ignition switch

[Charles Baer]

> Bentley just published; -"forwarded" the Audi factory
> instructions for these manuals - they did not actually create
> their own documentation as they do with BMWs, etc.

Yeah, that's been mentioned somewhere, besides which I (usually)
try not to beat up on them since Chris Miller is on payroll!
The job is what really drove me crazy, not so much the books;
but you know... Kill the messenger!  That one little sentence
in the Bentley now just makes me laugh....(sick, eh?)

> That said, the referenced pages seem to show a pre-airbag
> car, since they printed documents infer that the two ignition
> switch screws can be accessed from the top after removing the
> instrument cluster - they cannot since there is a magnesium?
> support now in the way.

The mismatch is obvious as soon as the IC is out of the way,
very different from the drawings.  There are little holes in the
structural bar that goes across the drivers knees, of course I
couldn't tell until I had taken the column out with the switch
still attached.  Even if I'd found the holes, I think the glue
on top of the screws would have confounded my deductive process
in trying to pull the switch.

The problem comes from pulling the hunk of aluminum past the
HVAC ducting ( at least on my sedan ) and I had to crush it
a bit to rotate the housing past it.  The plastic was very
resilient and the duct seemed undamaged by the process, even
after 4 abuses since I reassembled and drove the car while
waiting for parts.  The column tube and front of the block
"just" tip down while you play around with getting the other
end of the column clear of the pedals.  My fore(five)head was
dripping with sweat after each attempt.

> There is a TSB for the V8 - number 93-01, dated Aug 1993,
> that shows a method of drilling holes into the steel bar to
> remove the lock cylinder ...
> this TSB may show a way of avoiding having to pull and rotate
> the column to access the cylinder housing.

As in many repairs, this one was full of mystery here and there
until something was actually removed or opened.  The security
torx screw that clamps the cylinder post into the steering
column block was invisible beneath felt tape.  The tape was
pinched in between the block and that lateral structure beam,
so it obviously had been installed all in one piece.  At that
point, I chose to plan the final reassembly to include similar
padded tape to prevent any rattling contact between the two
chunks of alumiuminnuminum; so it all went back in fully assembled.

> being that this is a known failure mode, i would dare
> recommend carrying a spare ignition switch which can prevent
> you from getting stranded.
> If the switch fails, remove the knee bar, reach underneath
> and pull the harness out of the ignition switch, twist it to
> start the engine and drive home...

Drove around that way for weeks while I was trying to track
down all the correct parts for the rekeying job.  It has crossed
my mind to buy each quattro a spare for the glovebox...

Oh yeah, I lied, I you also have to pull that big knee plate, but
the console still doesn't have to come out.


What WOULD we do for entertainment without our quattros???

Charlie