I parked my car outside my apartment for 4-5 days as I flew home for Thanksgiving. This morning I get back to drive to work and all the electrical power is out. My key remote for the power locks doesn't work, no lighting of any kind in the dash, car won't crank or start, etc. What do I do from here?

 

Take out your battery, take it to your local auto parts store (e.g. Autozone, Advanced, Pep Boys, etc.) and ask them to test the battery. It'll be free. Buy a new one if necessary. If it's good but needing a charge then check your charging system (mainly the alternator). If your replace the battery and it happens again then check your charging system also.

 

^^^what he said. Plus while you're there, the store will sometimes put a charge in the battery for you. If it takes the charge well, go home and install it, and drive back down to have them do a charging system test as well (this is also free).

 

Thanks for the replies. I didn't get a chance to do anything because I have a demanding job that's tough to get away from, but my car is parked outside and street cleaning is Wednesday mornings. So I have about an hour to get anything checked out in the morning or pay several hundred to get it towed and diagnosed.

Before I take the battery in, I was wondering if this could be at all related to the coolant temp sensor. That's the code I was pulling before this happened and I never got it taken care of. Then this past weekend it was really cold outside where I left it. But would a faulty CTS prevent any electrical response whatsoever when it's cold? If so, can someone who knows nothing about cars replace it rather easily?

Thanks in advance.

2001 A4 1.8T

 

I just looked up how to remove the battery and it doesn't seem like something I have the tools, time or ability to do, realistically. Guess I'll go buy a voltmeter and if it's the battery (below 12 volts?), just tow the car somewhere to have the battery replaced. If not, then I'm not sure what I'll do.

 

Coolant temperature sensor can make a car not start/run very well/easily but it won't prevent electrical power from reaching the car.

 

Just used voltmeter and there was no response. Guess I'll tow to local shop to replace battery. Any suggestions re battery or where to take it?