HELP! I am a total Audi novice (I've had Saab's, Mercedes, BMW's, Volvo's...) so this car is completely foreign to me (not that I really know anything about cars anyway).

I bought my 1999 A6 Avant Quattro wagon the day before yesterday - the car seemed solid and well-taken-care-of even though it has ridiculously high miles (191K).

So, I fill up the gas tank for the first time yesterday morning (made sure it clicked closed), drove to work, then drove to Best Buy. I came out of the store and started my car. Just lots of clicking noises and blinking lights. AAA came out and jumped my battery - I guess it was registering pretty low. I was able to make it home and the battery was stuck at a little over 12 volts (today it is about 13+). However, the Malfunction Indicator Light came on and has stayed on.

The first night I had the car, I didn't realize that my boys had left 2 doors open for about 4 hours, plus I believe an interior light was left on (curious kids, I guess - grrrrrr!). I closed the doors and all seemed to be fine. It started up just fine in the morning and allowed me to do errands and go to work.

So, MY QUESTION IS THIS: Can the battery being drained trigger the MIL light to come on? Is there a way to test the battery and see if it is still good? Is it safe to drive the car today?? (It's Sunday, and most mechanics are closed here). Also, is it normal for a battery to be drained from just leaving doors open? I've never had that happen before....

Thanks so much everyone! My husband is in Afghanistan and I am not that great with cars - I need all the advice I can get! (But, please be nice - LOL! I already feel like an as* having these issues happen so quickly).

 

In theory anything that draws power constantly can drain the battery over time.
My best advise is to go to a local Autozone first and let them read out the Check engine light for free and if I remember right they will even test your battery for free.

They will not have the professional tools required to read out the internal codes that might give us some more insight but it will at least be a good and free start for you.

 

Sheldon - you rock, thanks!

OK - so I took it to a local Napa Auto Parts store (the only one that was nearby) and here are the codes they got: P0118 and P0432

He reset them, so they are gone now and suggested that I first try driving some with the codes being reset. Then, if they come back on, take it to an Audi mechanic.

Does that sound like good advice?

I am noticing however, that my battery voltage is kinda all over the place. When I drive, it stays right at 12 or a bit above, yet when I initially turn the car on, it is at 14. ???

If it is the battery, then I am really hoping that the place I bought it from will put a different one in.....

 

Also, I should add that I put in 89 octane gas yesterday ..... apparently a big no-no. Did I screw the car up by doing that? Ugh.

 

Maybe you need a new alternator? I've also wondered about the as octane thing as well. Some swear by 93 and some say 89 over in America is the same as 91in Europe. I have no clue though.

 

Unfortunately you have a few different issues at hands. Lets deal with one at a time.

1. Battery: Take the car to Napa. They can test the battery to see if it is holding charge. FYI, if the battery was drained, it would need to be charged prior to being tested. Also a typical alternator may not charge a fully drained battery. I would recommend that you have Napa charge the battery for a couple of hours and test it. They should do that for you for free. Come tell us what happened.

2. P0118: This is a fancy way of saying that your coolant temperature sensor is not working correctly. Most likely the sensor itself... Although it is inexpensive part that is easily done by a person with mechanical knowledge, if you are not comfortable with it, then take it to a shop. A reputable shop will replace the sensor in less than an hour, meaning, $150 or less total.

3. P0432 points to your driver side catalytic converter being bad. You can replace the converter (expensive) or drive around for awhile with the issue as it is. If you are tired of looking at the CEL being on, then search "anti fouler" trick. I think a user named bigdaddy sells a convenient "fix" that does not require modifying the spark plug anti fouler. The reason that I am calling it a quotation mark fix is that it is temporary in nature.

None of these issues will impact your safety. Feel free to drive around until a shop opens in the morning.

Also for the octane thing, these cars are designed to run on high octane stuff. Although it will run on the low stuff (engine will automatically adjust the mixture to run on the lower octane), it will not perform as well. Seriously if $3 on a fill up makes a difference, I would rather have one less latte a week than to skimp on the car.

 

A good alternator should put your voltage up near 14 v whenever you are driving. At idle, with the air on and the blower running hard, you will see less but ignore this reading. The only reading that counts is while you are moving. If the voltage is not around 14, go back to where you bought the car and either get them to put in a new alternaotr or to refund your purchase price.

Good luck,

Bob

 

Thanks everyone!
I took it to a mechanic yesterday who said that the Alternator was indeed, bad. (seeee - you guys know what you're talkin' about!).
So, I brought it back to the place that I bought the car from and they installed one for me. They're charging me $150, but I figure that's better than the $500 someone else was going to charge me.
I pick it up tomorrow, so we'll see how it goes!

 

they should be fixing it for $0 but as long as you are happy


good luck

 

I generally run midrange (89 octane) on my 2.7T, but I think the 2.8 and 3.0 engines are a little higher compression thant the 2.7T but not as much as the 4.2. Long winded way of saying that even though the car calls for premium, it will adjust and run on midrange without any problems. I have 190k on mine and no issues. As a caveat, I drove a lot of highway miles which really don't put much stress on the engine as pinging (pre detonation) generally manifests itself under acceleration, not while cruising at 70-80. Do NOT use regular gas.

I agree that since you only had the car 2-3 days, the dealer should repair the failed alternator. Unless your sale was "as is", there should be some kind of basic 30 day warranty covering this. I'd also play the "my husband is in the service defending our country" card and leverage his patriotism. BTW, when my alternator failed four years ago Audi dealership wanted $600 for the part and another $600 to install. I brought a re-manufactured one for $200+ and negotiated the install down to $500. So $150 is not bad.