Replacing battery - need to re-code?
 

Hi lads....

Hope everyone is getting on OK and safe during this crisis......

Wondering if you could help. My battery died yesterday and going today for a replacement, direct from an importer. There's no mechanics allowed work so I can do it myself but i was reading here that it should be re-coded via OBD. (That's prob why Audi were quoting me €450+ to change the battery).

So, is it OK for now do you think that i can change the battery and then get it recoded when we re-open?....

Hobson's choice as I've no car otherwise...just want to make sure i dont blow anything up...

Cheers chaps...

I would do as you suggest.
I don't advocate it ....but.... I changed mine without recoding with no apparent problems.
Battery was same spec as original though.
A garage did say at a later date that they would not now code it for me without fully charging it first. Anyway it never got coded in the end.

Thanks Ivan....that's of comfort......

Its an annoyingly misunderstood process.

The 'coding' process is simply used to tell the cars battery management module that you have a brand new, fully charged battery, and for it to reset its counters.

The D3, Q7 4L A6 C6 etc all started the new trend of active battery management where they will monitor power in and out of the battery to determine what systems should be powered on or not. For example, leave your car a while and the keyless entry will disable to save power so you can start it. Advanced stages would disable interior lighting when you open the doors etc.

I see it time and time again where people have electrical gremlins, fit a new battery without coding, and then shortly afterwards, still have electrical gremlins.

They're not gremlins, its just because the car thinks the battery is flat, when you think it isn't.

So, will not coding break it - No. But, I personally wouldn't recommend it as it will cause issues, more likely in winter when drain is higher.

Thanks Chaps.....

I replaced it yesterday and all is fine. No issues at all.

When we (eventually) get back to normal. i'll have my mechanic recode it to ensure all is in order.

Thanks again for all the advice (as usual)...a super forum.....

I have copied the information below from another forum. However, I have not tried it myself so can't verify that it works.

"If the non-genuine battery is the right spec, go into the coding with VCDS and change the serial number for the battery by one digit - that'll be enough to force the battery control module to 're-learn' the state of charge"

This thread should help+++

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?p=152240