[s-cars] Current draw/dead battery "a short story"

[Tom Green]

The afterrun relay in the pic activates the circuit 5 minutes after  
shutdown and the pump and fan run if the TC temperature sensor is  
activated.  The relay
should open after 10 minutes IIRC, but if the contacts are fused  
closed it continues to run the fan and pump.  This is not a very  
subtle failure.  The only
reason it is not detected is because most drivers leave the car  
before the circuit activates or expect it to automatically quit.  I  
think you would know if this
circuit was responsible unless you have multiple failures, i.e., the  
fan doesn't operate on low.   You won't need that circuit until next  
August anyway.

I would recommend that you check all the battery and alternator  
cables to ensure that there are no breaks in the insulation or loose  
or corroded connections
that would allow current leakage especially in moist conditions.   
Compare the voltage at the alternator or front post and gage with the  
reading at the battery.
You should not loose more than 1/2 volt in the cable.  It is routed  
through the lowest part of the cabin, so make sure it is dry.

HTH, I know these problems can be difficult, and never appear when  
you are watching.

Tom

-----Original Message-----
> Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:32:35 +0000
> From: audijim at comcast.net
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Current draw/dead battery "a short story"
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> Message-ID:
> 	 
> <122720071432.5496.4773B7830007DA7D000015782216551406030706070B9A0E at co 
> mcast.net>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain
>
> OK, possible progress! Yesterday when I got home, I removed the  
> left and right foot well panels to expose the relay panels. On the  
> right foot well relay panel, I pulled the aux coolant pump relay  
> and C/B and also the relay at pos #1 and the C/B. The C/B's looked  
> pretty bad, so I replaced them with good ones. When I took the  
> metal covers off the C/B, they looked fine, but the one for the aux  
> coolant pump had a trace of green corrosion on one of the pins. I  
> let it sit over night with the battery connected and the relay's  
> removed to see what happens. Starting voltage last night was  
> between 12.6-12.8 VDC. This morning the voltage was 12.6-12.8 VDC!  
> I left the relay out this morning and took it apart. It looks OK,  
> but it stinks pretty bad like cooked electronics. This might be the  
> problem. I'll leave this relay out until I'm satisfied that it  
> fixed the problem. I have a "known good" one coming from an S6 and  
> I'll swap that out and closely monitor.
>
> See a pic of the relay here:
> http://www.audi5turbotech.com/Portals/0/aux%20coolant%20relay_02.JPG
>
> Here is a link to my problem thread:
> http://www.justfourrings.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php? 
> lmsg_start=0&p=4503#4503