Battery condition

[OmegaV6]

Due to the ongoing bat flu problems and my personal circumstances the car has not moved for three weeks and the chances of it moving in the near future are slim if not remote !!

In an attempt to keep the battery in decent condition I'm putting it on charge, via the under bonnet connections every 2 weeks until the CTEK Charger shows it's happy.

I've read elsewhere that there are two batteries in the A6 Allroad, although I can find no such mention in the handbook, one being something to do with the stop/start system, the other the "usual" battery I'm used to from many years of driving petrol cars !!

So, three questions if I may ....

1) Is what I've read about a second battery true or false ??? .. if true where is it and how do I check it/charge it ??

2) Do the experts on here think that charging the battery every couple of weeks via the under bonnet connections is sufficient "preventative maintenance" ... given the cost of a replacement battery I'd rather just try and keep this one in decent condition?

3) Is there anything else I should do to the car in general whilst it's "laid up" in order to keep it in good condition ?

This is the first diesel I've ever owned, so no ideas on what to do .. with the old petrol motors I was happy with what I had to do !!

Ta muchly for any thoughts, stay safe everyone

[morski]

Just the single battery in the boot. Lift up the boot floor, remove spare wheel and tool kit etc and you will see it there along with the air tank. Alternately you can charge from under the bonnet with the 2 battery terminals.
The ctek charger is an intelligent charger anyway so leaving it on charge long term will not hurt the battery but having a power cable leading up to your car all the time might be an inconvenience... Try charging it fully and leave it for a week or so and you should not see any significant drop in battery voltage unless you have other issues elsewhere as normal battery drain should be 0.3-0.5A when resting which should make your battery last a good few weeks.
Only issue with a car parked up long term is rust on the discs and flat spots on the tyres but i wouldnt worry too much as it would have to sit for a long time

[Elansear]

Hi I would also run it for 5-10 min every couple of weeks, put it in gear and back out just to get the fluids moving around the box and engine.

[OmegaV6]

Hi I would also run it for 5-10 min every couple of weeks, put it in gear and back out just to get the fluids moving around the box and engine.

Used to do that with the petrol cars, but have been told (?) that this treatment on a diesel is bad, especially for the DPF ....... as I said ... never had a diesel (or a DPF) before so trying hard to learn !!

Thanks to both for the info ...

[gav28uk]

Thinking my car hasn't moved for three weeks, so as I have a ctek charger I thought it wouldn't hurt put it on charge to keep it tip top! :-) I failed at the first hurdle, how I do I tell if my car has an AGM battery, as I would need to set the ctek to AGM if it has? The battery code is J0B which is a 520A (92Ah) battery, but no idea how I tell if it is an AGM version?? Any thoughts anybody?

Thanks

[Waddie]

Having left cars for several months whilst away working I would leave the batery charger on, handbrake off and woud definitely NOT get anyone to start the engine unless taken out for a proper run and everything up to running temperature. Just letting it idle in the garage can cause condensation in the engine and thus a build up of water in the oil, whereas in normal conditions any water vapour in the sump would get pushed out the breather.

[OmegaV6]

Thinking my car hasn't moved for three weeks, so as I have a ctek charger I thought it wouldn't hurt put it on charge to keep it tip top! :-) I failed at the first hurdle, how I do I tell if my car has an AGM battery, as I would need to set the ctek to AGM if it has? The battery code is J0B which is a 520A (92Ah) battery, but no idea how I tell if it is an AGM version?? Any thoughts anybody?

Thanks

At a guess you'll have to dig in the boot and look at it !! It will state if it is an AGM battery on it !!

[OmegaV6]

Due to it's location the charger cannot be left on 24/7 ... but after 8 hours today it shows fully charged and into maintainance mode on the CTEK ... so my guess it is still in decent condition. I'll repeat this every 14 days.

The answer on running the engine sort of agrees with my feelings from the petrol engine days, if you can't run it to fully warm, don't run it ....

[gav28uk]

At a guess you'll have to dig in the boot and look at it !! It will state if it is an AGM battery on it !!

Yeah I did have a look but unless I physically take out the battery I can’t see anything written on it! Unless I am missing something obvious 😂😂

[OmegaV6]

Yeah I did have a look but unless I physically take out the battery I can’t see anything written on it! Unless I am missing something obvious 

Mine certainly says AGM on it ... and all the specifications I've seen have all said AGM ....

EDIT TO ADD

Just checked the handbook, and page 238 says : "Vehicles with the Start-Stop-System * are equipped with a special cycle-proof AGM battery. Installing a different type of battery can cause problems in the vehicle electrical system. When replacing the vehicle battery, always install one with the same specifications as the original battery."


HTH