On Mar 18, 3:25 pm, Jim Behning
<jimbehn... (AT) doesthisblockpork (DOT) mindspring.com> wrote:
Jim ... yep, the charger has about a 20-foot lead on it from the panel
to the battery, so I mounted the solar collecter on an outside wall
facing the southern sky ... on a good day (winter in Detroit, yeah,
right) ... it could get 6 hours or so of solid sunlight.

It was really tough just to check the "eye" on the (maintenance-free)
battery with the fuse block and the jacket covering it, but it appears
to me to be a clear to very, very light green.

The car was unlocked, so I guess the alarm was not activated.

And to clarify, the battery was connected to the car normally until I
noticed it was not charged, and then I disconnected the positive lead
and now, I just have the solar charger hooked up to the battery to try
to charge it.

I only have a cheap, analog multimeter (and I am not an electrical
genius) ... I put the meter level at "50vdc" and it is reading today
is about 26-28 volts. When I first noticed the problem it was as low
as 7 or 8 volts. (I put it on my F-150 and Explorer for shits and
giggles and it looks like a good charged battery should read about
35-40 vdc.) At least now, I can get the window on the Bug to roll up
and down but the power is weak. (At its weakest level a couple of
weeks ago, the hazard lights wouldn't even turn on, so the solar
charger is definitely doing something.) I know I can get an A/C
powered battrey charger to juice it up good, but I won't be ready to
pull it out for the summer until about the first week of April.

Thanks for you reply ... after all this explaining, I guess I'm still
wondering ... do you think the bad brake light switch could be the
root cause of my power loss? The solar charger should have been
enought to keep it topped off.

Regards,

On 18 Mar 2007 14:16:56 -0700, dpluta (AT) msn (DOT) com wrote:
read real close to 13.2 vdc.
If the brake switch failed to open when you last let off the pedal - ( the
brakes lights remained on ) the lights would drain the battery quicker than
the solar charger would replace the charge. But you would have most likely
seen the lights being on. Right?
My guess is that you didn't have a good connection from the solar charger
to the ' in circuit ' ( still hooked up ) car battery . The keep alive componets
in the car would drain the battery over a few month . You knew that , that's why
the solar charger.
Or you have a faulty battery.

On Mar 18, 5:45 pm, samst... (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote:
I bought a new digital multimeter yesterday ... I'll check out the
battery reading and post it later if anyone is curious.

I did not notice the brake lights on when I put the car into storage
but I thought that maybe they could have turned themselves on and
contributed to the drained battery. I thougth I had a pretty good
connection from the solar charger to the battery (bolted their leads
to the battery posts). And actually, right now, I am simply using
alligator clips to make the connection and it does seem to be charging
(positive lead has been removed from the battery).

I did have the clutch pedal depressed for a couple of months ... I
read that that was a good way to prevent the clutch and flywheel from
rusting together over the winter ... would that use any power in any
way?

Faulty battery? Maybe ... when I get the brake switch recall done I
will ask my dealer to check the battery ... hope they don't charge me
for that! (VW dealers don't seem to know the word "gratis" or
"courtesy" when it comes to racking up costs on a shop ticket). And I
hope I can figure out that radio code thing when I get it rolling or
the dealer said they would do it for me ... for $42!

I did talk to the Service Manager at my dealership and he told me that
I should lock the car during storage, (and all the time it's just
sitting for that matter, he says) as this tells the keep-alive
components to go to sleep. I told them at the dealership that I was
storing it for the winter... wish they would have mentioned this to
me in the first place. Bottom line, I don't know if the battery or the
brake switch or the fact that I did not have the car locked drained
the battery and I probably won't ever know exactly ... when I store it
next year I will definitely lock the car with the solar chargher
hooked up to it and see if that makes a difference. And with a good
multimeter now, I plan on checking it periodically to see how it's
holding up!

Thanks to Samstone and Jim Behning for your replies. If I ever find
anything conclusive I will post.

On 20 Mar 2007 05:28:38 -0700, dpluta (AT) msn (DOT) com wrote:
on all kinds of things, not just vehicles. And with the equinox happening
you'll have a fully charged batt. in no time.
effect on the electrical system.. ( and IMHO you most likely caused
rust more with the plate off the flywheel ) that's neither here nor there
in so far as your dead battery goes....... BUT because the two pedals
are next to each other and you had some kind of device holding the clutch
down my guess is that is involved with the dead batt. Either you pushed the
brake pedal and the switch stuck or the device you had holding the clutch
in also was pushing the brake and that switch closed.
ppl in here but I couldn't find that this morning , but if your operators
manual doesn't have it ask in here and someone will. It is very simple
IIRC. Ask about their charges for checking the battery before they do it
and the clutch depressed routine sounds to me likey the cause of the battery
going dead so your batt. is probably fine.
wattage devices and the solar charger should have been able to
to keep up with that drain locked or unlocked....but yes , why not
lock it anyway.
outcomes. Some post here with question / problems and get replies
and you never hear from them again, so the ' ass u me ' thinking
happens to the responders ( with them knowing ,LOL , their cure was
the fix ) ..
indicate which suggestion worked.. :-o older vw van - O 2 light -
speedometer cable reset location - either on the back of the
speedometer or on the cable under the hood. - lol -
dpluta - that paragraph was not directed at you , just me getting
a laff. I'm easily entertained.

On Mar 20, 9:58 am, samst... (AT) aol (DOT) com wrote:
What a reply! ... thanks so much for spending the time to talk back.
It feels great to be able to have someone to consult with who knows
their stuff.

Well, my new multimeter says the battery voltage today is 11.2 volts.
(I compared to my 5-year old battery in my F-150 and it was reading
12.4 v, so it seems the meter is working fine and I'm setting/reading
it the right way too).

I haven't tried to turn the engine over yet since I won't be ready to
pull it out for the summer until the first week of April ... once I
start it, I want to be able to drive it around for a half hour or so.
But I'm feeling confident that I ought to be able to turn it over on
its own power without jumping it or using an A/C battery charger to
top off the battery.

I looked in my 2006 VW book for my "Radio Card" for the code and I
didn't see it. Either the dealer never gave it to me or I don't need
it ...there was something in the Owners Manual about not needing to
enter the code anymore if the power gets disconnected ... something
about a "convenience code" that matches the radio to the right vehicle
automatically ... fingers are crossed.

BTW, I don't think I'm ever going to depress the clutch pedal for the
winter any more either ... I wanted to do the right thing for storage
but I kind of agree with you ... seems it would be better just to
leave it alone, or maybe just press the clutch in a couple of times
myself over the winter.

If the radio synchs itself up in a couple of weeks, then it looks like
I'm all set. So, thanks for your help. I wish I could return the
favor. I'm a writer at marketing company, so if you ever need
something written or edited, let me know!

Regards,

"Nate Nagel" <njnagel (AT) roosters (DOT) net> wrote

They already botched it IMHO:

Basically if all Mk4s use this switch, why weren't all of them recalled the
FIRST time around?

<sarcasm> Go VW. </sarcasm>