philm35

The 5 year-old Die Hard in my '99 A4 killed itself in a rather unusual manner today.

I took the car to the car wash. When the attendant got in and attempted to start the car to drive it into the carwash, there was a loud pop, and wisps of smoke coming out from under the hood. When I popped open the hood, I found that the maintenance-free Die Hard had blown the fill caps off, and small amounts of smoke were wafting from it. After that, the car would not crank, and turning on the lights shut down all of the electrics in the car.

The battery gave no warning of iminent failure... it had been cranking strongly, right up until this particular start-up.

I replaced the battery, and everything appears to be fine.

Have you ever seen a battery die in this manner? Should I be concerned about the charging system?

--Phil

rmonster

I'd be concerned about the next car wash.

(sorry couldn't resist, i know i provided no help whatsoever, hope i contributed to a chuckle at least )
and no i have yet to see a battery die in that way.

philm35

LOL!!

Actually it couldn't have been a more convenient place for it to happen. I jumpstarted the car, drove 2 blocks to a nearby Auto Zone, went in with the car still running, and bought a new battery. Drove home and installed it. Done! And just hours before, I had cleaned out my garage workshop, too.

--Phil