Hello, so I have a 2003 Audi a6 (quattro 3.0L v6) that has recently started having battery/alternator issues. Here in Minnesota we had a big snowstorm and lots of wind on tuesday. And so when I woke up Wednesday morning there was snow all over (and under) my car. It was a lot of snow so it could have been high enough to be touching the wire that leads to the connector that connects to the alternator. I checked today and the part of the wire right before the connector to the alternator is exposed (I see about 1" of blue wire leading to the connector, and then a black covering over the rest of it). Ever since that storm my battery light on the dashboard has been on and that night my abs and traction control lights came on, my stereo started to cut in and out, and my garage door opener system barely worked/didn't work. And now today my car struggles to start and it is getting less than 12 volts on the dadhboard while running. I replaced the battery but it quickly started to drop again and I can hear the car winding down as it idles. The belt seems to be on fine and the connecter seems to be on tight enough. Am I on to something with the exposed wire? Or do you think it's just a bad alternator? Any tests I could do to check? Also, do I need to take the front bumper off to deal with my alternator easily? Any help would be very great, thanks!
Stone