'03 Passat Electrical
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2
'03 Passat Electrical
Hello all, I'm new to the forum here and unfortunately come with a problem [:@]
I recently inherited my mother's 2003 Passat GLX Limited Edition. Its in great condition and is quite a step up from my old Impala. Everything was going fine until last week. I installed a Sirius Sportster 5 Satellite Radio system. The day I installed it, I made the mistake of running the radio for a while without the car on and the battery died. I figured I just made a common error and my dad gave me a jump.
After a few days, I was out with some friends and after pumping gas the car wouldn't restart. I had a friend give me a jump and for the next hour various warning lights came on, eventually leading to the "Alternator Workshop!" light. It appears the alternator was not charging the battery at all.
So, like a good VW owner, I had the car towed to my local VW dealership and told them everything. They "checked" all electrical systems, the alternator, ignition, etc. and found only that the battery was dead as a door ****. This wasn't surprising as it was pretty old so they replaced it and the car ran like a charm.
Today, some 3 days later, I had trouble starting the car after driving for a while. It feels more like the battery is fine but it's having trouble turning. I'm no expert though.
My only ideas are that the radio is draining the battery like crazy. I always unplug the lighter adapter when I turn off the car so this doesn't make sense given that the alternator is working fine.
Any ideas? Is this a common issue? If I have a new battery and they did the checks, what am I missing?
I recently inherited my mother's 2003 Passat GLX Limited Edition. Its in great condition and is quite a step up from my old Impala. Everything was going fine until last week. I installed a Sirius Sportster 5 Satellite Radio system. The day I installed it, I made the mistake of running the radio for a while without the car on and the battery died. I figured I just made a common error and my dad gave me a jump.
After a few days, I was out with some friends and after pumping gas the car wouldn't restart. I had a friend give me a jump and for the next hour various warning lights came on, eventually leading to the "Alternator Workshop!" light. It appears the alternator was not charging the battery at all.
So, like a good VW owner, I had the car towed to my local VW dealership and told them everything. They "checked" all electrical systems, the alternator, ignition, etc. and found only that the battery was dead as a door ****. This wasn't surprising as it was pretty old so they replaced it and the car ran like a charm.
Today, some 3 days later, I had trouble starting the car after driving for a while. It feels more like the battery is fine but it's having trouble turning. I'm no expert though.
My only ideas are that the radio is draining the battery like crazy. I always unplug the lighter adapter when I turn off the car so this doesn't make sense given that the alternator is working fine.
Any ideas? Is this a common issue? If I have a new battery and they did the checks, what am I missing?
Super Moderator
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 676
From: Missouri
RE: '03 Passat Electrical
Your radio would not drain the battery. After your battery was on the fritz, first thing I would check is your power steering pump fuse. Is it making a whining noise when you turn? If so your low on fluid or the pump is going out.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 2
RE: '03 Passat Electrical
I spoke incorrectly. I meant turning as in starting. However, today I went to start the car and was getting power but only heard a rapid fire clicking sound. Battery works fine but the car refuses to even recognize ignition.
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