# Battery / Alternator bad? Audi TT went crazy!



## ss94 (Nov 16, 2011)

So I noticed that recently my windows appeared to be going slower. Auto up and down seemed to drag... Today before turning off i was putting up the windows when my cluster sent all the gauges to 0, car was running and even my revs were at 0 etc... So obviously something was messed up. 

Heres what happened on my drive home... 
Pulling out of work I noticed my gauges were not working. So i was taking it nice and slow on the backroads. I couldnt have been going faster than 25 and the following occured: cluster lights for various things started flashing on and off (ABS, ESP, Airbag, and Battery light); my boost gauge was half lit(very odd looking); and when I would let off the gas the car would jerk a little and then slowed down(did not feel normal). I came to a stretch of road where I had to speed up a little and When i lightly put my foot down the car would not go any faster yet jerked as if it was trying to go faster. All the while the lights on the dash are still going berserk!

So I pulled into a parking lot and let the car idle for a minute before shutting it off. The idle was VERY rough and it was as if the car had no idea what it was trying to do. It felt and sounded like the car wanted to DIE! That is when I turned it off...

Thirty minutes later my Dad showed up to give me a jump. Before jumping we noticed the following: Key in ignition (normal, lights come on etc...); When I turn the key to start the car nothing happens not even a clicking/turning over sound.

We connected the jumper cables to my battery and the TT started right up. The gauge was working normally and idle was fine. So i drove the remaining 3 miles home and everything seemed fine. Once in my driveway I turned the car off, and it started right back up again! VERY ODD!

Well I have absolutely no idea why this would be happening. My Battery is just over a year old (Interstate battery installed Novembey 2010.)

I called Jeremy over at Volkwerks in Phoenix AZ for his input. He said it might be the battery, but the lights I was seeing dont make any sense. He thinks its a bad alternator. Other than that he has no idea.


Anyone any ideas?


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## Charlie_M (Mar 23, 2011)

Did your battery light come on first?

Check your battery voltage, with the engine running it should be about 13.8-14.4 volts, depending on load and the condition of your battery. Less than that and you have alternator problems. You can even read the voltage on the climate control display (but I just got my TT, so I can't tell you the details).

Also check your grounds to the chassis (under the battery tray and I think near the ECU) and the ground strap to the transmission. If you don't have a good ground strap connection, that could explain what you saw (working lights but no starter response). A bad ground could even explain a good alternator not charging properly.

Check the fuse carrier on top of the battery too. Even if the fuses and links are good, the connections below are known to get hot and go bad.


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## 2T2T5 (Dec 19, 2011)

I had a similar issue with my TT and my girlfriends car. The TT the car was acting the same way so I went had the battery checked and it was bad. So I drove the car for a bit then it acted up again. Turned out my alternator was bad too, not puting out enough voltage. Now my girlfriends car the diodes went out on it and it was puting out AC current and was causing the lights and other electrical stuff to freak out. I would check the things already said but a new battery and alternator fixed it for me.


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## 225ttguy (Sep 19, 2011)

i had the same problem it got to the point where my car would just shut off or it would jerk and the traction control light would come on and stay on the radio would turn on and off and all my clocks and trip would reset. when it was under 37 degrees out i put a new battery in it today and everything has been good since. if your alternator was bad then when you went somewhere your battery would always be dead and you would never be able to start your car without getting it jumped. just a thought


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## jbenns45 (Oct 7, 2012)

*did u ever figure out the problem?*

@ss94 did you ever figure out the culprit? ive got a similar issue and im thinking of replacing the alternator....

thanks


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## NotAVeTTe (Jan 2, 2014)

Have them tested. My battery was bad recently but I didnt have any of those symptoms prior to replacement. I'd check the output of the alternator first, but I'm guessing both will need replaced. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I467 using Tapatalk


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## ss94 (Nov 16, 2011)

jbenns45 said:


> @ss94 did you ever figure out the culprit? ive got a similar issue and im thinking of replacing the alternator....
> 
> thanks


Oh wow this was a while ago. I actually just traded this and got a Focus ST. I'll get another TT one day, preferably a 225hp or the 3.2 one. I just needed a daily that wasn't breaking every other month and required a car payment in maintenance lol. I was looking at a '05 TT with 40k miles, but I just want peace of mind with a warranty, plus the ST is amazing!

Anyways, I want to say that I had shorted one of the wires in the box that sits over the battery. It had melted into the plastic really bad. $80-120 for a new one I want to say. It takes a couple minutes to switch out and you're all good again. Then about 12 months later the Alternator went, With the bad alternator the battery just loses charge and you can't restart the car when it dies. Totally not the same as the issue I was having with flickering lights and warning symbols on the dash going off. Two completely different issues.


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