Are warning messages symptom of low battery

I have not driven my 03 Carrera in the past few weeks and the battery was low (slow cranking). Shortly after take off I received a warning message my airbag was not working. The a few minutes later I got a warning about my ABS. It's charging at home now. I'm hoping this is just a symptom of a low or bad battery. Is this typical?

Can you check the age of the battery? They last about 4/5years. After the a battery has been disconnected, you will need your radio code for the radio to work again. Pep Boys will check your battery is good or bad for free. If it is good, get your alternator checked over. I have had low battery but never had warnings about the airbag or ABS. Good luck.

Maybe. Maybe not. When the battery in my 03 Turbo got low the radio would come up in a goofy state. Recharge the battery. Then see if the codes reappear or not. As Hurdigurdiman mentioned the battery may be due for replacement. So if the things don't come back to normal after you recharge the battery before you go deeper into the charging system have the battery checked out.

You won't need the radio code for an '03

I can't say whether it's typical, but I can say that when my battery was on its way out, I had all manner of electrical gremlins and warning lights that went away as soon as I plopped the new battery into the tray.

What does your voltage meter read when car is idling ... Should be around 13.6 to 13.8 ..if a lot lower then it could be causing the electrical issues. Battery test is free. Btw I just replaced with sears diehard Agm - very pleased- but if battery tests good - maybe you have voltage reg, alternator or ground cable problems .

Symptoms: a) the radio station can only tune in when Peter Frampton is playing b) your rear doors stop unlocking with your wife's key fob c) you get better displayed voltage on the gauge when driving in reverse d) some say that symptoms improve if you remount your tires in the other direction Well - in a CAN-bus Touareg V10 with 7yr old AGM batteries I get Airbag warnings in the MFD + idiot lights if she doesn't get driven for a while. Clock-spring and airbags are perfect - it's just part of the fun when the CAN-bus gets non-ideal voltage. In my case I also get random KESSY function (walk up and drive), and a right-turn-signal that likes to indicate left. Makes for exciting towing. On my '02 Targa - the battery had blown cells + a failed seat switch + failing voltage reg on the alt = high static draw, slow cranking and even dropped windows after parking. The voltage would dip down to 10v range when driving and I never got an AirBag fault, or Alt-Fault for that matter. This specific '02 seems remarkably tolerant to lo-vo. Remediation came in the form of both a battery AND alternator replacement. Now it runs just fine at 13.8-14.2v the majority of the time at idle by the DMM and basically 14v by the dash.

None of mine gave any lights. They just started holding less and less of a charge even when put on charger religiously.

Thank you guys for the advice. I pulled the battery and it had a Apr 09 sticker so I didn't bother to test, I just replaced it. Found a Bosch Premium normally $176 on sale with discount and rebate for $117 at Pep Boys. I installed it and drove. The "warning battery/generator" light stayed on as well as the round red battery icon light. So I parked twice and cranked it up hoping the warning would magically go away like my previous BMW which took a couple of starts to make the warnings go away. The voltage is at a constant 11.9 all the time when on. I got no error messages about ABS or airbag. Any suggestions?

Have the alternator/voltage regulator check for output. Any AutoZone store can do that for you for free. My guess based on what you have said is that the voltage regulator (located on the back of the alternator) needs to be replaced. Check and clean any corrosion on the engine grounding cable located behind the passenger side rear wheel.

Ok, the new battery did not do the trick. The volt gauge is running 11.7 constantly where as before the battery, it was just tipping 12 volts (going the wrong direction). I bought a voltage regulator thinking the alternator is my last resort. I took off the intake and sized up what it would take to get the regulator on the back of the alternator. Not good. I don't see where I can do this operation without taking off a lot of stuff including the alternator. What am I faced with to get that regulator in? Any tricks or shortcuts here?

Removing the alternator is the only way I know.

Jest as I suspected. I take it I have to remove things like the blower and expansion tank, etc. just to be able to get to the alternator. And removing the alternator is probably more than removing the two main bolts(?)

Actually you just need to remove the airbox and the drive belt. The tricky part is you need to tap one of the bolts to release the metal bushing on the alternator (spray with penetrating oil first). The bushing locks the alternator in place. Search here or on Renntech.org. Covered many times before. Found it for you http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutor...he-alternator/

I performed the operation and have this to report...I did manage to get the alternator out but it wasn't like having the space of a Pontiac Catalina or anything to work with. The two bolts loosened without much to do and I did not run into a tighten bushing or anything so I was good to that point. I had already moved the belt and with the bolts out, the alternator was not budging. So I had to disconnect some vacuum hoses and other parts to shift things around just enough to get a pry bar in to wiggle the alternator out. I replaced the voltage regulator knowing I may have to pull it all back out if the alternator was the culprit. I reassembled everything and even cleaned the engine grounding cable for good measure. I'm glad to report that I took the car out on an extended drive and everything was perfect, no warning messages or anything, and the voltage guage settled in at 13.7. Except for one thing. The driver window went down by itself when I turned the motor off. For the moment, I'm going to pretend it didn't happen and hope it sorts itself out!

Excellent! Have you reset the windows after you reconnect the battery? Just hold the "up" till the window closes completely then keep holding for a few more seconds.

Btw, the reason you needed the pry bar was because the bushing was not tapped far enough toward the front of the car

Thanks! This why I love this forum.