True Swede Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Came out this morning and car was completely dead. Was in a rush so had no time to investigate and took our other car. Now when I came home I realized I had left the position lights on over the night.I hooked up the jumper cables and the alarm went off with turn signals flashing. Since my fob is is missing I could not shut it off but it stopped after a while. I get the lights to light up on the cluster but the starter won't turn, completely dead. I suspect it has something to do with the alarm blocking from engine start. If so, how can I get around this. If the alarm is not the reason, what else can I do??Thanks guys.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 your batteries very very very very very very dead let it charge with the other car attached to you running with the jumper cables attached. then try to start it . also unlock and lock yoru car a few times from the door to reset thte alarm if its full charged and regardless what you do the alrm still goes off then its the alarm unit itself in the dash behind the main headlight swtich its 2"x 4" and its white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Swede Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks, car is on charge so hopefully it will crank in a bit. If not I will get back. Btw, are you saying I would have to take down the entire dash to get to the alarm unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappo Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 How old is the battery? I recently had a car I was jumping that just wouldn't crank over. Same issue, lights on overnight and when she went to start it everything was dead. We ended up replacing the battery in the car.Yeah, your key in the door will turn the alarm off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Swede Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Battery is about three years old, guess it could be time to change out. What would be a good (read "price worthy") option for someone going on five months of unemployment? Paid $130 at Sears for this battery and felt like it was overkill. The sales rep claimed euro cars require certain batteries that are more expensive than others. Sales trick for dummies like me I guess . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Thanks, car is on charge so hopefully it will crank in a bit. If not I will get back. Btw, are you saying I would have to take down the entire dash to get to the alarm unit?yes and no lol yes since it makes it alot easier no if you have tiny hands or normal person hands I had to remove the dash , but it takes me less then 2hrs to do that now Battery is about three years old, guess it could be time to change out. What would be a good (read "price worthy") option for someone going on five months of unemployment? Paid $130 at Sears for this battery and felt like it was overkill. The sales rep claimed euro cars require certain batteries that are more expensive than others. Sales trick for dummies like me I guess .? $60 from napa or like place or a $150 for a redtop optima dont get the yellow ones they dont fit with out modifing the wire harnes for the batterie <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Swede Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Forgot to mention I have noticed a slight hesitation on start up the last couple of weeks. About half a second before engine catches on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Swede Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Went out, turned the key and it started right up. It's now sitting at idle in the parking lot to charge. I better put those cables in the back of my car for a while.Thanks for the help guys.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappo Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 Went out, turned the key and it started right up. It's now sitting at idle in the parking lot to charge. I better put those cables in the back of my car for a while.Thanks for the help guys..If it is only 3 years, your battery is probably fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrWinkey Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Came out this morning and car was completely dead. Was in a rush so had no time to investigate and took our other car. Now when I came home I realized I had left the position lights on over the night.I hooked up the jumper cables and the alarm went off with turn signals flashing. Since my fob is is missing I could not shut it off but it stopped after a while. I get the lights to light up on the cluster but the starter won't turn, completely dead. I suspect it has something to do with the alarm blocking from engine start. If so, how can I get around this. If the alarm is not the reason, what else can I do??Thanks guys..Charge or replace the battery. However it sounds as if your security system is overriding ....When reconnecting the battery. Connect positive terminal. Reach in (window down) turn key on, go back under hood and reconnect negative terminal,headlamps and everything should wake up. Try and start car and it should start. Your key fob does nothing in these circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbsl98 Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 You most likely have a Sears Diehard International battery which has pretty long warranty - I believe it is full free replacement for first three years, and then prorata for 72 months. If so, cheapest is to take it back to Sears for exchange. Also, there is something to the claim that many euro cars need different batteries. It has to do with the typical euro alternator/regulator output being different from the typical US/Asian. I forget the specifics, but euro charging pattern does not fully charge US standard batteries in difficult conditions before it senses full charge and cuts current flow down. Obviously, many get by with cheap batteries in their euro cars, but the right battery is better at the extremes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Swede Posted May 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2009 Update: No big improvements on the batter front so I decided to take it back to Sears. Turned out, as some of you correctly pointed out, the battery was in bad shape. Still had a few months left on the full warranty so drove off with a brand new battery. Today's been a good day . Very happy to know that my alternator is in good shape and no need to spend money on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v4lve Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 good to hear, when i had trouble jumping a very dead A8 i ended up using 2 cars and a hyundai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.