A female friend's Audi A3 would not start.
AAA told her that the battery was bad and a replacement battery would be $340 (through AAA). The person was nice and told her that if she could buy one on her own, it would probably be less.
I don't even want to guess what it would cost if she took it to a dealer...
This all happened while she was visiting her mom at the local senior housing a couple of blocks away so it was convenient to jump start the car and bring it to the house.
First tried charging the battery.
Before charging, the battery tested bad...
It seemed to take a charge and the battery tester that I have indicated that it was good after the charging. But after a couple of starts, it wouldn't start again.
Checking the battery again with the electronic battery tester, it tested bad again.
There's an insulation "blanket" around the battery.
A long time ago, I worked on an issue where the charging system/battery was insufficient for the worst case real world condition.
Part of the countermeasure for the issue, besides an upgraded alternator, was a blanket around the battery to reduce the heat load on the battery under extended idling conditions.
There's some sort of a sensor on the B- terminal.
Had to disconnect the harness to be able to get the cable out of the way for battery removal.
Removed factory battery.
680 CCA rated.
Size is H6.
After removing the battery, noticed that both ends of the battery were deformed and bulging out.
Not a good sign...
The battery retainer is this bracket on one end.
The other end of the battery tucks under a protrusion molded into the battery tray.
Very simple & just one 13 mm head bolt to remove.
Plastic battery tray.
There are three different locations where the bracket can be installed for different length batteries.
For the H6 size, the full size of the battery tray is occupied so the hold down bolt goes in the very bottom nut insert.
Got the battery from the local Pep Boys.
Champion brand but I think all lead-acid batteries are made by two or three companies and labeled with different brands.
This is an AGM (spill-proof) battery and is rated at 760 CCA and 120 A reserve capacity.
The battery was on sale (15% off) so the battery was about $212.
There were cheaper priced options but decided to go with the best one that they had. (short of buying an Odyssey or Optima, this is probably the best of the rest, at least from a local auto parts store)
Battery is made in Mexico.
The hold down works perfectly with the new battery.
There's a factory cover over the B+ terminal that had a couple of plastic pins that engage in holes built into the replacement battery.
Just like the factory battery.
There's two handles built into the battery top cover, also just like the factory battery.
It's nice when everything works well on a non-factory replacement part.
Hopefully, the battery will last at least 5 years...
