3min. Should be under 50mA.
Incidentally, it looks like my BT & iPod converter input had separate power in split off the stereo.

[Transporter]

After can bus gateway upgrade failed, we pulled the radio out to see if it was faulty. Had seen the iPod adapter module previously, but missed the BT. Pulled the fuses on them (local in the harness) and voila! No more drain!

Actually the can gateway software upgrade didn't fail, it worked.

But, the cause of drain was the Parrot BT module, which was fitted most likely aftermarket by the dealer. I had 2 failing in our Touareg2 - once replaced during the warranty, second time it failed 18months after the warranty. We had it also in our 2007 Mk5 TDI, so it must've been commonly used at that time. It's easily recognised by the blue box connected to the quad lock connector and 2 fuse casings hanging from the wiring.

[zillar32]

You could have something flying I your car and letting off the motion sensor