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D4 - Common Faults Quick links to all known common faults and their solutions

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  #1  
Old 26th September 2016, 09:31 AM
mondie mondie is offline
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Default D4 dead flat battery - help please

Our car must have gone off me. After the recent handbrake failure it now has a stone cold dead battery. Had been fine until Saturday when it would not even unlock. Used the key to get in but found the car to be completely dead.

Is this normal for a battery to fail with no warning? The car has stop-start so I am wondering if it is a safety feature for the car to 'switch off' if the battery is too weak, but without warning is what I don't understand.

I will have the battery on a charger for all of today and see how it responds but it looks like I need a new battery at close to £200 Is it a simple changeover or is there a specific procedure for such a complex car?

Cheers all, Simon
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Old 26th September 2016, 10:20 AM
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Hi mate.

I've never had a battery die like that, but I've heard that is how they tend to go. Years of faithful service with gradual degradation and then boom. Gone. It's why I've tended to replace mine preventatively. With the AGM batteries of whatever they tend to be pricier. Have you looked at ECP, and tried some discount codes?

Can't speak of the D4, but on the D3 you have to code the battery in (or is at least strongly recommended) using VCDS. It's because these cars have battery regulation module doo-dahs (I believe is the correct term) which need to be told the new battery has been fitted. You'd think being so clever it would 'know'.

Hope you get it sorted pronto
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Old 26th September 2016, 12:16 PM
mondie mondie is offline
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Hi John,

Who is ECP? I have asked the club shop for a price on a battery and have found a few options online, will wait and see what the shop comes back with first.

I measured the voltage across the battery, 2.5v Guess it must have suffered multiple cell failure. Getting access to the battery is going to be fun, I would be lying if I said I knew where it is even located !!

Car is due a service shortly so I guess I can replace the battery and have the coded then.
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Old 26th September 2016, 01:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mondie View Post
Hi John,

Who is ECP?.
Euro Car Parts - http://www.eurocarparts.com/

If you also go to https://www.myvouchercodes.co.uk/ and type in 'Euro Car Parts', it'll display a list of discount coupons, some up to 55% discount.
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Old 26th September 2016, 01:42 PM
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^What they said. Sorry. SALE30 gets you 30% discount today, don't know if they'll be cheaper than you've already found.
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Old 26th September 2016, 03:09 PM
mondie mondie is offline
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Thanks guys, very helpful

Found the battery - it's in the boot which I am sure most of you already knew. Looks easy enough to change out. Car is fitted with a Varta battery so probably original to the car making it about 5.5 yrs old. The battery has no real detail on its CCA rating so I will have to trust what EPC recommends I guess.

Cheers

Last edited by mondie; 26th September 2016 at 03:22 PM.
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Old 26th September 2016, 05:21 PM
paulrstaylor paulrstaylor is offline
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Be careful. My D4 had a dead battery in December after an extended stay in the garage, Audi assist diagnosed it was dead (~2v) and jumped it to get me home.

The next day the supplying dealer agreed to replace, but as they were a distance away and it was the week before Christmas agreed to pay a more local dealer to do the work. They were useless and never got in touch, and so with the agreement of the original dealer I bought a battery form Halfords and fitted it myself.

All was well, the car starts again. But for some time after I have had a number of electrical gremlins, after much trouble shooting including factory support the current thinking is that the battery needed coding and they couldn't do so with non-OEM, they replaced the battery again and now are going to replace the BCM (batter control module) as they suspect that is at fault (possibly from the jump start by Audi assist!?).

For reference, the dealer quote for a replacement battery fitted and coded was £300 - so twice the supply only cost of the battery, but possibly a small price to pay for piece of mind!?

Edited to say - not much info on coding a D4 battery I could find last year, suspect it is similar to the D3 but not the same!
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Old 26th September 2016, 05:41 PM
mondie mondie is offline
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Thanks for the advice Paul, especially the bit about not being able to code to new the battery and needing to buy another. How ridiculous is that! I am glad that I havent jumped the car, its stuck on my drive so there's not much Audi can do for me at this point either.

Prices for a replacement battery vary wildly, this seems to be the best deal but I have never heard of Enduroline. No doubt a rebrand as this is rife in the battery market like many others.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/019-Enduroli...CCA-P8385.html

Staying with OEM this is the best I can find

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-019-Var...ery-P3127.html

This is all a bit messy. ECP has 3 or 4 batteries but they are more than double the price and same spec/warranty, I cannot work out the difference.

Last edited by mondie; 26th September 2016 at 05:46 PM.
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Old 26th September 2016, 06:13 PM
paulrstaylor paulrstaylor is offline
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No problem - notionally this was the right size for mine, I will have a spare when I get the car back as without the coding my car had issues!!!!!

I suspect coding would have been possible using VCDS, but as it was warranty work I have left them to fit a genuine Audi part
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Old 26th September 2016, 06:44 PM
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can anyone decipher the difference between these two Varta's, one claims to be for stop-start but the spec of it is lower. Is this just marketing as I cannot see how there is any real difference.

https://www.tayna.co.uk/Type-019-Var...ery-P3127.html

https://www.tayna.co.uk/G14-Varta-St...085-P8424.html

The cheaper battery has better specs.

why would I pay £220 for this (less 30%)

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Au...a39e64f&000020

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