jastreb

I purchased an A5 (MY09, 3.0TDi) only yesterday. I drove it the day before and it was fine. BUt this morning when I went to pick it up, the car turns on but the steering is heavy and there is an alarm:
"Alternator fault: battery not charging"

The guy I bought this off (its still at the front of his place" says he had his dads friend take a look at it and he said it was a bad alternator.

Could that be true? Why would the steering turn stiff if it is a bad alternator? My thining is that its the accessory belt at the front which drives both power steering and alternator. Thats just what I think after reading through the web.

What do you guys think?
Thank you in advance.

Frogfoot

That would be my first thought too. I am new to that model, but you should be able to easily see the missing belt under the hood, with good light.

jastreb

So I went to get the car thinking I would drive it home and I took 3 spare batteries with me. Well, instantly it was obvious that I wasn't going to drive it home as the serpentine belt was completely destroyed. I have now towed it back home and is in my garage. Is there any guides here on this forum or somewhere else on how to diy fix this issue? Is there anything else I should change while doing the belt? I have seen mentioned that its a good idea to change the tensioner as well while doing belt. Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Grisho

Not too great to hear about your issues, but on the other hand congrats on the new Audi mate! There are many ways to get the service manual for an Audi, here are a couple:
1. erwin.audiusa.com (if you are in the USA, there should be your country version if you look) in the US you can a 1 day access for $30-40 and print as many articles as you want
2. Bentley Publishers - Repair Manuals and Automotive Books
3. alldata or another repair manual, however these could be expensive

It is a good idea to replace the tensioner(s)/idler(s) while you do this. Actually best would be to try your best to find out the cause of the belt breakage and fix that.
All the best!

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Just replace it, the tensioner, and any idler pulleys it runs by. Make sure the air conditioner compressor isn't seized....you'll find out as soon as you try the AC with the new serp belt!! OTOH, you can energize the ac compressor (just turn it on with ignition on, the clutch should lock and if you can turn it by hand it's not seized...if it's seized you'll have to replace the AC compressor). You can still run the car with a seized compressor, just disconnect the ac clutch. If you choose to test the compressor/clutch with a new serp belt, disconnect the ac clutch before you start the car with the new belt.

I'm assuming you got the car started and no other noises...everything the serp belt drives needs to be checked for bad bearings/seizures, including water pump, alternator, etc.