200 story: SAFE code/not quite Deja Vu: LONG

[SuffolkD at aol.com]

Tom:
Welcome to 200 ownership!
Today: my sedan tranny is Toast, so I fired up the 153K Avant, - started ALL 
OF three times this summer - and drove off into NH for a 240 mile round 
tripper.

Ever since I bought the car from our used parts "source" in NH all the belts 
have come loose.
PS twice and now the Alt Four times. (three new belts needed)
So when the fixed at home "surgery" was completed, I drove north scrapping 
the rust off the wrapped rotors during the jaunt into NH.
At the Concord tolls.....(for the SECOND TIME) out with the old alt belt. 
Zing, Bye - bye.......
So Clever guy says 10 miles and I'll get one from various Concord sources.  
Car seller/parts guy CLOSED. Lunch?  
NEA:  Had one for me.  Their having lunch, door unlocked.  So I take it (the 
belt) and run: Okay, I paid for it. DAMN.

I had caniballized my old 4000Q alt., star bolt adjuster wheel..hours 
earlier, because the avant DIDN'T have one. WTF?........and thankfully, brought the 
tool box so I had tools to fix the car when it died....................on the 
freeway...................... short of my goal: NH mile marker 102.
So under the car I go and force; like the bead of a tire, ('cuz I'm missing 
some tools left at home....) the belt around the alt and tighten up the star 
wheel again, since I now HAVE one.
All the time feeling the traffic wiz by and wonder if its the last repair I 
ever do.

So smug with my progress, parked on a downhill slope, I push the car 
alongside 70MPH traffic and "pop" the clutch:   Weeeee! fixed! up to 70 myself.
Park at the destation and let the car run to charge the once 8V battery, back 
up to 12 volts.
Returning home (another 120 miles south) all is fine until the poor chaps in 
Manch-vegas who stopped 5 lanes of traffic for quite an accident/rollover, 
slowed us to a crawl.
This is where belt slippage shows up.  No biggy, I say, I'll adjust it in the 
warm, safe garage at home.
Ahhhh but the dash lights return: No abs, Alt light deja Vu.. etc.......only 
now its 5:PM and quite dark.  I have roughly 45 minutes run time and 45 miles 
to home.
So I kill the lights - drive parking light illuminated all the way down two 
interstates until I glide the now bucking for power 8V battery sputtering 
motor, and coast to a stop two driveways from my house.
So I push/coast it the last 250 feet (slightly downhill) and park. ( I just 
did the similar neighborhood entrance with the sedan stuck in 4th gear 
transmission problem) last Sunday.

Good job?  Idiot?  Well either way, the avant and I are this much 
closer......................all because of "Safe" mode on the radio.

So Tom:
Get two metal coathanger lenghts about 8" in lenght and bend them into U 
shapes to fit the holes on your radio head.
See if you can depress the notches holding the radio sides in the dash to 
slide out the head unit, and see if you can find the four digit code written on 
top of the radio.
If not:  Write down the radio sticker code and/or your car Vin and seek a 
friendly Audi dealer for the code.

It should be free of charge.  Look aorund your documentation or owners manual 
etc for it too.
Audi of Nashua NH did my last code search......and wouldn't even accept a $ 
thank you tip.  One bright spot overshadowed by other adventures.............
If not maybe some one here can post the solution for Tom.

-Scott by BOSTON today: challenged, but NEVER beaten.

P.S. Tom:  Flush the coolant.  Phospate free my man.  Ask Brett for the 
"color".


In a message dated 11/21/2003 4:59:12 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
quattro-request at audifans.com writes:

> All told, after 270 miles, nearly 11 gallons of gas, a half gallon of 50/50 
> Prestone Extended Life / Men's Bathroom Water mix, and 4 tense hours full of 
> worry and silence (Thanks, radio "Safe Code".  Thanks Previous Owners who 
> didn't bother to replace recalled rear speakers.)  the 200TQ and I are home. 
>   Now all I need is for my Bentley to arrive and my timing belt parts to be 
> UPS'd.
>