Some ('98) A6 Quattro questions, incl. changing from U.S. speedo/odo

[Bob Rossato]

> Barton Oleksy writes:
> > I recently acquired a 1998 A6 Quattro Wagon from Wisconsin 
> (thanks to 
> > lister Doug Y.!) and had it shipped to me here in Canada.
> > ...
> > 
> > 1.  Canadianization issues (metric) - I have managed to change the 
> > climate control to display Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, but how 
> > difficult will it be to change the speedo to read km/h on 
> the larger, 
> > more detailed outer ring & mph on the inner?  And what 
> about changing 
> > the odometer to read in kilometers rather than miles?
> 
> I think the gauge face could be replaced with a Canadian-spec version.
> It would require dismantling the instrument cluster, which is not for
> the faint of heart.  As for having the odo read in km, I'm 
> not sure but
> perhaps it's something that could be programmed with VAG-COM.

As I recall the '98 A6 Avant was a C4 chassis, while the '98 A6 sedan
was the new C5.  If you can get a Cdn-spec instr. cluster from a local
junkyard, replacing the speedometer is not that difficult.  There used
to be a procedure on Urs4.com but alas it's no longer there so here is
one courtesy of the Wayback machine.  It's about 1/2 way down.  I would
suggest putting down a towel across the steering column before laying
down the IC on it to prevent scratching the top cover on the steering
column.  While you're at it replace the instrument bulbs with 2W
versions (info in the link).  It's a big improvement.  I recommend
getting the bulbs directly from the dealer.

http://web.archive.org/web/20030414040531/urs4.com/technical/interior/in
terior_trim.html

Once you have the two halves of the IC housing apart the speedo just
pulls right off.  The digital odometer will remain on the circuit board.
I think you can reprogram the circuit board for metric readout via
VAG-COM as follows.

Go to control module 17 - Instruments
Select "Recode - 07"
Under Software Coding you should see 00262

The first two digits are irrelevant.
The third digit is the country code 2 - USA, 3 - Canada
The fourth digit is number of cylinders
The fifth digit is for type of engine (gas, diesel)

Change the software code to 00362
Press  "Do It!"

My assumption is that by changing the country code to 3 for Canada the
odometer should now register in kilometers.  If not then you could
always replace the whole circuit board from the spare IC you got at the
junkyard, though the mileage obviously will no longer match.

> > 3.  There's a button I can't find anything about in the 
> manual - it's on 
> > the driver's side on the pillar between the front and back seats. 
> > Doesn't seem to do anything when I press it, but I'm 
> definitely curious 
> > about it.
> 
> If you open the door, press that button and then close the door and
> then lock the doors with the remote, the interior motion sensor of
> the alarm will be disabled.  This is useful if, for example, if you
> leave a pet in the car that would otherwise trigger the alarm.
> 
> -Ti

This must be unique to the '98 A6 Avant in respect to the C4 chassis as
there were no motion sensors in the '92-'97 C4.

Bob