Battery issue?

Hi l have a vw golf 2002,if l leave it for three weeks
With out using the car the battery last for three weeks then there's not enough power in battery to start the car ,hence flat battery,as even if you switch every thing off your car still uses battery for the electronics system's,such as clock-alarm-,you can all
So check that the alternator is ok,you can buy a
Battery/ alternator tester off ebay for about a fiver
Lot cheaper than forking out in the long run.
Hope this helps

Kenny
February 2017

First off, try to avoid jump starting any modern car, there is too much risk of damaging the electronics with a power spike.
Running with the battery flat can fool the Engine Management system into logging all sorts of sensor trouble codes too.

Take the battery off and recharge it properly. If it has been totally drained it might not now hold a charge for long and will need renewed.

You will then have to find out why it went flat in the first place. If you are sure it was not because she left something switched on then either the battery is faulty, the alternator is faulty or something is staying live after the ignition is turned off.

Could be something as simple as the boot light or glovebox light (set a camera to record video, put it in the glovebox/boot and shut it, check the video to see if the light goes out).

You might have to get a multimeter and check for current drain.

Having said all that, it's probably a 95% cert that a recharge of the battery and sitting your daughter down with the cars handbook so she knows how to turn off the interior light, switch off the indicators so the parking light does not stay on etc will solve the problem!

loopy
June 2011