Bad battery already?

Yesterday when I got back to my car from work the battery was completely dead. Nothing had been left on like head lights or interior lights. I put my volt meter on it and it was only showing 3 volts, not even enough to turn on the instrument panel when you turn the key. nothing worked.

The car wouldn't even start with a set of light duty jumper cables after 15 minutes of letting it sit there with the other car at high rpm's and trying. I had to go get our service truck with heavy duty cables to start it.

I leave my car at the office for 9 days at a time while I go to work out of town so it had been sitting for 9 days. The only thing I did different this time was leave the doors unlocked because its a secure place and this is the first time I had an issue with the battery.
After I got it started the car ran for about 45 minutes driving it about 30 miles. I turned it off for about an hour then went to start again and nothing. I'll be calling VW today for a new battery since its still under warranty.

Does anyone have any idea what could of drained the battery?

The car is a 2012 golf.

The simplest explanation is a bad battery. I would also lock your car doors when you leave for 9 days to assure that everything is turned off.

yeah, I just find it hard to be a coincidence that the battery is dead the one time I leave the car unlocked. Im more interested in what actually drained it from being unlocked.

Btw if you leave the interior lights on, they shut off after 10-15 min. At lest my interior LEDs do. I had to cycle them when parked and reading in a parking garage.

Headlights are a different story.

Dealership just replaced the two year old battyer on my TDI today.

Mine went within a year.

Batteries die in the strangest ways and at unusual times for absolutely no reason. They are really made cheaply nowadays even though they cost more than ever. This is planned obsolescence at its finest (or worst, depending on your point of view.) There is no reason for this technology to go backwards, other than corporate greed.

I have to disagree with you TDIAustin. we have become a walmart society. We dont care if something is junk as long as its cheap. there are not enough people wanting good quality and willing to pay for it except for a few niche markets. Overall, corporate america is giving us what we want, or at least what we have told them with our wallets how we want things. why do you think these chinese parts places are still in business and making money? people are willing to buy a cheap part 3 times over a few years than buy a good one the first time.

"Cheap people pay twice.."

the dealer told me that by locking the doors then about 15 minutes of it being locked the computer equipmet goes to sleep. if you leave the car unlocked then everything stays awake the whole time and is what drained the battery.

Is there truth to this?

paul_arc said:

the dealer told me that by locking the doors then about 15 minutes of it being locked the computer equipmet goes to sleep. if you leave the car unlocked then everything stays awake the whole time and is what drained the battery.

Is there truth to this?

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No manufacturer would design a vehicle so that the battery drains if the doors are not locked!!....amazing!

Oooops and the stealer strikes again. Its like the OLD story "the glow plugs cone on when you open the door"

My 2013 had a dead battery while on the car lot. Of course I got a new battery.

A battery once discharged will never return to full charge. So your battery may have been damaged while on the new car lot.

Mine went in just under 2 years.... No warning at all, just couldn't get to work one morning. Roadside towed it and the dealer replaced my battery under warranty. Just barely made it though. I had less than 150 miles until the battery warranty was up.

4 years and still going strong, the window is clear on the battery which means I should replace it, but maybe Ill just throw some water in it since it is actually a serviceable battery under the stickers.

I think mine made it about 9 months.

Sometimes you just get a bad unit. Remember, on commody parts (like a battery), if they can stay around 1% or less failure rate that is considered "acceptable". They just warranty the bad ones and consider it a cost of doing business. You just lost the quality lottery, that's all.

jetlagmech said:

I have to disagree with you TDIAustin. we have become a walmart society. We dont care if something is junk as long as its cheap. there are not enough people wanting good quality and willing to pay for it except for a few niche markets. Overall, corporate america is giving us what we want, or at least what we have told them with our wallets how we want things. why do you think these chinese parts places are still in business and making money? people are willing to buy a cheap part 3 times over a few years than buy a good one the first time.

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Can't agree with your thinkin' there Jet. I bought a Red Optima for my Z in 2005 which was made in the US. They are now made in Mexico. I paid $95 for it then. It lasted 7 years and was still OK when I replaced it with a $115 battery (at Batteries Plus) with just a two year warranty. These type batteries used to cost $69. A similar battery in our Subaru died exactly in two years, just out of the blue, sitting in the garage overnight.

My only point is that batteries now cost over $100 yet hardlly make it through their warranty period. This is not new info. My Z mechanic, who sells Interstate, says batteries just don't last anymore yet cost almost twice what they used to. He insists they're just not made as well as they used to be and advised me not to spend a fortune on one because they all now last about the same. My experience bears this out as well. And basically, I don't think it's us; I think it's them. Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

It is them due to the hazardous material used in the battery. Much more expensive to make the lead plates since you don't want your workers dieing due to complications from lead posioning. You also don't want their kids affected from mom or dad's clothing.

kjclow said:

It is them due to the hazardous material used in the battery. Much more expensive to make the lead plates since you don't want your workers dieing due to complications from lead posioning. You also don't want their kids affected from mom or dad's clothing.

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Interesting statement. Out of my own curiosity, what makes you say this? To my knowledge, wet cell batteries still use lead plates, only the plates in cheap batteries are now more like a wafer/mesh to provide more contact surface area for the electrolyte. The increased surface area is a cost effect way to decrease the battery's physical size while increasing the cranking amps; unfortunately this also decreases the batteries life. Any amount of stress placed on the thin mesh lead plates, such as extended cranking or deep cycling from leaving your headlights on, will cause oxidation and deteriorization or the batteries cells. Lead will sluff off the plates surface and settle to the bottom of the battery, which eventually causes less surface area for the electrons to migrate on, and finally you'll degrade cells/plates completely to where they can no longer carry a current (or a very weak current); hence the term "dead cell" when you get your battery load tested on a machine.

Good rule of thumb, buy the heaviest battery that will fit in your compartment, even if its rated slightly lower in CCAs.

jaymzaugust said:

Interesting statement. Out of my own curiosity, what makes you say this? .

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Several things. First, the workers safety has vastly improved, which increases costs. Second, much less lead being mined and more batteries are made with some level of recycled lead. Third, since lead is in shorter supply they are doing things like you mentioned, using mesh to support the lead instead of a solid plate.