'96 A6 Quattro Avant check engine light

[Kevin Smith]

Hi Tony. You are correct, I am not very close to Oklahoma City (have 
family there though). I'm in Southern Arizona, where it's hotter than 
you know where, and twice as dry.

I had thought about taking it to Autozone to get the code pulled at 
least, but I have a buddy that has an obd II scanner as well, so I may 
have him come by and test it for me so I'll know what it is.

Do you know if there is anything electrical that might cause the light 
to trip? I seem to have something drawing power constantly and draining 
the battery overnight, or at least within a 24 hour period, and it 
didn't have that problem before I put a new battery in (although I did 
buy the cheapest lowest amperage battery that was in the group size). I 
also noticed that suddenly only the front driver side speakers are 
working, and the others hum when the radio is turned on (aftermarket 
head unit), and this was not like that previously either. The car worked 
fairly well until I parked it for a few months, and then when I tried to 
start it again and found it was too dead, I jumped it, and it wouldn't 
start due to the fuel pump failing on me. I am hoping that jumping 
it/boosting it (I did have a battery charger on it in "boost" setting) 
didn't damage something else. Hopefully it's just a minor glitch that I 
can sort out fairly quickly.

I need to get out there and pull the cables and hook the meter up and 
test to see if there is an unusually high draw when the car is off, and 
then start pulling fuses until I find the culprit.

Anyway, I appreciate the input. Hopefully I can get it scanned soon, and 
get it sorted out.

Thanks,

Kevin



Tony Hoffman wrote:
> As mentioned, Autozone and several other places will puss the codes.
> However, on some VAG cars, they can't reset them. And, VAG-COM is much
> more detailed and extensive. IOW, if for some reason it's a trans
> issue that is causing your check engine light, Autozone won't be able
> to tell you anything.
>
> If you were local, I'd tell you to bring it in, as we only charge $45,
> but I suspect you are nowhere near Oklahoma City ;-)
>
> However, once you get the codes pulled, let us know what they are. We
> (as a collective group) should be able to show you in the right
> direction.
>
> Tony Hoffman
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 14, 2008 at 5:50 PM, Kevin Smith <kevins9 at cox.net> wrote:
>   
>> Is there any way, other than using an obd II scanner, to find out why
>> the check engine light is on in my 1996 A6 Quattro Avant? Also, how does
>> one reset the light?
>>
>> The car was parked for several months while I was laid up, and after
>> putting a new battery and new fuel pump in (jumping the car apparently
>> killed the old original pump), everything seemed fine, but then the
>> check engine light came on the next time I started the car.
>>
>> Any help is greatly appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>>
>>     
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>>     
>
>