Re: One dead Audi. Any clues?

["Smith, Kirby A" <kirby.a.smith@lmco.com>]

Tom Nas <tnas@euronet.nl> tells the following (highly abbreviated) tale of
woe:

<kasnip>
I could only drive back home by getting someone else's help with the jumper
cables agian. After that it ran perfectly once more, still occasionally
lighting up the dash.

So- the problem: car starts instantly and idles beautifully when
jump-started, displays 'OK' and 'ABS off' on the autocheck occasionally
when driving, dead after shutting the ignition off.

Does this ring any bells? What should I check- I'm not too much of a
mechanic, but I do have an excellent multimeter.
<kasnip>

Your battery is a strong contender for a problem, although connections could
also be a factor.  My battery recently failed in a similar manner; at low
current drains it seemed OK, lights were bright, etc., but it wouldn't start
the car.  The battery seemingly developed some kind of high resistance
internal to the battery that precluded signficant starting currents.  I
thought my starter had shorted.  Measure your battery voltage with the car
off and again with someone trying to start it.  Observe what voltage it
drops to.  In the summer it shouldn't fall below 6 to 8 volts, I should
think.  Note that a high resistance battery can allow the alternator to
overvoltage the car circuits, so this condition shouldn't be tolerated for
long.

                .... Kirby   (Kirby A. Smith)
                              2 x 1988 90q
                          New Hampshire USA