Battery drained overnight

Hi. Visiting family out of state. Battery died overnight. Have some jumpers on it now with the power source car running working on getting enough charge to crank. The only thing I can think of I was using the fogs last night (never use them) and left the switch on fog lights. Could this be the culprit? Of course, open to ideas on what would cause the drain, if that wasn't the case. 29k on the car, just drove it a 1000 miles in the last 3 days.
tia

rustycat said:

Hi. Visiting family out of state. Battery died overnight. Have some jumpers on it now with the power source car running working on getting enough charge to crank. The only thing I can think of I was using the fogs last night (never use them) and left the switch on fog lights. Could this be the culprit? Of course, open to ideas on what would cause the drain, if that wasn't the case. 29k on the car, just drove it a 1000 miles in the last 3 days.
tia

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Was the switch still in the on position when you went out to the car this morning? If so, then that was the cause.

VeeDubTDI said:

Was the switch still in the on position when you went out to the car this morning? If so, then that was the cause.

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Yes. It was still on the fog position. Called VW Roadside and they are sending a tow truck to jump it. I would like to mention that I doubt non diesels with lesser electrical power systems can start a diesel. That certainly was the case with the Camry we tried to use.
Thanks for taking time to respond, it is appreciated.
Now, any tricks to re snapping on the key hole cover on the door handle?
tia.

Fully charge the battery with an external charger. Your alternator will thank you.

The set up in the fog lights is dumb. The car has automatic lights. And all other lights domes and the like shut off after ten minutes yet FOG lights stay on forever. It makes no sense at all The other problem this highlighted for me( because I killed my battery the same way) is that should you be smart enough to have cables in the trunk, you cannot get to them when the battery is dead because there is no key access to the trunk and you can only release the seats from the trunk side.

The fellow showed up with a battery pac and the car fired right up. I don't have access to a trickle charger so I took it up to the freeway and put on 70 miles . It all seems fine at the moment with the exception that the check engine light continues to show itself. I asked a local VW dealership about it and although their service depart is closed weekends (go figure?) a couple of the guys on the floor felt that the engine light would clear after a few miles is put on, although they were unsure on many miles, etc.
Thanks for all the help.

rustycat: When time permits, you'll probably want to unhook the battery and put a charger on it. The car's alternator does not have the capability to charge it fully.

tdiatlast said:

rustycat: When time permits, you'll probably want to unhook the battery and put a charger on it. The car's alternator does not have the capability to charge it fully.

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Tdi, thanks. When I get home-- 900 miles tomorrow and the next day. I'll throw the trickle charger on it. The check engine light turned off when I went out and started the car a little while ago. Found out putting the painted key hole cover was dead simple and quick. The trick is to pull the handle out when opening the door and then the key cover simply mates to it, easy as pie.

BadWolf said:

The set up in the fog lights is dumb. The car has automatic lights. And all other lights domes and the like shut off after ten minutes yet FOG lights stay on forever. It makes no sense at all The other problem this highlighted for me( because I killed my battery the same way) is that should you be smart enough to have cables in the trunk, you cannot get to them when the battery is dead because there is no key access to the trunk and you can only release the seats from the trunk side.

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The fog lights don't stay on. The parking lights do. The car also dings at you when you open the door when the lights are on.

For all of the fuss about the cold temperature ding, you would think people would notice the lights-on ding.

VeeDubTDI said:

The fog lights don't stay on. The parking lights do. The car also dings at you when you open the door when the lights are on.

For all of the fuss about the cold temperature ding, you would think people would notice the lights-on ding.

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VeeDub. Yes, you would think people would notice the ding. I in fact did notice it, but was having a back seat emergency with my niece, who has a chronic illness, and in the fluster/confusion the ding didn't really impact me. Oh well, if folks are going to build an idiot proof car, they need to drill down a bit harder, gggg.

Errors should clear after a couple of good start cycles.

+1 on giving it a good trickle charge, as long as its not frozen- I give everything I own that has a battery a trickle charge at least once during winter, probably why I got 14 years of service out of the AGM battery in my ATV

Key Fob Nearby or In the Car?

rustycat,

I noticed in the SEL manual they mentioned having a remote keyfob in the cabin with the car parked can drain the car's battery. Just a thought, in case the wife had a set in a suitcase or something.