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I bit the bullet and just went to the dealer to get an OEM battery and the charging system re-calibration. My 2010 S4 still had the original battery and was worried about a mid-winter failure. Around $360 to get done. I was told by the dealer I would need to get the charging re-calibration which is an hour of shop time including the battery install.
Update: I did buy and install the Braille Lithium Intensity Carbon i49cx. Amazon shipped it for free and I received it in under 48 hours. You can see the outline of the old battery in the first photo. It's about an inch shorter on either side. Same height and same width, so it fits nicely in the Audi housing. I put a foam pad under it.
There's essentially negligible draw off of the alternator for this battery. You can hold it upside down. It's light enough to toss in the air and catch. You can store the car for 6 months and it will start.
Last edited by westwest888; 12-30-2014 at 10:00 PM.
I bit the bullet and just went to the dealer to get an OEM battery and the charging system re-calibration. My 2010 S4 still had the original battery and was worried about a mid-winter failure. Around $360 to get done. I was told by the dealer I would need to get the charging re-calibration which is an hour of shop time including the battery install.
Did AOA extend your warranty for the water pump/t-stat issues? If so the battery should have been covered, they came to my house and changed mine when it died right in my garage... Oh and the whole charging re-calibration is a bunch of BS, it's just a way for the dealer to make $'s! I didn't have my car "re-calibrated" and mine totally died as I store the car most of the time(9k miles on 2010) Where in Ohio are you?
West, I think I'll pick that one up in the spring for some weight reduction, I weighed the stocker and it was 57lbs... Keep us posted if you have any issues please...
Did AOA extend your warranty for the water pump/t-stat issues? If so the battery should have been covered, they came to my house and changed mine when it died right in my garage... Oh and the whole charging re-calibration is a bunch of BS, it's just a way for the dealer to make $'s! I didn't have my car "re-calibrated" and mine totally died as I store the car most of the time(9k miles on 2010) Where in Ohio are you?
West, I think I'll pick that one up in the spring for some weight reduction, I weighed the stocker and it was 57lbs... Keep us posted if you have any issues please...
Is there an easy way I can measure the voltage on a normal trip to quantify how little the alternator is working to keep it charged?
Is there an easy way I can measure the voltage on a normal trip to quantify how little the alternator is working to keep it charged?
Voltage is not what you want, it will always be at the voltage regulator from the alternator setting - usually around 13.8 to 14.2 volts. This will be the same for a new or an old battery. You might want to know how many amps are being used. That will depend of what devices you are running. Main uses are lights, AC, stereo, etc. These really don't have a lot to do with the battery which is just a kind of shock absorber while the engine is running. The battery needs to have enough power to start the car in cold weather after sitting for some time.
The poster who said his fancy battery will start the car after 6 mo. is probably wrong. It is true that new hi-tech batteries do not self discharge like old lead acid batteries. They will keep a charge for a long time if there is NO draw on it. Our cars always have a small draw on the battery to remember things like radio presets, run the clock and such. If you are going to leave the car for 6 months you need to either disconnect the battery or use a trickle charger.
I have a sailboat and battery management is very important.
That lithium battery very likely has it's own built in charge controller, so as long as the car can meet it's current demands within the operating voltage range, it should charge just fine. Lithium batteries don't behave at all like lead acid batteries and tend to catch fire and explode when you treat them like lead acid batteries. Thus 99.9999% of them have a built in charge controller.
The poster who said his fancy battery will start the car after 6 mo. is probably wrong. It is true that new hi-tech batteries do not self discharge like old lead acid batteries. They will keep a charge for a long time if there is NO draw on it. Our cars always have a small draw on the battery to remember things like radio presets, run the clock and such. If you are going to leave the car for 6 months you need to either disconnect the battery or use a trickle charger.
I have a sailboat and battery management is very important.
That's why it's $2000 (retail). It has enough cells to power a clock and some volatile memory for 6 months. A cheapo $300 lithium battery will crap out in a couple of weeks.
If you had zero draw on it for 6 months or a year, it would have exactly as much charge as you started with - 100%.
The battery in your Audi is about as garbage as the one in your kids' Hot Wheels.
12-29-2014, 09:32 AM
Battery
