Re: 4KSQ -- Electric prob.

[Robert Houk - WorkGroup Server Firmware <Robert.Houk@East.Sun.COM>]

   My 4KSQ is getting old.  The car has been fantastic, it handles awesome --
   but there's a new electrical problem I need some help with.

   Recently, there has been a huge electrical draw coming from somewhere that
   keeps killing the battery.  It only takes a few hours and the battery dies.
   I took it back to where I had the starter done (because I could not get the
   corroded bolts off) and the alt. wires were replaced at the time.  Slowly,
   the car started to lose electrical power over the past 60 days.

   Within the last 2 weeks, the draw increased -- ut since my girlfriend
   drives the car daily, the battery kept charging back up..  WE went away
   last weekend for 4 days and the battery was dead when we returned.  Ever
   since, the battery won't stay charged for more than a few hours.

Completely draining a [typical] lead/acid battery, they never fully
recover, especially with older batteries. The so-called "deep-cycle"
[aka "RV" or "Marine"] batteries are designed to withstand "deep"
discharge cycles, but even they perform/recover better if recharged
before complete discharge.

Odds are you've kroaked off the battery.

Have you tried an external charger? Audis (IME) are pretty miserly
when it comes to voltage for recharging batteries; an external charger
{should|may|will} give you a full 14+ volts . . .

   The dealer (starter., alt was done there) said that the draw is coming from
   the circuit that has the interior lights, lighter, and radio.  The draw
   stops when the fuse is pulled.  There is an after market Alpine cassette
   deck in the car, and they said it may have something to do with the deck.
   I told them to pull the fuse and that I would figure out because they were
   gonna charge me by the hour to figure it out -- and I know I'll get the
   answer from the list in less than 10 minutes.

The typical "standby" drain from {most|typical} radios is nil, it
would take *weeks* to discharge a good/fully-charged car battery
(assuming that in fact the radio is "shutting off"). Now, if you also
have a hefty outboard power-amp that is constantly drawing current as
well . . . also, many radar-detectors (if left operating) will draw
enough current to kill off a battery in a week or so.

Have you actually measured the current draw? 

					-RDH