Battery dead again!! (bora uk)

[1stjetta]

My 2002 1.8T jetta is killing its battery again. It went to the *********** for a new battery not long ago and they said it had a 2 amp draw on the system that they needed to find. What they wanted was an open checkbook for troubleshooting. I gave them one hour to find out what the problem was and sure enough they found it. They said the computer in the car was confused by the low voltage codes and was not hibernating like it is supposed to so they dumped the codes and the draw went away. Two weeks later I get a call from my daughter...her car won't start. Next day I go out disconnect the neg cable put a meter from cable to battery and start pulling fuses. I found nothing. I recharged the battery, reconnected, and have not had any problems since until the other day when I had a headlight go very dim(faint glow). I had to remove the battery to check the grounds under the box. Reinstalled and the next day...dead battery. My question is, is there a way to clear the codes without going to the *******?

[Eshrules]

i think this is related to your headlight fault somehow, it sounds like you have a dodgy earth or a draw somewhere, im not entirely sure how you find those though.... if a techie isnt along to help soon ill look into it for you

[1stjetta]

I think my problem is solved but will not know until this afternoon. Tracking down the short that is leading to the 3.4 amp drain of my battery has been a real pain. I removed all fuses from the panel and still had high draw. Removed main wire from the metal fuse on top of the battery to be sure it wasn't chafed through somewhere. Still drawing. Removed the big black wire that goes to the altenator and draw went away!Having it isolated to that point, I reinstalled the wire on main fuse box and removed it from the Alt. itself to eliminate the wire as a potential problem. no draw. Re-attached to alt. and un plugged small connector from the alt. still drawing hard. Removed the Alt from the car and had it bench tested. Shows good for all test amps,rectifier,regulator. It is doing exactly what it is supposed to but apparently has a dead short inside leading to the power draw. Considering the difficulty it is getting it off the car I am replacing it today even if it isn't the problem but I believe I've got it. Hopefully, this will help the next guy that comes along needing some help tracking down an elusive short.

[1stjetta]

Installed the new altenator on the jetta only to find out it was no good!!! Returned it and got another. Installed it and had no (well very little ~100 milliamps) draw on the system. The altenator is charging at 13.8v at idle and is working just as it's supposed to. This problem is solved.Thanks for the info I found in this forum.