[SillyUser]

Hi,
Has anyone had battery problems in Jetta/GTI/Golf (I assume the battery is the same for the VR6 models)? A few days ago my battery suddenly died one day, as in I went to work at 6:30 am and at 9:00 pm there was barely any crank power (and the clock and MFA had completely reset).
I've owned the car since 1999 and have never, ever had the slightest trouble with it, not in much harsher weather (very cold for prolonged periods of time). Unfortunately, I'm out of warranty on the battery and it seems it is a battery problem: once I got jump started everything worked fine for a while then it got cold again and the car barely starts.
The easiest would be to drop in a new battery for $60-$70...I just would like to know if anyone has had a similar problem due to ghost discharging and not the battery. Thanks.

 

[daffydoug]

Re: Electrical problem in GTI (SillyUser)

quote:[HR][/HR]Hi,
Has anyone had battery problems in Jetta/GTI/Golf (I assume the battery is the same for the VR6 models)? A few days ago my battery suddenly died one day, as in I went to work at 6:30 am and at 9:00 pm there was barely any crank power (and the clock and MFA had completely reset).
I've owned the car since 1999 and have never, ever had the slightest trouble with it, not in much harsher weather (very cold for prolonged periods of time). Unfortunately, I'm out of warranty on the battery and it seems it is a battery problem: once I got jump started everything worked fine for a while then it got cold again and the car barely starts.
The easiest would be to drop in a new battery for $60-$70...I just would like to know if anyone has had a similar problem due to ghost discharging and not the battery. Thanks.

[HR][/HR]​

The average lead-acid is on borrowed time after 3 years, regardless of the warranty associated with the battery. Yea, yours failed a bit early, but it's not uncommon. My bro's '98 BMW battery went (fortunately under warranty) after about 2.5 yrs...while my '98 BMW is still going strong (4 years of ownership this month).
Before I'd replace the battery, I'd survey what else might be causing the battery to discharge so quickly...like an amp remote turn-on that's acting up, or a defective regulator (hint: check voltage across the battery terminals while the car is slightly above idle, say 1000RPM...you should see at LEAST 13.8V). If that doesn't reveal anything, then I'd probably just replace the battery.