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I work from home and don't drive very much. Most of my driving is typically just short errands around town, I probably only drive for 30+ continuous minutes maybe 1-2x per month. Occasionally, in my remote starter app, it will show the battery voltage at 11.6 (it's normally over 12, but occasionally drops below 12). When I start the car, it goes up to 14.3v or so. The car has no issues turning over. This is a 2018 S5 Cab that I just bought in April '21 with about 52k miles. I think it only has around 56k now. I live in MN, and our temps are dropping! I drive my car year-round, but I just don't drive much in the 5 months that we call winter up here. In the summer, I go out specifically to drop the top and enjoy the cab. That's much less appealing once the temp goes below 50.
My last car was a BMW 435ix, and I had purchased the BMW battery charger/tender for it. I think it's only proprietary in the sense that it has a BMW logo on it. Is there any reason that it wouldn't work with the Audi? It essentially looks identical to the CTEK charger that should work with any 12V battery. I was going to sell the BMW charger but never got around to it. So... Are there any concerns using this to keep my battery at full charge if it goes days without use? I don't know if I still have the original factory battery in my car, and I don't feel like checking it right now. I'm curious whether anyone else uses a tender/charger like this, or if it's not recommended for some reason. It worked great to keep my 435ix ready to go at any time (even when our temps drop to 30 below!).
If it's a concern that my battery is showing voltage below 12, then what would be the most recommended battery replacement? I've DIY-ed battery replacements in the past. Is it pretty straightforward in an Audi? Do I need to register the battery with the car (like I had to with the BMW)? If so, can I do that with OBD11?
It sounds like you could get some use out of the BMW battery tender to keep your battery charged and in good condition. AGM batteries are not cheap, the same thing will happen if you don't drive much to the new battery. I'm sure your Audi will forgive you for using a BMW charger, your battery will love you! I use a little NOCO Genius, not much different than your BMW tender.
I work from home and don't drive very much. Most of my driving is typically just short errands around town, I probably only drive for 30+ continuous minutes maybe 1-2x per month. Occasionally, in my remote starter app, it will show the battery voltage at 11.6 (it's normally over 12, but occasionally drops below 12). When I start the car, it goes up to 14.3v or so. The car has no issues turning over. This is a 2018 S5 Cab that I just bought in April '21 with about 52k miles. I think it only has around 56k now. I live in MN, and our temps are dropping! I drive my car year-round, but I just don't drive much in the 5 months that we call winter up here. In the summer, I go out specifically to drop the top and enjoy the cab. That's much less appealing once the temp goes below 50.
My last car was a BMW 435ix, and I had purchased the BMW battery charger/tender for it. I think it's only proprietary in the sense that it has a BMW logo on it. Is there any reason that it wouldn't work with the Audi? It essentially looks identical to the CTEK charger that should work with any 12V battery. I was going to sell the BMW charger but never got around to it. So... Are there any concerns using this to keep my battery at full charge if it goes days without use? I don't know if I still have the original factory battery in my car, and I don't feel like checking it right now. I'm curious whether anyone else uses a tender/charger like this, or if it's not recommended for some reason. It worked great to keep my 435ix ready to go at any time (even when our temps drop to 30 below!).
If it's a concern that my battery is showing voltage below 12, then what would be the most recommended battery replacement? I've DIY-ed battery replacements in the past. Is it pretty straightforward in an Audi? Do I need to register the battery with the car (like I had to with the BMW)? If so, can I do that with OBD11?
Thanks in advance for any answers.
--Jeff
Is the auto stop/start working normally? In my case it had stopped working though the car was turning over just fine, it happened in the second year the dealer replaced the battery. Your issue may be that the car is sitting around too long while the electronics are still sucking power, draining the battery. A trickle charger may just do the trick. When you go out take it for longer drives, it is good for the engine too, lubricates all the parts, fully hot engine boils off water contamination in the engine oil.
If you know your PR code for your battery, that will inform which battery you have installed (at least which one the factory installed). It's the J__ PR code. If you have stop-start, it's going to be an AGM type or maybe an EFB type. But could still be anything from size H5 to H9. If you replace it with the same type/size battery, you wouldn't need to do the adaptation necessarily, but you still should (change the serial number a bit to reset logs). OBDeleven Pro can do it because you can just do the direct adaptation task. non-Pro, don't know if they have a canned app for battery change for B9.
But sounds like it's just not getting enough charging time vs down time to maintain the voltage against all the electronics that run when sitting around. Your BWM charger will be just fine. Just make sure to follow the instructions on it to confirm its suitable for the type of battery you have. There also appears to be different versions of it. The picture of it here shows cycle, car, winter storage, and recondition modes (https://www.bmwblog.com/2021/01/30/b...y-charger-bmw/) while the one here shows cycle and car for "normal" and lithium-ion (youtu.be/esR-WjP3o9s). Obviously, don't use the Li-Ion mode.
Yes--as far as I know. I almost always have the car in Dynamic mode, and typically switch it to Sport once the engine warms up. I may be wrong about this, but I thought that having it in Dynamic mode prevents *** from shutting the car off. However, I do recall situations when the car has shut down at a stoplight (e.g., when my wife is with me and I'm in Comfort mode). If I'm reading the responses correctly, the presence of *** means I likely have an AGM battery.
My BMW tender is the one that has Normal/Li-Ion modes (with car/motorcycle options for each). If I remember correctly, I should be able to use this under the hood, correct? I think I can clamp it to the positive jumper post, and attach the negative clamp to some other metal (?). I'm hoping not to have to go into the trunk to get to the actual battery, as that will involve removing a subwoofer back there.
12-14-2021, 01:43 PM
Some battery questions
