"Battery Meltdown" or "Poltergeist"

[Paul_Royal@idx.com]

Yeah, yeah...looks who's come crawling back..but at least it's about an
Audi....

Hi Folks,
     Here's a nutty one for ya.  I go out to the parking garage in Boston
last night and discover that my doors are unlocked.  After confirming that
nothing is missing I seem to remember that I definately locked the car in
the morning....so I attempted to lock the car with the key from the
passenger side door of my 90-90Q20v.  All the locks go down and I hear the
trunk click as well.  I pull the key and the locks come back up.  I do it
again and the the car unlocks itself again.  I go to the driver's door and
the car does not unlock..but I can see that the lock buttons rise just a
little bit,  This is a little disturbing but not worth losing any sleep
over.
     I start the car and go on my way through Boston when traffic sucks so
bad I decide to park the car and do a little browsing downtown.  I park the
car and then decide to get a little closer to the curb and attempt to start
the car again...next to nothing..lights flicker..no starter..no
power..gone..g-bye. I pop the hood..wiggle everything..no dice.   I lock
the car to go make a phone call for a jump and I notice that the radio has
come on...hmmm.  I decide to Shanghai someone into giving me a jump in
exchange for my parking space and I'm on my way home...no problem.  The
voltmeter on the dash is telling me that I'm charging with the alternator
and the lights and all work fine.  I dial up Channel "11" on the climate
control unit and it's showing anywhere from 12.9-14 volts.  About 30 miles
later I decide to see if the battery has recharged and turn off the car on
a straight stretch of hi-way.  Nothing...still dead.
During the trip I play with a few things and notice that operating a window
lift or the rear defrost results in a nice little flash from the red "put
your seatbelt on" light.  I stop at the local Wal-Mart (left the car
running in the parking lot-yipe) and pick up a (n)Ever-Start battery.  I go
home...pull out the undated Autobahn..slip in the (n)Ever Start and now I'm
good to go.  Car ran great this morning and the climate control unit is
telling me that I'm charging at a pretty consistant 13.4-13.6 Volts.
     Another mystery is that I tested the old Autobahn battery with one of
those cheapo 4-ball hygrometers and it shows every cell to be lively.
     If anybody has any experience with the instant dead battery I'd like
to hear the circumstances or whatever else you've got to offer in the way
of charging system advice or whatever.  Thanks much in advance.

Paul Royal
90-90Q20v