I've never had both go bad on me at the same time ever and this situation striked me as odd.

It all started when I didn't crank it long enough to turn on. So I turned the ignition and it turned on and off I went. I stopped at a friends and as I was went to turn the car on when I was leaving, it was hesitant like the battery was low. Fortunately, I was able to turn it on and went home. When I got home, I turned the car off and after a minute tried to turn it on and all I got was clicking.

So, I remove the easiest part for testing...the battery. I took it to 3 different places (I wanted to be sure) and they all told me the same thing...battery wasn't good..didn't hold a charge anymore. So, I bought a new one and replaced it worked just like it was before. I drove the car for a few miles and the little red battery sign turned on. It was running just fine and I checked voltage while the car was running which was 15.XX volts. On the way back to my house, the yellow battery sign turned on and right about as I was parking, everything dimmed down and RPMs shut off then back on. When I turned the car off, I tried turning it back on and AGAIN, just a clicking sound.

The battery is new and good because I got it checked before I actually bought it. I already got the alternator out which was a **** to get out and after I get off here, I'm off to get it tested.

My question now is, would they both go at the same time? OR is something frying them? The old battery had a manufacture date of 09/04 and the alternator in 2000. To me it seems it's just about that time for them to go out.

 

Well, it'd make sense for the alternator to kill the battery, and your old battery was getting towards the end of its useful life, so besides being a PITA to replace stuff, I dont think I'd worry too much.

 

I get alternators and starters cheap as hell so pm me if you need one

 

i had a cold-start problem and i swore it was my battery, had it checked twice.
turned out after further investigation that it was the alternator. got that replaced and its still running with an older batt no problem....

 

*BAD UPDATE*
The alternator turned out to be bad and I bought a replacement. I got everything back in place and drove it for a few miles to a friends house for a while. I was about to leave and the damn thing didn't want to start. The NEW battery was low and I was starting to think I bought a bad battery or a bad alternator. I get to taking all that stuff back apart and go to several places to test the parts. Well, BOTH are good. So I put everything back together and start the car and while the car is running, I have a meter to the battery and the voltage is getting lower and lower. So, apparently, the charge from the alt is not getting to the battery. So what now? I really need this car running by tomorrow and I'd like to do it myself and not the stealership.


*thanks for all replies and for the offer from Red_*
BTW - alternator was $190 with tax & lifetime warranty

 

lol i coulda got the alternator for 95 shipped with lifetime warranty o well aha

 

Make sure your battery cable ends are secure. Check the grounds both at the battery and at the alternator. If you aren't getting a good connection, the alternator won't get the needed voltage to the battery.

Also, if the battery was pretty well drained by your initial problems, put it on a trickle charger overnight and bring it back up to full charge. Then check the alternator voltage output again, it may be that the battery is so discharged that it is taking everything the alternator can put out.

 

Had the local auto parts charge the battery...

I checked everything possible... I cleaned the battery terminals till they looked almost brand new. Checked all wires anywhere and everywhere. All wiring is damn near looking new so now I have to see how my 30 mile drive to work will go. After I checked all wires and all, I drove around my neighborhood for a good while....stock radio blasting.....high beams... and AC.... all accessiories I can think of were on. Drove it normal and like a bat out of hell... After my test drive, I checked the voltage and it was steady.... it woudn't go down. BUT during the test drive, the *red* battery light blinked a couple of times...dimmed and went away. It did that a couple of times...

I will be going on another test and hopefully it'll turn out well.

 

Got about half way to work this morning and battery went dead again. So, I'm stumped.... What would keep the alt from charging the battery if both are good?

 

sorry to hear about your troubles. that truly sucks.

if you ask me i think its time to take it to either an audi stealership or qualified indie tuning shop. just bite the bullet and get it done right....