Battery Not Dead But Thinks It Is!

[gabluebug]

Where do I start? 98 Blue Bug belongs to my daughter. She comes home and key locks the door. Remote, sadly to say, is deceased. Next day, opens the door, puts the key in the ignition and NOTHING - no lights, no sound, no nothing. I relock the door using the key. Open it again and the Alarm blares to high heaven. Lock the door. Open again and viola, lights and sound - but not enough juice to crank. Jumped her off and everything was fine. Autozone checked battery and eletrical and said battery fine - alternator showing a little weakness under a load but still normal. Next day. Same situation. Lock the door again and lights on again - but not enough juice to crank it. So, taking my lesson from Hee-Haw, since locking the door seemed to be the problem, I quit locking it and guess what, no battery issues. BUT NOW, the fuel gauge has gone weird. It was showing normal read with switch off then burying the needle with switch on. Now it shows correct (I think) with switch on, but stops at 1/4 tank with switch off after a brief stop at 1/3 tank. So, 1.) Could the alarm be the issue with the dying battery and 2.) Could the fuel gauge be related to the alarm issue, or 3.) Should I just shoot it and put it out of my misery? I sure would appreciate a magic cure! Thank you all!

[gabluebug]

Nobody knows if the alarm system and instruments are linked in some way?

[gamefoo21]

First, how old is the battery?

Second, what voltage is the battery showing?

[HudsonValleyVDub]

Load test the battery. A bad battery will do some screwy stuff. My guess is going to be a bad battery. Replacing it should clear up the problems.