Bat Fully Charged-- still acts like dead bat

[Moose]

01 5sp non-S US. Realizing you can't diagnose electrical over the internet, what could cause the following symptoms:

Battery light is on before I even put key in after hooking up battery after charging it. Turn key on, then off, then on. Battery light is gone.

Click-click-click no starty when key moved to turn over starter. Charge battery for a few hours on 1.5 amp. Little better. About a quarter turn over. Starter seems to want to engage.

Take battery to Sears. It's a fully charged battery. Cannot charge it anymore.

Huh. Put it back in. Try to start it again. Same symptoms. :help:

[ar38070]

If this is the original battery then replace it. It is due.

[Moose]

It isn't. It's actually the fourth battery in the car in four years. I have replaced three in one year. The car is off-lease. It had an Interstate gel battery in it built new May 04. It was a faulty battery replaced by Interstate in July 04. That also went bad. Adjudged defective by the grunt but the boss said it wasn't. So I left never to buy another Interstate battery. I bought a Napa, but by then my alternator went bad charging up defective batteries. Now, my third battery and the car's fourth seemed to be dead but apparently is fully charged and the car will not start. See my previous posts for alternator woes. Oh boy. :censored:

[ar38070]

I would make sure that the battery is charged regardless of what Sears tells you. The fact that the car attempts to turnover and then stops means the battery is not charged. If you can, try the battery in another car to see if it will start it. Basically make sure the battery is good regardless of how old it is or what Sears told you.

You say that the battery light illuminates immediately as soon as you reconnect the battery with the key out. Is this repeatable? i.e if you disconnect the negative lead, wait 30 seconds, reconnect the lead, does the light go on?

[Moose]

It's not happening anymore. But the oil light goes on. Interestingly enough.

I went to NAPA and they told me the battery is fully charged as well and that I should be looking for a serious draw that robs the starter of power.

This draw apparently became more egregious after I removed and refit the alternator after replacing the voltage regulator. Two shops have now told me the battery is fully charged. One had no interest in its sale.

I attached a test light to the battery; I am pulling fuses to put out the test light attached to the negative/ground strap from the battery. But there are SO many things that draw on the battery when the car is shut off. The radio, the alarm, the instrument cluster, interior lights, etc.

I know the recommended action is to "one by one" test each circuit by removing each fuse "one at a time," but this seems to me counterintuitive. How can you really see if there is a draw if you leave all of the normally operating circuits intact-- those which draw battery power when the car is off as a matter of course?

Anyway, I appreciate the help, but it has been tough going over here.

:wrench:

Edited October 10, 2005 by Moose

[ar38070]

There is no way any circuit in the car pulls more current from the battery than the starter. If you want to check it you need an ammeter not a test light. With the key out of the ignition and no courtesy lights or dash lights on, the current drain on the battery is about 100ma. Even with the courtesy lights on (like the one in the trunk) the current draw is only about 2.5 amps. Compared to what the starter pulls, several hundred amps, this is nothing.

If you absolutely positive that the battery is fine then I would go back and check your alternator/voltage regulator install for problems.

[GaryFB]

01 5sp non-S US. Realizing you can't diagnose electrical over the internet, what could cause the following symptoms:

Battery light is on before I even put key in after hooking up battery after charging it. Turn key on, then off, then on. Battery light is gone.

Click-click-click no starty when key moved to turn over starter. Charge battery for a few hours on 1.5 amp. Little better. About a quarter turn over. Starter seems to want to engage.

Take battery to Sears. It's a fully charged battery. Cannot charge it anymore.

Huh. Put it back in. Try to start it again. Same symptoms.  :help:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Immobilizer is preventing you from starting. Close all the doors and hoods. Activate the alarm, and wait 60 seconds. Then activate the button on the key to diaarm the alarm, and then get in to start the car. Tell us how it works, Thanks Gary

[GaryFB]

01 5sp non-S US. Realizing you can't diagnose electrical over the internet, what could cause the following symptoms:

Battery light is on before I even put key in after hooking up battery after charging it. Turn key on, then off, then on. Battery light is gone.

Click-click-click no starty when key moved to turn over starter. Charge battery for a few hours on 1.5 amp. Little better. About a quarter turn over. Starter seems to want to engage.

Take battery to Sears. It's a fully charged battery. Cannot charge it anymore.

Huh. Put it back in. Try to start it again. Same symptoms.  :help:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Any loose connections from the battery to the starter can cause a similiar problem. Removing fuses and using a test light , is a proceedure to test for current drains. You do not have a current drain, you have a voltage drop ( high resistance) between the battery and the starter. This can be on positive circuit or on the negitive circuit. Are the cables tight at the battery?

[jnc]

A couple of ideas.....

Maybe it's an ignition switch. For $40, you can install the Audi switch, and eliminate this as a possiblity.

Can you try a remote starter on the starter motor. (I realize it isn't exactly easy to get to. Plan b might be to remove the starter and have it bench tested.

The red light, with the key out, normally means a bad diode in the alternator. (this is actually why I think it's a bad ignition switch)

Another not so friendly idea is can you bump start it. (coast it down a hill, key on and pop the clutch) Returning it up the hill if is doesn't start can be a problem.

If a couple people say the battery is good, then trust them. Start looking elsewhere.

[Moose]

:thumbup: SUCCESS-- loose ground strap. GaryFB-- I called a Porsche dealer and told them my symptoms, e.g., got a partial turnover and then mostly clicky-clicky. The Porsche service manager said that the immobilizer is an interrupt in the starter circuit so should not have gotten anything if it was an immobilizer. He didn't think it was it, but it gave me great hope this afternoon and hope is a beautiful thing. Because then I went poking around in the engine compartment. And . . .

The Box is alive. It does start. I haven't driven any distance to see if the alternator is charging. I will do that next after buttoning down everything.

:lightbulb: The ground strap that was loose was the one that is on top of the engine compartment near the passenger side intake manifold.

It was all my fault. :eek: In desperation during the alternator remount phase, I began loosening nuts and bolts on that side of the engine when I could not successfully remount the alt-- I instead contemplated removing the intake to get a better angle at it, but then had the better idea of removing the coolant line on the forward side of the engine block.

Oh well, live and learn. Button down things and make sure all ground straps are secure. I have a feeling this saga is not quite over, however . . .

Many thanks to all of you who replied. Feeling like a :king: