From cold, very slow turnover. Battery prob?

[kev1974]

Hi all

Hopefully someone may be able to help/advise. My 06 A3 2.0T has recently been turning over very slowly now the cold mornings are here, it almost feels as if it may not even start, for the first 2 or 3 seconds it is really slow. I wondered if this is normal as a slow turnover for these engines or not?

The car is 5 year old now and has done 80k and guess it is the original battery, am I right in thinking they last between 4 or 5 years? I have only had the car since the summer and it was quicker to start back then. Just don't want to shell out for a new battery in case it may be something else.

Another concern is with it being DSG its not as if I can bump start it if it won't start.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, cheers.
Kev

 

[Ash187]

my A3 is a 2005 coming upto 140k on the clock (i do massive mileage) but no issues with start up or turnover (yet) in the cold. i would put it down to battery... why dont you just get it tested and see if the battery is strong enough to carry on doing its job?

if you do need a replacement battery i would recommend this: Type 096 Varta Silver Dynamic Car Battery 12V 74Ah (Short Code: E38) (Varta DIN: 575 121 072 or 574 402 075) - Car Batteries - Varta Car Batteries

 

[kev1974]

Thanks for the info mate, much appreciated. I am just unsure if these engines are slow turning in general? Does anyone else have the same model and is your starter motor quick to fire up the engine? Cheers.

 

[Ash187]

yh its not exactly a good comparison as mine id a diesel and your petrol but my engine turns over as soon as i turn the key, i dont even need to hold it. a 1 second twist in the ignition and the engine is rumbling

 

[audigex]

Turn the ignition to "accessories", leave it there until the glow plug coil light goes off. Repeat x2, then try to start the car. If it starts instantly, you need to replace the glow plugs.

I'd suspect battery though, being 5 years old. Unless the battery looks pretty new...

 

[kev1974]

Thanks mate but mine is the 2.0T - petrol turbo engine. Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[audigex]

haha sorry - was a bit tired earlier.

 

[kev1974]

This morning it took approx 4 or 5 seconds to start. Really unsure where to start looking for the problem. Battery appears slow.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated

 

[Minstadave]

Did you get it sorted, mine has been a bit slow this winter too.

 

[mikex709]

I had a similiar problem. My car is coming up to 5 years in April and turned out to be the battery, just needed recharging at the dealers.

 

[ZeeSaffa]

@Mikex709 - Has it been okay since you had it recharged at the dealers?
I have an Optimate charger so I might stick it on overnight if it's worth it.

 

[NKenny]

Batteries do not like the cold, if your battery is weak drop in temperature will show it up. On my previous Honda the battery had an indicator, greed=good(charged) white=low charge and black=nackered! I've not checked this on S3 yet, I'm assuming it has a sealed maintenance free battery.

 

[M88UES]

This is mine and its ******* me right off ! its going into audi on friday. It only does this after being left for 5-6 hours or overnight. Not sure what it is but after its done this i could turn it off and then it would fire up straight away without missing a beat. Thats the frustrating thing. battery? ECU? Fuel Pump ? god knows but a hope audi sort it. problem is its hard to recreate because once a drive to audi because its been running it wont do it ! lol

 

[dantdi]

This is mine and its ******* me right off ! its going into audi on friday. It only does this after being left for 5-6 hours or overnight. Not sure what it is but after its done this i could turn it off and then it would fire up straight away without missing a beat. Thats the frustrating thing. battery? ECU? Fuel Pump ? god knows but a hope audi sort it. problem is its hard to recreate because once a drive to audi because its been running it wont do it ! lol

Your not letting the glow plugs light go out before you try to start the car?

 

[M88UES]

How long should i be waiting ? Surely this is still not normal?? Waiting to start a car.

 

[M88UES]

I see what your saying now , i have done this and it still starts exactly the same as in this video.

 

[bendhamrait]

i have a TQS and seem to have a slow start up now its cold. need to get battery checked.
To check the battery is it just making sure it holds a charge of around 11.5 - 12V ???

cheers

 

[NKenny]

A fully charged battery should give approx. 12.6v, 11.5v needs charging or changing.