I've had some issues with my engine light in my 2000 A6, 4.2 going on and now, for the first time, my car had some trouble starting. I also noticed that my battery indicator shows that the battery is no longer at full voltage (which I think it has been since I've owned it for a year now). I'm wondering if there is an issue with my alternator.

I have an appointment to take my car in to the dealer this coming friday (same appointment I got and have been waiting for from the engine light issue) but am worried that my battery will die before then. The battery indicator still says I have about 3/4 of my battery voltage - should I be worried? If it is the alternator, will the battery voltage level slowly go down or will it just crash? I'd love to not have to deal with this until friday but want to play it safe.

Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks!

 

I just had to replace my battery a couple weeks ago. I went from no starting problems to nearly unable to start in about 2 days. Picked up a new battery at Autozone and all was well.

When you say you only have 3/4 of the battery voltage, do you mean 9 volts? I believe full scale on the gauge is 16 volts, so 3/4 of that would be 12 volts which is normal for the battery. What does the gauge read while the starter is cranking? What does the volt meter show when the car is running? It should be ~14 volts, which is what the alternator is putting out.

Before you take your car to the dealer for a check engine light, I would at least stop by an Autozone and have them read the code, which they'll do for free. You can search the forums and get lots of good info based on what you find. Depending on what it is and whether or not you have a warranty, there may be much cheaper options than the dealer.