Stu Hedith

I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10 minutes
where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get nothing.
Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home with
the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home i
take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes on
again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
than what I have. TIA

Stu

Jim

The radio is meant to do that.
If it's off and you switch off the ignition, you can turn the radio on by
pressing the button.
If the radio is on when you switch off the ignition the radio will turn off.
If you press the button in then out again it will turn on.
Jim.
"Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:uSEMb.34397$sv6.100585@attbi_s52...
> I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10 minutes
> where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get nothing.
> Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
> soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
> playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
> radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home with
> the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home i
> take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes on
> again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
> while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
> than what I have. TIA
>
> Stu
>

Stu Hedith

Alright, I just went and turned off the car and the radio turned off.
Why did the radio come on when the jumper cables were attached? Would
that somehow get juice to the radio without a key in the ignition?
Other than that, I don't know what could have drained the battery. It
only sat for 1.5 hours. It had sat for nearly 9 hours prior to just
now, when it started fine. Interior/Exterior lights were off (I've had
problems in the past with a toddler leaving interior lights on and
draining the battery). I have an uneasy feeling this may crop up again
when it's least needed. Luckily, I have always carried jumper cables
with me.

Stu
'99 A6 Avant

Jim wrote:
> The radio is meant to do that.
> If it's off and you switch off the ignition, you can turn the radio on by
> pressing the button.
> If the radio is on when you switch off the ignition the radio will turn off.
> If you press the button in then out again it will turn on.
> Jim.
> "Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:uSEMb.34397$sv6.100585@attbi_s52...
>
>>I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10 minutes
>>where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get nothing.
>> Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
>>soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
>>playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
>>radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home with
>>the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home i
>>take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes on
>>again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
>>while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
>>than what I have. TIA
>>
>>Stu
>>
>
>
>

daytripper

On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:53:48 GMT, Stu Hedith <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Jim wrote:
>> "Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>> news:uSEMb.34397$sv6.100585@attbi_s52...
>>
>>>I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10 minutes
>>>where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get nothing.
>>> Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
>>>soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
>>>playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
>>>radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home with
>>>the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home i
>>>take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes on
>>>again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
>>>while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
>>>than what I have. TIA
>>
>> The radio is meant to do that.
>> If it's off and you switch off the ignition, you can turn the radio on by
>> pressing the button.
>> If the radio is on when you switch off the ignition the radio will turn off.
>> If you press the button in then out again it will turn on.
>> Jim.

>Alright, I just went and turned off the car and the radio turned off.
>Why did the radio come on when the jumper cables were attached? Would
>that somehow get juice to the radio without a key in the ignition?
>Other than that, I don't know what could have drained the battery. It
>only sat for 1.5 hours. It had sat for nearly 9 hours prior to just
>now, when it started fine. Interior/Exterior lights were off (I've had
>problems in the past with a toddler leaving interior lights on and
>draining the battery). I have an uneasy feeling this may crop up again
>when it's least needed. Luckily, I have always carried jumper cables
>with me.
>
>Stu
>'99 A6 Avant

The radio *always* gets "juice" even if your keys are at the bottom of the
deepest sea. That "always there" feed is in the tens of milliamps range at
most, and is what keeps your audio system programming intact - as long as your
battery doesn't die.

My Symphony/Bose head will allow turning on after the key is removed for some
amount of time at least - I don't think it'll do that "forever". Not sure,
never tested it. Once you turn on the radio it'll run for some amount of time
before turning itself off (roughly the amount of time to hand-wash, but not
including detailing the wheels, as I recall) which ought to protect a healthy
battery no matter the weather.

So then, how old is the battery?
And has the weather turned suddenly much colder in the last few days?

fwiw, a rear seat passenger once left her reading lamp turned on. These are
well-recessed on the S4 and so I didn't even notice it when I garaged the car
for the evening. Killed the battery stone dead by morning, though...

/daytripper
'00 s4 6spd

Stu Hedith

daytripper wrote:
> On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:53:48 GMT, Stu Hedith <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>Jim wrote:
>>
>>>"Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>>>news:uSEMb.34397$sv6.100585@attbi_s52...
>>>
>>>
>>>>I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10 minutes
>>>>where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get nothing.
>>>> Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
>>>>soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
>>>>playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
>>>>radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home with
>>>>the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home i
>>>>take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes on
>>>>again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
>>>>while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
>>>>than what I have. TIA
>>>
>>>The radio is meant to do that.
>>>If it's off and you switch off the ignition, you can turn the radio on by
>>>pressing the button.
>>>If the radio is on when you switch off the ignition the radio will turn off.
>>>If you press the button in then out again it will turn on.
>>>Jim.
>
>
>>Alright, I just went and turned off the car and the radio turned off.
>>Why did the radio come on when the jumper cables were attached? Would
>>that somehow get juice to the radio without a key in the ignition?
>>Other than that, I don't know what could have drained the battery. It
>>only sat for 1.5 hours. It had sat for nearly 9 hours prior to just
>>now, when it started fine. Interior/Exterior lights were off (I've had
>>problems in the past with a toddler leaving interior lights on and
>>draining the battery). I have an uneasy feeling this may crop up again
>>when it's least needed. Luckily, I have always carried jumper cables
>>with me.
>>
>>Stu
>>'99 A6 Avant
>
>
> The radio *always* gets "juice" even if your keys are at the bottom of the
> deepest sea. That "always there" feed is in the tens of milliamps range at
> most, and is what keeps your audio system programming intact - as long as your
> battery doesn't die.
>
> My Symphony/Bose head will allow turning on after the key is removed for some
> amount of time at least - I don't think it'll do that "forever". Not sure,
> never tested it. Once you turn on the radio it'll run for some amount of time
> before turning itself off (roughly the amount of time to hand-wash, but not
> including detailing the wheels, as I recall) which ought to protect a healthy
> battery no matter the weather.
>
> So then, how old is the battery?
> And has the weather turned suddenly much colder in the last few days?
>
> fwiw, a rear seat passenger once left her reading lamp turned on. These are
> well-recessed on the S4 and so I didn't even notice it when I garaged the car
> for the evening. Killed the battery stone dead by morning, though...
>
> /daytripper
> '00 s4 6spd

I bought the car used in august of 2002, I would imaginge the battery
could still be the original. I had the same reading light problem with
my toddler back in november. When the battery died in November I
couldn't jump it, until i noticed the water level was low. After adding
a little more than a half gallon of distilled water (Wal-mart parking
lot isn't the worst place to break down) it jumped easily and has been
no problem since. I'm in NH (northeast US) and the last week has been
incredibly cold (lows below 0 F). The car sat from sunday to sunday
last week in the frigid temps and still started sunday morning (8 F).
When the car is running, the dash display shows just over 14v, which is
normail IIRC. Temps yesterday were in the mid 20's i believe and the
car started fine when i left my house. That makes me think something
was draining the battery while the car sat, or perhaps as i drove it. I
had one heated seat on, climate control and the radio. No headlights,
rear defrost or other large power consumers. I've been keeping a close
eye on the battery since november and it has started strong ever since
the first long trip we took after the Nov jump start. I guess for now I
keep my fingers crossed and hope it doesn't happen again.

Stu
'99 A6 Avant

Ron

"Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:tsRMb.42437$nt4.78295@attbi_s51...
> daytripper wrote:
> > On Tue, 13 Jan 2004 00:53:48 GMT, Stu Hedith <stuhedith@hotmail.com>
wrote:
> >
> >>Jim wrote:
> >>
> >>>"Stu Hedith" <stuhedith@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> >>>news:uSEMb.34397$sv6.100585@attbi_s52...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>I start my car this morning without incident. Drive for 5 to 10
minutes
> >>>>where I stay for almost 1.5 hours. Go to start the car and get
nothing.
> >>>> Power locks are barely working. I prepare to jump start the car. As
> >>>>soon as I connect the cables I go to get in the car and the radio is
> >>>>playing. I find this odd as the keys were still in my pocket. The
> >>>>radio was off when i left the car. Car jumps fine and I drive home
with
> >>>>the radio off to help allow the battery to recharge. When i get home
i
> >>>>take the keys out and push the radio button and sure enough it comes
on
> >>>>again. WTF?!?! What could have happened to allow accesories to run
> >>>>while the ignition is in the "off" position? Any help would be more
> >>>>than what I have. TIA
> >>>
> >>>The radio is meant to do that.
> >>>If it's off and you switch off the ignition, you can turn the radio on
by
> >>>pressing the button.
> >>>If the radio is on when you switch off the ignition the radio will turn
off.
> >>>If you press the button in then out again it will turn on.
> >>>Jim.
> >
> >
> >>Alright, I just went and turned off the car and the radio turned off.
> >>Why did the radio come on when the jumper cables were attached? Would
> >>that somehow get juice to the radio without a key in the ignition?
> >>Other than that, I don't know what could have drained the battery. It
> >>only sat for 1.5 hours. It had sat for nearly 9 hours prior to just
> >>now, when it started fine. Interior/Exterior lights were off (I've had
> >>problems in the past with a toddler leaving interior lights on and
> >>draining the battery). I have an uneasy feeling this may crop up again
> >>when it's least needed. Luckily, I have always carried jumper cables
> >>with me.
> >>
> >>Stu
> >>'99 A6 Avant
> >

Your battery is shagged get yourself a new one, I think its 100amp in
most Audi's I know mine is, do you have voltmeter on your dash display, it
should be charging at 13.8 - 14.1 volts.

If you find you are leaving lights on etc and are of that nature, get
yourself a "Deep Cycle" battery, it will cost a little more, but you can run
her flat as pancake and charge again with no problems, normal batterys dont
like this.

You should never have to top up a battery these days, most are maintainence
free

Cheers

3yrs is a good lifetime.

ron
> >
> > The radio *always* gets "juice" even if your keys are at the bottom of
the
> > deepest sea. That "always there" feed is in the tens of milliamps range
at
> > most, and is what keeps your audio system programming intact - as long
as your
> > battery doesn't die.
> >
> > My Symphony/Bose head will allow turning on after the key is removed for
some
> > amount of time at least - I don't think it'll do that "forever". Not
sure,
> > never tested it. Once you turn on the radio it'll run for some amount of
time
> > before turning itself off (roughly the amount of time to hand-wash, but
not
> > including detailing the wheels, as I recall) which ought to protect a
healthy
> > battery no matter the weather.
> >
> > So then, how old is the battery?
> > And has the weather turned suddenly much colder in the last few days?
> >
> > fwiw, a rear seat passenger once left her reading lamp turned on. These
are
> > well-recessed on the S4 and so I didn't even notice it when I garaged
the car
> > for the evening. Killed the battery stone dead by morning, though...
> >
> > /daytripper
> > '00 s4 6spd
>
> I bought the car used in august of 2002, I would imaginge the battery
> could still be the original. I had the same reading light problem with
> my toddler back in november. When the battery died in November I
> couldn't jump it, until i noticed the water level was low. After adding
> a little more than a half gallon of distilled water (Wal-mart parking
> lot isn't the worst place to break down) it jumped easily and has been
> no problem since. I'm in NH (northeast US) and the last week has been
> incredibly cold (lows below 0 F). The car sat from sunday to sunday
> last week in the frigid temps and still started sunday morning (8 F).
> When the car is running, the dash display shows just over 14v, which is
> normail IIRC. Temps yesterday were in the mid 20's i believe and the
> car started fine when i left my house. That makes me think something
> was draining the battery while the car sat, or perhaps as i drove it. I
> had one heated seat on, climate control and the radio. No headlights,
> rear defrost or other large power consumers. I've been keeping a close
> eye on the battery since november and it has started strong ever since
> the first long trip we took after the Nov jump start. I guess for now I
> keep my fingers crossed and hope it doesn't happen again.
>
> Stu
> '99 A6 Avant
>

Stu Hedith

Ron wrote:
> Your battery is shagged get yourself a new one, I think its 100amp in
> most Audi's I know mine is, do you have voltmeter on your dash display, it
> should be charging at 13.8 - 14.1 volts.
>

I checked yesterday and it was charging around 14.5 volts. I turned on
all the electrical accessories I could think of and it still held 14.5.

Stu
'99 A6 Avant