The other day i was driving home and the battery sign on the dashboard came on. i kept driving and my car stalled. My lights went dim and my spoiler came up and wouldnt go down. I got it towed home and the next day i took the battery to autozone to test it and they said it was no good. I had to buy a new one for $140. When i put the battery in it started with no problem but i noticed that my lights still seemed dim. Then i thought that maybe it was just a mind thing. The next day after that i drove to the gas station and after i pumped my gas i tried to start it and it wouldnt.My spoiler came out again and wouldnt go down and my windows would go up or down. I waited about 30mins and it started. I made it home which was just around the corner and the car seemed to be struggling to get there. I havnt tried anything since that because i aint wanna drain the battery. Any suggestions on what i should do or what the problem may be? If it is the alternator how much would that cost to replace?

Thanks in advance

 

It's the alernator had the same thing happen to me. Your old battery was fine most likely it just needed a charge. dealer replaced my alternator so not sure about the cost of one.

 

Autozone, huh?

I bought a used A4 3.0 recently and the owner had not been driving it much. It was a little hard to start and I convinced him the OEM battery was dying. (Knocked a grand off the car for a battery and brakes.) I took the car to Autozone during a "test drive" and they told me the battery was no good. They could sell me one for $130.

After I bought the A4 I took it to my regular indie shop (who has cared for my A6 the last four years) for some brakes and a battery. He tested the battery and declared it fine.

Caveat emptor with Autozone and their battery testing.

 

Ya know, I hear this all the time. If you take your car to get the battery tested at AutoZone, chances are real good that you will be sold a new battery (even tho your battery may just need charging)...unless it is a AutoZone being presented for a warranty matter, then it is always "Just fine" and "you must have a charging problem."
Everyone needs to keep in mind that AutoZone SELLS PARTS for profit...they DO NOT REPAIR vehicles.
I don't know how many times I have had customers come in and say"AutoZone scanned my car and said I need an oxygen sensor and I would estimate that 95% of the time the codes had NOTHING to do with the o2 sensor, but that is about the only emission part they sell that fits the euro cars we service.
I guess it does get back to..."you get what you pay for" If you get it for free, you have gotten your monies worth!