subterFUSE

Where is the battery located on the SQ5?

Just trying to make some plans.

ex-quattro PETE

Underneath the trunk floor, below the spare wheel compartment.

subterFUSE

Perfect, thanks.

Redd

subterfuse-
Be very careful around the battery. I thought my leg was getting pulled when a forum member said there was an explosive bolt on the battery. He wasn't. Audi confirms there is an explosive cutter on the battery cable leading to the starter and alternator.

Apparently, if you hit something hard enough to deploy the airbag, Audi wants your car to be totally dead until Audi can inspect it and make sure it is safe to drive again. Leaving you with a dead car and an expensive consumable part (the explosive bolt assembly) when lesser mortals might just be able to drive the damaged car. off the road, or to the hospital, or...you know, places that Audi can't conceive of.

I suspect there is a small connector that can be unplugged to disable the bolt firing, but of course, Audi will not discuss that. And the car might be smart enough to disable the engine if that was unplugged. I'd be really curious to know.

rendart

Can you elaborate further on this, can someone set this off by say disconnecting/reconnecting their battery by mistake?

timlocke

I could sort of understand this on a hybrid to cut out the high voltage battery but not to cut the 12V supply as that could turn off Audi Connect, the nav (which knows where you are) and the lights etc.

MP4.2+6.0

These disconnect systems have been around for years. My 1987 Ford Taurus had one--had to reset it once when wife had a fender bender and tow company had no clue about why car wouldn't restart. Often they are simple momentum based systems or things that get signals from impact sensors and throw a kill switch you have to re set.

My 2006 A8 has the "explosive one"--way overdone term. All it really consists of is what looks like an oversized fuse with a wire leading into it. It is inline on the main battery cable. If it receives a signal--presumably from the airbag control unit--the device severs the power connection immediately. To restore it you basically replace what is effectively a single use electrically activated fuse. IIRC Audi front seat belts have had much the same thing for years too with a tensioner device that forcefully pulls in the belt in accident scenarios; also charge based but there I think it costs the whole belt unit when it goes off.

Owning a Hybrid, that's a different system. They have a kill switch set up for the high voltage part of the system. It's in the middle of the cargo area floor (no spare in a Hybrid; the drive train battery is there). It is a large pull out device clearly marked. Very similar to a type seen with some home or commercial A/C set ups where instead of throwing a knife switch or a breaker, you pull out the plastic piece. Helps avoid inadvertent reactivation by someone else while service is being done. Q5 Hybrids also have all the high voltage cabling clearly marked with bright safety orange plastic covering along their full length.

subterFUSE

Would such a thing exist on my 2013 S6?

If so, then I think this is of little concern since I have already done a huge audio upgrade to it and there have been zero issues.

Redd

I don't know the details.
I did specifically ask Audi about an explosive bolt or some type of pyrotechnic charge and they didn't contradict the terms. A fuse would probably perform the job just as well, but then again there are already explosive charges (literally) firing each of the air bag gas generators. Mercedes and some other also use explosive charges to pretension the seat belts and also to extend the roll bars during a roll-over, because they have so little time to make the deployment.

If Ford allows their device to be "reset" that's apparently not the case with Audi. You need to go buy a special replacement part. I'm sure that could be jerry-rigged with a bit of jumper or perhaps moving the cable connections, but "fuse" is not a word they used.

And the logic behind it all is apparently to make certain that a vehicle which has just sustained a crash, cannot be run again until an authorized party has inspected it for hazards. That's like having my first aid kit forcibly restrain me while it dials for 911. A decision that the "kit" shouldn't be making. It it, and Audi, aren't smart enough to know what is best in those circumstances.

If anyone digs in and finds out what really is in there, and whether it goes "bang" or just makes a whisper of fuse smoke, I'd sure love to know. But, you know, when you ask Audi or most dealers about this kind of thing? They answer "There there dear, don't you worry your sweet little head about these things, just call us and we'll take care of it."

MP4.2+6.0

Yes (and thus no big deal); see my other reply explaining it.