Halford's battery no good for A3 ??

[imported_dai_st]

Anybody help with dead battery on 2000 A3 1.8 Sport.
Original battery packed in Nov 04. Replaced with Halfords heavy duty calcium battery (higher capacity & CCA). After 2 wks completely dead. Halfords swapped it under warranty & 2 wks later new battery was dead flat too. Checked out for obvious stuff staying on etc... Current draw when all locked up was about 0.3 Amps. Checked it into Audi main dealer to get leccys checked - they said it was the battery. "Halford's calcium batteries are no good for A3." Had them stick an Audi battery in. 2wks later same problem - completely dead. Took back in and this time Audi found door switch & alarm siren were the problem so changed them. Had them put my Halfords battery back (& money back too). lasted about 2 days this time before battery flat. 3rd trip to Audi, and guess what: Halfords battery is the diagnosis again. Anybody have experience (good or bad) of using Halfords heavy duty calcium batteries or similar symptoms as I am seeing . ??

 

[jojo]

They are not called Halfrauds for nothing... have you fitted a new stereo or amp+sub by any chance, these sometimes drain the battery if there's a dodgy earth?

 

[rickquattro]

[ QUOTE ]
I have an 98 1.6 SE.
I replaced the original 60Ah battery with a Halfords battery(Yuasa-Lucas) Code: HCB 065 Spec: EN/SAE 565CCA. 100 RC. (55Ah).4Yr guarantee.
That was last August. I've had no problem since. (I'm located in Glasgow and the car is parked outside).

Common causes of your problem are:
Brake light switch sticking on erratically.
Glove compartment light not switching off when closed.
Interior light being permanently left on. ( Especially the rear one if you have inquisitive children).

[/ QUOTE ]

I would go with this too. My ZZR11 like a lot of bikes has a Yuasa battery. It stands in a plastic greenhouse outside from November to April, untouched and it starts on the button every time. Yuasa batteries seem ok in holding charge to me.

The check list seems a good steer. My mates A2 did exactly the same, turned out it was the glove compartment light on permanently. Easy fix and solved the problem. Not so easy to check if its on with the glove box closed though.

Car electrics, sent by Satan to test the patience of mere mortals.....

Rick

 

[OutLore]

[ QUOTE ]
The check list seems a good steer. My mates A2 did exactly the same, turned out it was the glove compartment light on permanently. Easy fix and solved the problem. Not so easy to check if its on with the glove box closed though.

Car electrics, sent by Satan to test the patience of mere mortals.....

Rick

[/ QUOTE ]

Leave the glovebox closed for a couple of hours then feel the lamp inside... if it is warm the bulb has been on all the time.

 

[AndyMac]

Or drill a hole in the front of the glovebox to see if the light goes out (also works for your fridge)

 

[OutLore]

[ QUOTE ]
Or drill a hole in the front of the glovebox to see if the light goes out (also works for your fridge)

[/ QUOTE ]

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[HTC]

0.3amp current draw is too much. This will drain a battery like you are experiencing.

Your current draw should be a few milliamps.

For example I=P/V
Where I is current, P is power and V is voltage.

So for a 5w interior bulb at 12v thats

Current = 5/12
= 0.41amps (which is about the current draw you have).

Go and see a competant car auto electrician and then bill Audi for the extra hassle.

Halfords batteries are okay these days.

 

[AndyMac]

Yes that's 1amp draw over 3 hours, so a 60a/hour battery will last 180hours, so just over a week, which ties in to what you've experienced. So you've got a leak somewhere.

 

[SimonPoole]

Just a thought, check the drivers door lock and see if it feels warm. I did see on here some time ago that the controller for the heated door locks sometimes plays up and keeps the heating element switched on all the time. This would flatten your battery quite nicely, although I would have expected it to show up if the stealers had plugged in their diagnostic computer.