Hi all,

I live in Montreal and this cold winter is causing problems for my TT (just over a year old). I've had my car boosted (ie, started with jumper cables) four times in the past month. Let me explain...

- from when I got the TT, I had a Boomerang installed for insurance reasons. The Boomerang device has a constant draw of 45 milliamperes (or something along those lines) in order to send its continuos cellular signal...

- last winter everything was fine I left the car several times, for a week, untouched in the driveway, under snow...

- this year, in early December, I was away for 3 weeks, and when I returned my TT was totally dead. I had it boosted. Drove around (fast) for about 30 minutes, parked and tried to start it again. Dead. Tow-truck came a second time in the same night to boost me. This time I drove for about 1 hour.

- car ran fine until xmas holiday. I used my wife's jeep to haul presents around.

- try to start my car on the 26th. Dead.

- I had it boosted on the 27th and drove straight to the dealer. They discover that the battery has a dead cell. Great! Replace with a brand new battery and send me home on the 28th.

- I don't drive TT over the weekend. Go start it on Jan 1. Dead!!! A brand new battery dead after 2 days! WTF?!

- I had it boosted on the 3rd and drove straight to the dealer. They checked the battery and said it was fine. They checked the generator and all my systems, and say all is fine. They are blaming it on the Boomerang.

- I have driven it each day since then. It starts. However, on several occasions it has put up quite a struggle, resetting the clock and mileage...

- Nothing has changed with my car from last winter to this one.

I can believe that leaving it for three weeks, the Boomerang could have drained battery. Fine. I can guess, that two boosts in a row crapped out the old battery. Fine. But, what's the deal with the new battery and the TT still struggling to start! The Boomerang can't kill a new battery in two freaking days!

There has to be something buggy with the electrical system, or something is "loose" causing an additional drain on the battery...

Any thoughts, insights, experience?

Once started, the TT still drives like a charm

Jason

 

I remember that some of the original TT's in the US and the Canadian TT's had the same batteries, had bad batteries. Not many people have complained about their battery crapping out lately. This was something from last winter. In your case it is most likely a combination of the boomerang and the defective battery.

Go and spend about $100 on a really good battery on your own to see how long this battery lasts. If it last more than a few days, go back to Audi and tell them that the 2nd battery was bad and you would like to get your money back for the battery you just paid for!

Stop at another Audi dealer or a private mechanic and ask them to test the battery.

Have you talked to the company that makes the Boomerang? Obviosly this is not normal. Have the place that installed it check to make certain it is drawing what it is supposed to be drawing. It could be at fault just as easily as anything in the car.

Good luck and let us know what comes of it.

 

A dead cell in a battery is an internal "short"
when one of the plates inside either breaks or
warps so that it touches other plates. I have
had several over the years with many different
cars. To me, most batteries today are not made
as well as they used to be. Much cheaper, but
not as good quality. Like LarryTT said, get
a good battery such as an Interstate and then
see what happens....it will cost more, but
should be worth it.

 

A dead cell in a battery is an internal "short"
when one of the plates inside either breaks or
warps so that it touches other plates. I have
had several over the years with many different
cars. To me, most batteries today are not made
as well as they used to be. Much cheaper, but
not as good quality. Like LarryTT said, get
a good battery such as an Interstate and then
see what happens....it will cost more, but
should be worth it.

 

my parts manager says they are very commonly going bad on Audi's in the last 2.5 years. He stocks a dozen. He says they start dying when we get cold weather here in Florida.

 

Big swings in outside temp is a major cause of dead cells.

 

...well, when I went into the shop for the last time, they tested the new battery (ie, the one that died over the weekend). They discharged, and recharged and said it was fine...

The dealer had, surprisingly, called in a Boomerang tech to look at the hook-up and said all was fine.

After, I actually did talk with the head Boomerang technician. He said that the Boomerang can kill batteries (as happened on my 3 week break), but the two day KO didn't make sense. His guess was that the new battery was not fully charged...

My next step is to take it to another Audi dealer with the challenge....

Jason