I'm new here so hello everyone
My problem is that the alternator (or something around it) does not charge the battery, most important it happened after service I've done like 2 weeks ago. Now I'd like to discover the problem as much as possible before I go to garage and they'll eventually quote me for hundreds. Please help if you can! I also searched this forum but couldn't find any /direct/ answer to my car's problem(s).
Quick intro about car:
I bought 2003 A3 2.0 TDI from some amateur car dealer. Battery was flat (he said because the car wasn't used on daily basis), so we jumped battery, did a test drive and I decided to buy it (somewhat cheap) despite some issues with the car. Also the ESP light was on all time, but I thought it might be only due to fact of previous flat battery. Then I was driving it for 2 months (=5k miles) and everything was okay (apart from the ESP light on).
I had service due to so I went to do it (at independent Audi/VW specialists). There's no big issues with the car at all. I asked for resetting the ESP. It was reset and I was told if it pop ups again then it's one of the Brake Pressure/Steering angle/Lateral Accelerator sensors, or faulty ABS pump or steering wheel. After the service I managed to drive around 100 miles till the battery drained out completely. I was lucky enough I wasn't going fast (the car basically died in 3-5 seconds). I bought new battery (ESP was back on). I investigated a bit and discovered the engine dies when I disconnect the battery (so potentially alternator doesn't work). But then I started moving the wiring cable which goes to alternator and the engine was running more "smoothly". I drove another 200 miles last week, then left the car parked at the airport as I went abroad for few days. I was driving home last night when the battery drained out on M1 (yup, a bit not funny!). I ended up calling AA. This was brand new battery, fully charged. I didn't use any extra electric equipment (radio, satnav etc) in the car.
There's also issue that I can't see battery light on the dashboard while starting up the engine. I hope it's only faulty bulb.
So guys what do you think the issue here is? Let's forget the ESP light for now (or maybe not . After the service there's something which gets the "juice" away from car's battery. I was quoted 250 for new alternator (but I reckon it was already changed at some point), but when I provided more info the mechanic looked a bit confused about the problem and said it could be something else which they need to investigate of. Anyway, I've got appointment on tomorrow. I'd love to know what the trouble is before I get quoted for something expensive while it could be something simple and cheap to fix.
I'll be thankful for any advices.
Matt
My problem is that the alternator (or something around it) does not charge the battery, most important it happened after service I've done like 2 weeks ago. Now I'd like to discover the problem as much as possible before I go to garage and they'll eventually quote me for hundreds. Please help if you can! I also searched this forum but couldn't find any /direct/ answer to my car's problem(s).
Quick intro about car:
I bought 2003 A3 2.0 TDI from some amateur car dealer. Battery was flat (he said because the car wasn't used on daily basis), so we jumped battery, did a test drive and I decided to buy it (somewhat cheap) despite some issues with the car. Also the ESP light was on all time, but I thought it might be only due to fact of previous flat battery. Then I was driving it for 2 months (=5k miles) and everything was okay (apart from the ESP light on).
I had service due to so I went to do it (at independent Audi/VW specialists). There's no big issues with the car at all. I asked for resetting the ESP. It was reset and I was told if it pop ups again then it's one of the Brake Pressure/Steering angle/Lateral Accelerator sensors, or faulty ABS pump or steering wheel. After the service I managed to drive around 100 miles till the battery drained out completely. I was lucky enough I wasn't going fast (the car basically died in 3-5 seconds). I bought new battery (ESP was back on). I investigated a bit and discovered the engine dies when I disconnect the battery (so potentially alternator doesn't work). But then I started moving the wiring cable which goes to alternator and the engine was running more "smoothly". I drove another 200 miles last week, then left the car parked at the airport as I went abroad for few days. I was driving home last night when the battery drained out on M1 (yup, a bit not funny!). I ended up calling AA. This was brand new battery, fully charged. I didn't use any extra electric equipment (radio, satnav etc) in the car.
There's also issue that I can't see battery light on the dashboard while starting up the engine. I hope it's only faulty bulb.
So guys what do you think the issue here is? Let's forget the ESP light for now (or maybe not . After the service there's something which gets the "juice" away from car's battery. I was quoted 250 for new alternator (but I reckon it was already changed at some point), but when I provided more info the mechanic looked a bit confused about the problem and said it could be something else which they need to investigate of. Anyway, I've got appointment on tomorrow. I'd love to know what the trouble is before I get quoted for something expensive while it could be something simple and cheap to fix.
I'll be thankful for any advices.
Matt