[200q20v] A/C electronic jolt fix update

[Kneale Brownson]

Following a response from Scott Mockry that I should ground the diode wired 
into the repair harness, I figured out a way to screw the diode to a good 
ground and the click I was hearing in the stereo now has disappeared.  The 
TSB calls for anchoring the diode to the hold-down that secures both wires 
coming from the clutch magnet, but there's no room for me to get the 
fastening screw loose, so I fashioned my own grounding bracket with a piece 
of  angle iron that I tapped to accept the screw supplied with the harness 
and then bolted to the A/C bracket.


At 01:03 PM 09/26/2000 -0400, Kneale Brownson wrote:

>I've finally obtained and installed the wiring "harness" and compressor 
>relay as outlined in Audi's TSB  for Group 87 #92-02 to stop the A/C 
>magnetic clutch from disrupting the ignition, causing a violent misfire, 
>when the clutch disengages.  The additional symptom of the problem is a 
>loud pop in the stereo system.
>
>The 443 298 008 harness consists of male and female connectors on either 
>end of a short piece of wire with a second wire coming off one end and 
>going to a diode.  The installation is to open the clutch magnet's 
>connection to the wiring harness and insert the new connectors.  The TSB 
>also calls for attaching the diode to a bracket that gets screwed to some 
>part of the compressor  or its bracketry, but I couldn't see where or how 
>to insert the screw, so I just zip-tied the harness and the diode's wiring 
>to the same structure the original wiring was zip-tied.
>
>The relay replacement takes place in the relay panel in front of the 
>driver's knees, a spot that's really fun to get to/work in when you have a 
>short neck (I'm sometimes referred to as the no-neck monster) and trifocals.
>
>Anyway, the result is that the violent interruption of ignition while 
>driving has disappeared, and the loud pop is now down to a click.  The 
>latter, which sounds like a pencil being tapped once on the top of a 
>wooden desk straight-on, as opposed to sideways like a drummer, is the 
>reason for my question:  Shouldn't the noise disappear too?  Do I need to 
>ground the diode on something?
>
>By the way, thanks immensely to Scott Mockry for alerting us to the TSB 
>and supplying the information about what parts are needed to do the "fix".