Car sat awhile...battery DIED. How to safely recharge battery in A4?

[B72011]

Our B7 needs front brakes---the rotors are on order--in the meantime the car sat for a couple of weeks. Now its dead. It cranked over and started barely about a week ago......now dead. It looks like the original battery (its an '08) --so its prolly on its way out. Anyway I am wondering whats the safest way to recharge this thing?
Can I just hook up the charger cables ---red + , Blk - to the battery while in the car with the battery hooked up to its cables ---then plug in the recharger? OR Plug in recharger, connect + and then neg?

Or do I need to unplug battery completely from car then recharge it?

I just dont want to fry anything. On all the other cars I have charged I just hooked them up---then plugged the charger in.

On another note...will a battery from a B6 Audi A4 fit perfectly in place?

Thanks in advance.

[sa_seahawker]

You can jump it. Owner's manual says to connect black to black and red to red on both batteries.

Or you can take it out and take it an Autozone or something. They can recharge it and test it to see if it's bad.

More than likely though, you should be able to jump it and it will be fine. Sometimes batteries die out if left for awhile. Even though the car is off, there's still accessories that run off the battery. Not much but it could drain it after awhile. Cold weather doesn't help either.

Oh and a B6 battery is the same one in a B7. I think the only real differences between a B6 and a B7 are cosmetic and engine wise. The B7 is still considered an 8E platform.

[jamezz23]

Jump it or take it out of your car and hook it up to a car battery charger?

[pDubs]

Jump it and go on at least a 45 minute drive. Most likely it was your alarm that finally killed the battery.

[Silveravant]

If you have any kind of half decent charger just connect to battery and charge away while still connected. It's better for the alternator and battery (when deeply discharged) to fully charge with a battery charger.

[turbowop]

I keep a Battery Tender on my Mitsu while it sits parked in the garage all winter with a redtop Optima. They're pretty cheap and good to have around. I would pick one up at Sears and throw it on your car. Like already said, it's better for the battery and alternator to use a charger if you have the time to wait.

http://batterytender.com/

[Ed Gein]

connect cables, start engine.

[mec]

Surprised...no flaming?

[jayulzvern]

^ me too

[clemsongt]

If you have any kind of half decent charger just connect to battery and charge away while still connected. It's better for the alternator and battery (when deeply discharged) to fully charge with a battery charger.

I second this. Most of the advice thus far has not been to answer your question. If you have a battery charger, why would the best thing be to jump it and drive around needlessly while your brakes are bad just to charge the battery? Stupid advice. Go ahead and charge the battery with the charger, I've charged mine several times while on the car with no ill-effects.

[Silveravant]

I have a CTEK 56-864 charger that I highly recommend. Less than $60. Charges automatically and safely at 6 amps then goes into maintenance mode. Can be left connected indefinitely.

[B72011]

thx fellas... charging it in the AM----starting the brake job later that day.

[80sGuy]

I'd get the battery replaced.

[Silveravant]

I would think the best thing to do before spending the money for a new battery would be to try charging and or testing the old battery. With the CTEK charger i I was able to revive the battery from my lawn tractor that was completely dead and would not take any charge. On the other hand a battery from '08 may very well be shot but without testing who knows?