Battery drain

[chipmunk82]

Hello, apologies in advance my first post is to ask advice!
My 2003 8P 2.0 fsi clock keeps resetting and the (factory) radio goes into safe mode, it starts up completely fine and the trip computer stays the same, and even the track number on the cd player stays the same once the code has been put in. It's just the clock and radio at fault at the moment.
I took it to the garage earlier for a battery test and he said there is a drain on it but that the battery was fine.
I've only owned it about 3 months but had to send off the instrument cluster to fix the rev counter a couple of months ago, all works fine now but still having this problem.
Any advice or ideas how to proceed would be welcome!
Thanks! :)

[ruffstylin]

I don't have much experience but I came across a battery drain in my 2006 Audi A6 at the time when the multimedia system was playing up. I would return to the car the next day following faults in the sat nav and the car audio system the day before, and I would notice the instrument panel lights were unusually.illuminated. When I wasn't able to operate the central locking I realised the car battery was dead.
Anyway what it came down to was the dvd navigation was faulty. Once it was removed and the fibre optic loop re-connected the battery never went down.
So, I'm thinking the same problem with your radio.

[chipmunk82]

Even with a standard factory fitted radio? Do you know which fuse accesses the radio so I can unplug it and test a drain on the battery?

It seems a bit coincidental that I unplugged the instrument cluster to send it off to be repaired, and upon plugging it back in I had to reset the clock and get the radio out of safe mode, and now it does it quite often - but I hadn't owned the car long before that so don't know if it did it beforehand

[ruffstylin]

The fuse locations should be found in your car's manual. If disconnecting the radio doesn't stop the drain maybe you need a vag.com diagnosis with a reputable tech to fault find the problem. How sure are you your instrument cluster is working correctly ?
I'm no expert as I mentioned before but in my car the nav unit was trying to read the dvd even after the car was locked up with everything turned off. You need to eliminate each of the components you've mentioned because it's highly likely one of those is to be the cause of your battery drain.

[chipmunk82]

I'm away at the moment so can't check the manual, the fuse box on the side of the dash doesn't have anything with radio in the list on the cover, and the fuses next to the battery don't list what each fuse does. I wouldn't know if it solved it unless I took it back to the garage for another battery test with the fuse pulled out though I guess.
The only other thing was that when I bought it the cigarette lighter didn't work, but did once the fuse was replaced however I actually did pull that fuse during the battery test and no change to the drain.
Will have to look into an auto electrician I was just nervous of it costing a lot to actually find the problem.
Thanks for your help ruffstylin

[Alan02]

Re-check wiring plugs etc on the cluster. It seems that your problems started once cluster replaced.

[chipmunk82]

I've had a quick look, seems to be ok but have unplugged it and plugged it back in and will see if it happens again. Do you think a loose connection on the cluster would cause a drain from the battery? Maybe one of the prongs got slightly bent in transit somehow?
Thanks

[Alan02]

Checking the plugs was for the clock / radio problems.Yes, I agree a flat battery would re-set the clock to 00:00, but usually the radio wont need re-coding unless it is actually disconnected from the car.
When the clock is at 00:00, does the dash illuminate on ignition on, and will engine start?

[chipmunk82]

If you disconnect the cluster and plug it back in the clock goes back to 12.00 but then carries on as if its 12.00 , going to 12.01 etc so you can usually pinpoint the time it happened rather than flashing and the radio goes into safe mode needing a code. The engine starts fine and all dash lights illuminate. It is literally like the cluster disconnects itself, I've gone over all the fuses and they're all pushed in properly and don't look defective.
All looked good for a couple of days after checking all the connections, it didn't look like it was totally clicked in at the back of the cluster so I was hopeful that would solve it but it's just done it again twice in the last 12 hours.
The only other thing that's changed is that the car headlights used to stay on for about 20 seconds after locking it, and now they don't. Have taken it out of auto lights.
Think I need to isolate where the drain is coming from but it seems cluster related.
Need to plug it in and check for codes really but only got vcds lite which doesn't work with the 8P.

[chipmunk82]

Seems to do it more when its wet/damp?

[chipmunk82]

Just to update, I've sent the instrument back to the cluster repair company who suggested the problem is that it needs a software reset and update as it's having an intermittent power failure.
Finger crossed that solves it!

[NHN]

Any updates?

[chipmunk82]

Since getting it back the problems have seemingly disappeared so the software update did something good which I'm pleased about.
My only issue was that I'd already spent £170 fixing the rev counter plus the £10 postage to get it there and a replacement cluster would have cost about £190 I think. They did offer me the update at the same price if it was still in the workshop rather than a new job but plus another £10 postage to them I ended up paying nearly £230 for both jobs. If the fault had been detected earlier when first there I would have just gone with a replacement for less time without a car, less money and less stress. But I'm just glad it seems to have sorted itself out

[NHN]

£190 is optimistic, used maybe, but coding to the car & mileage correction, you could easily double that price, new they're about £700 alone.

[chipmunk82]

The same company offered a used replacement coded cluster for £190 and yours in part exchange, but even at the £40 difference I'm just relieved. I think if I'd have mentioned it earlier they would have done something but it only got worse with the damp and I thought it was unrelated at the start so a small price for sure. It was about 4-5 weeks after so fair enough, but I just believe that problem should have been picked up beforehand.

[fireegi]

hi guys, sorry i'm jumping in whith my problem but i'm new on the forum and I don;t even know how to post a new thread.
I got this audi a6 2.5 tdi battery drain problem. I checked all fuses, bulbs, radio etc....i'm now down to this 219 relay inside the ECU box just under the windscreen.
I put the ignition, fire up the engine, battery is charging no problems. Once i stop the engine the battery is drained between 2 and 2.2 amps, checked with the multimeter, now is interesting....if i pull the leed off the battery i can hear the relay going off, put it back, check the battery again and is fine, drains 0.03 amps. Put the ignition on again and stop it, it drains again 2 amps. I also checked the relay with the multimeter for resistance and it seem to be fine and click on and of if i put 12v on it.

Please help....what makes that relay to stay on...who powers it?
I'm stuck so please help me
also please excuse my english, is my second language

[VAG-Abound]

If you Google for "relay 219 audi a6" it looks like that is often the fan relay on various VAG models, and prone to problems.

Can't help you anymore I'm afraid.