Battery loses its charge

[teachermom]

I have a peculiar problem with my '99 New Beetle. The battery has lost charge several times. Also, the radio will be dead the first time I drive the car on a particular day, then work just fine that evening. There is nothing left plugged in or turned on. I have checked all the lamps and switches inthe car. I amstumped! It will start right up when I get a jump. Run just fine for a few days, then go dead mysteriously. Any ideas?

[Dick_Larimore]

It is likely that there is a parasitic drain on the battery. The obvious battery drains include the glove box lamp that intermittently stays on with the door closed, the rear hatch lights, interior lamps, and sun visor vanity lamps. A drain can also be a "lazy" brake switch that causes the rear brake lamps to stay on and is usually a problem in cold weather.

There have been VW A4 vehicles with radio amps that drain the battery. There is a tech service bulletin on this problem. It would be best to make sure that the battery is fully charged using a battery charger after one of these dead battery incidences. Leaving a battery in a continual state of low charge dramatically reduces the battery life. If you have checked all the obvious drains and find no problem, you must get the car to someone with electrical troubleshooting abilites.