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Thread: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end?

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  1. A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Hello,

    Audi A6 Allroad 11/2006 3.0 tdi 233 bhp.

    I had some issues with the electric tailgate which Crasher gave some advice about but things have gone from bad to worse.

    I drove the car on Saturday, no issues.

    Yesterday morning I tried to start it, totally dead, battery had 2.25v. Battery was new 12/2021, Varta silver 110ah. Because the battery is in the boot I tried to jump start it using the connections under the bonnet, no chance. I tried charging it using an 8 amp charger via those connections. The charger gauge was going wild from top to bottom and the reset button kept popping out.

    I climbed through the rear seats and disconnected the battery, charged it to 12.3v, reconnected it, started the car and left it running for a while then turned it off. Next morning dead again, 3.3v.

    With the battery charged again I put a meter between the clamp and positive terminal and the battery was losing about 91 milliamps which is too much but I have no idea where.

    Now when the car is running the screen shows radio not installed, What is happening?

    Can anyone suggest what is going on? Maybe it is time to sell the car but who would buy it, I have owned it for 12 years and we have become a bit acquainted.

    Positive suggestions greatly appreciated.
     
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  2. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    91 milliamps (0.091 Amps) is not enough to flatten a good, fully charged battery overnight. But you battery wasn't fully charged anyway at 12.3 volts. A 110ah battery on a 5 amp charger is going to take at least 22 hours. On top of that, flattening the battery to that extent twice will probably have killed the battery. I would try to recharge your battery fully or borrow a good battery, disconnect any accessories you have connected or plugged in, and try again.
     
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  3. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Quote Originally Posted by smiffypr View Post
    91 milliamps (0.091 Amps) is not enough to flatten a good, fully charged battery overnight. But you battery wasn't fully charged anyway at 12.3 volts. A 110ah battery on a 5 amp charger is going to take at least 22 hours. On top of that, flattening the battery to that extent twice will probably have killed the battery. I would try to recharge your battery fully or borrow a good battery, disconnect any accessories you have connected or plugged in, and try again.
    Thank you for the reply. I do have a brand new unused battery, but I am worried about killing that. The time before last that I drove the car I had loud cracking sounds coming from the speakers, but the radio was not turned on, I couldn't deal with the noise, returned home and used my wife's car, next time I drove the car that issue did not arise, I wonder if there is a connection especially as now, when the car is running the screen says "Radio not installed", very odd. I am well out of my comfort zone.
     
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  4. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    I would suggest charging the new battery, put that in the car, don't start it. Check the radio. If that is now okay, you then know that the old battery was causing the radio problems. Then I would leave your meter connected across the battery measuring volts where you can see it through the window, lock the car and check the voltage every hour or so. That way you will see if the voltage is going down fast and be able to disconnect the battery before it is flattened. From fully charged, my battery drops as much as 0.15 volt between hour 1 and hour 12, but then, around 0.02-0.04 volts every day. If it is going down fast, you can then investigate the current draw. Mine is about 10 mA. 100mA will flatten the battery so the car won't start over a few weeks. To drain the battery, which was charged enough to start the car, maybe 50%, overnight, would need a 5 amp drain, but if the battery was operating at 20% capacity and 50% charged, then 1 amp would kill it overnight. If everything seems okay (radio okay and battery voltage staying up), then try starting the car with the voltmeter still connected. Mine gets up to 14.75V when charging hard. If yours get much more than that, it could be that the battery has been killed by being overcharged, in which case I would turn the engine off and investigate the overcharging.
    The other test you should do is to totally charge the old battery (until the charger says it's charged or the current has got down to nothing) then leave it disconnected and monitor the voltage to see if it is going flat on it's own.
     
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  5. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Thank you again. I will try charging the new battery as you suggested, but following your previous suggestion I have taken the old battery out and am charging it until tomorrow morning. It was difficult because as it has an electrical tailgate I had to climb through the back of the car, lift it up and out of a rear door, I already have a knackered back and am likely to be having a second lumbar surgery shortly, and it is a very heavy battery, I am also worried about dropping it or the new one when putting it back in the car. Tomorrow my initial plan is to put the old battery in place, connect the negative and with keys out and all doors shut to see what drain is occurring between the positive and the positive clamp. The last time I had the engine running with this battery the voltage was 14.4v. I have never charged a new battery, I will see what voltage is showing on that. I may have to revert to taking out individual fuses and see if one circuit is responsible for the drain, but it is very difficult with the battery in the back and a locked tailgate.
     
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  6. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    I give up with modern batteries, they are hopeless; I haven't experienced so many flat batteries since the days of air cooled and a 28amp dynamo! I was working on a Golf 2 16v this morning, newish Yuasa 3000, started the engine, turned it off, went to start it again and click, flat as a witches ****!
    Anthropogenic climate change, the biggest con inflicted on mankind since religion...

    Slava Ukraini
    !


     
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  7. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    But what's the reason? Poor manufacturing? Poor materials? Poor QC? Must be summat.
    Quote "My tuner told me after he fitted the box that 0-60 should be around 2.6 seconds! "
     
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  8. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Why not connect the other battery to the charging/jump start points under the bonnet in order to work the tailgate?
    As for checking the drain, if you leave the tailgate open, will the car not shut down after a while? I think mine took about 20 minutes with doors and tailgate open. I did the taking fuses out while looking at the current drain. (My problem was that I had left the OBD thing plugged in which became obvious when it got dark!).
    I'm fortunate to have a drive to park on so I can run an extension lead out of a house window and charge the battery with it still in the car.
     
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  9. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whippy53 View Post
    But what's the reason? Poor manufacturing? Poor materials? Poor QC? Must be summat.
    I don't know, certainly lockdown was hard on them.
    Anthropogenic climate change, the biggest con inflicted on mankind since religion...

    Slava Ukraini
    !


     
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  10. Re: A6 Allroad Electrical disaster, is this the end? 
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    Battery was on charge overnight, disconnected it from the charger, let it settle for a half hour, showed 12.41v, after another 2 hours it was still above 12.3 and has shown no signs of dropping. I am ging to leave it connected overnight and see what it is like tomorrow. When I tried to start the car or charge it from the connections under the bonnet when the initial fault occurred it was hopeless and weird things seemed to be going on, speakers crackling, ignition turning on an off. I still have the issue "Radio not installed" I have no idea what to do about that, I put the Audi CDROM in the machine and followed setup instructions but no change. Today the car started easily, I wonder if the issues I have had with the electrical tailgate could have caused my problems, it still won't open more than 8 inches without assistance, the motors must use quite a bit of power. I suspect the in the not too distant future my car that I have loved for 12 years may have to find a new owner, I just don't have the finances to keep it going.
     
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