[A4] battery group

[T. Jackson]

Sorry, I don't know the group per se but I do know that the batteries for
these cars are hard to find in stock anywhere.  Here's my experience from a
few weeks ago:

Leaving work one night I found the car was nearly impossible to start, the
sure sign of a dead battery.  Driving on the highway for 30 minutes and then
trying to start the car again confirmed this so I decided to replace the
battery ASAP to avoid problems the next day. I ended up going to about 6
different auto stores.  At each store I had to set my Turbo Timer to 10
minutes while I ran in to see if they had any batteries in stock.  At the
5th store I ended up taking a minute too long so the car turned off on me
and wouldn't start.  I didn't have jumper cables so I had to call CAA.  When
speaking to CAA they told me that the person who gives the boost has an
inventory of batteries and one would most likely fit my car.  When the CAA
truck arrived he too checked his stock and discovered that he didn't have
one so he gave me a boost and sent me on my way.  

My last stop was Sears.  They had the battery, or at least the computer said
they did so I let the turbo timer run its course.  15 minutes later they
told me that they couldn't find it in the inventory!  I urged them to look
again and another 15 minutes later they found the battery.  I didn't have
any tools on me so I asked them if they could replace the battery for me.
They quoted $75 to change the battery!  $25 was for pushing my car to the
shop and $50 for the labor. Apparently they have an agreement with the mall
that they cannot work on cars in the parking lot (so they say).  I ended up
buying a craftsman ratchet set that was on sale for $9.99 and changed the
battery myself under the parking lot light.





-----Original Message-----
From: a4-bounces at audifans.com [mailto:a4-bounces at audifans.com] On Behalf Of
Peter Kirby
Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 6:32 PM
To: A4qList
Subject: [A4] battery group

I have a Canadian spec A4 1.8t that had a failing battery.  Can anyone 
confirm the right battery group for that car?  The shop replaced it with 
one that is quite a bit shorter (group 48 or 91, I think) and had to rig 
up a clamp to hold it down.  The original is quite a bit longer and 
seems to me to be a group 49 but this number doesn't agree with anyone's 
cross reference chart.

The original battery had a complicated angled tie-down clamp that bolted 
in the front passenger side corner of the battery (right next to where 
the ground strap is bolted), whereas the replacement battery is clamped 
at the rear passenger side (like in Bentley W 27-1).

I have a feeling that the Canadian cars have the larger battery.

Does anyone know the right size for the Canadian market?

Thanks.

Peter
2001 A4 1.8tq

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