How Lovely, Battery Died---any particular battery I need to look for?

[arjun90]

Finally gave in this morning when trying to start the car. Pretty sure its the battery which has gone bad. Instrument Cluster was flickering, interior cabin lights were dim, and all I could hear was clicking when engaging the ignition key.

Lots of maintenance work to do. There goes Memorial Day Weekend. From suspension to steering to battery replacement, ironic?

Which battery do you all recommend?

Bosch is the cheapest it seems around me at Pep Boys. Is there any particular battery I need to buy in order to meet OEM specification?

[a4kamila6]

I have used bosch batteries in my audis, no issue, also from pepboys. My father likes diehard, but to each their own. I would say get the one with the longest warranty.

[arjun90]

By the way, I have Diehard Battery / Starter kit from the '90's, but the box states for 12 volt batteries only. Any problem if I try to use this in conjunction with the failing 16v battery in my vehicle?
Edit: Must have gotten side-tracked when thinking the battery was 16v

[arjun90]

Thanks, any particular model from Bosch I should look into? What's AGM (most expensive model in their lineup)?
Here are the search results I'm coming across,
https://www.pepboys.com/parts/batter...03.0L%2520DOHC

[a4kamila6]

When you go to pepboys, just provide the model, year and engine of your car and they will give you the correct battery. I do not know much about the internal construction of batteries, but as long as the battery has enough cold cranking amps to turn over your motor when its below freezing, you should be okay.

[Chris@EPL]

Get an Interstate Battery

[arjun90]

Haha, thanks! That's the battery which is currently in my vehicle and needs to be replaced. I'll need to check the date of manufacture to see if it can be replaced under warranty. Who knows :D

[arjun90]

Quick question, I'm trying to jump start my car with an engine starter (Die Hard, sourced back in the '90's, still working strong). First time doing this on an Audi. Do I just connect the positive to positive and negative to negative (or does the negative have to be grounded to chassis as stated on the box?)

If the grounding has to be on the chassis of the car, where do you generally attach the negative cable to?

I've used the positive to positive and negative to negative method on a Volvo and GM car in the past, a little apprehensive on the Audi since it has lots of onboard electronics

[arjun90]

Where do we clamp the negative cable? Owner's manual doesn't disclose this

[arjun90]

Hopefully all goes well, I have the negative cable connected as shown in the following link, http://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/20...ery/jump_start


Once I'm able to get the car started up again, I'll probably drive over to Costco and buy their battery instead

[MrWalker]

i bought a dealer battery costed $82 and i have always connected positive to positive and negative to negative never had any issue yet. hope i don't start now that i said that. GL.

[arjun90]

I had AAA Service stop by to jump start the car. They connected positive-positive and negative-negative through an Engine Starter (similar to what I have from the '90's) and the car started up just fine. Can't believe so much apprehension over this.

His diagnostic kit did report that at initial startup, battery was reporting 7-8 volts. I drove the car around for a bit, even filled up gas on the way back. Car wasn't driven for the last couple of days. These cars are as sensitive as I am, lol A battery from AAA costs around $150, around the same as other shops. Might as well find a bargain and move along and focus on the more important issues in this car. State Inspection is right around the corner. Yay!

Also, I think I'm going to have to replace the battery anyway. Its just a matter of time.

I think I'm going to write a memoir focused around this car.

[Sparkstack]

Out of interest - what made you think the OEM battery was 16v?

[arjun90]

Great question, the OEM battery is definitely 12v. I kept staring at my instrument cluster, and must have gotten side-tracked staring at that 16v number. That old jump starter I have from 90's also drew concern as I wasn't sure it was safe to use with more modern cars.

Out of interest - what made you think the OEM battery was 16v?