[Vwdiesel] Odd Power Drain

[Dave Cook]

On an '01 Jetta TDI w/auto trans.

The battery will hold a charge for a couple days just fine, then after a couple days, it will be dead enough to not start the car and will eventually drain all the way down.

If you drive the car every day or two, there is no problem.

I hooked a voltage meter to the battery and checked it periodically over a few days. The first two days, it was right around 13.75 ish volts. I didn't check it one day (Christmas) but came back on the fourth morning and it was down to about 5.5 volts or so.

So, it is like suddenly something kicks in after a couple days and draws down the battery.

On a freshly jumped/charged battery, I measured almost no amps being pulled, and it wouldn't light a bulb placed between either battery terminal and that terminal's main cable.

The only known electrical problem with the car is that the passenger door doesn't work at all. The window won't go down with either switch, the lock has to be operated manually, etc.

Ideas?

Dave Cook