Flat Battery

[DAN682]

Hey everybody,

I am in Brisbane at the moment, I have been here since last Thursday, my better half decided to take the GT out last night and all she got was "tick tick tick" over and over.

Surely the battery couldn't go flat within 5 days could it?

I assume the interior light would go off after 20 odd minutes or so like most jap cars so what else could have drained the battery?

Any info would be great.

Cheers

Dan

[Rileyowner]

Have the alternator checked.

[gregozedobe]

Certainly the battery shouldn't go flat after only 5 days, but VAG cars seem to frequently have various things drawing current that shouldn't. Common culprits that I've heard of include stereos, navigators (GPS) and alarms (particularly non-factory installed stuff).

Another electronic fault that seems way too common is radiator cooling fans running when the engine is off and cool.

My VW switches off all interior lights after about 5 minutes, whether I want it too or not.

Another thing that can sometimes catch people out is leaving one side parking light on by switching off with a blinker on (the beep when you open the driver's door should warn you, but in a bright, noisy environment it is possible to not notice).

Otherwise I don't have any other suggestions except for some small parasitic drain when the engine is switched off. Please let us know when you find out (adding to the collective wisdom is good karma).

[Blitzen]

Check to see if your battery terminal wire connections are loose. I found on my car after I picked it up from the dealer that the Negative clamp on the battery terminal was very loose. This can lead to your battery drawing too much power, and may even cause your alternator to to over charge the battery, or even lead to a very premature failure of the alternator.