[s-cars] Avoid after market ignition switches and Autocheck question
Bill de Alva
billdealva at yahoo.com
Thu Dec 29 20:43:45 EST 2005
Hi All,
This is an update to a post I made several months ago. I had two after market ignition switches fail in one month. Word to the wise... go OEM when replacing the electrical portion of the ignition switch in Audis.
I have not been able to bring my autocheck display back to life. I found a rather complex trouble shooting protocol in the Bently manual. I do not have the required test equipment, so it may just stay dark. A new symptom appeared recently after replacing the ignition switch for the second time. A short time (2 - 4 minutes) after starting the engine, three longish (1-second) beeps come from the area of the instrument panel. Often the three beep tones will repeat one or two times with about 30 seconds pause between. This only happens when the engine is cold or the first time the car is started each day.
I'm fairly certain the beeps are intended to call call one's attention to a warning on the autocheck display (which is dead). My first thought was low washer fluid. Topping up that tank did not stop the beep tones. Fuel, oil, temperature and lights (running, brake, turn and headlights) all appear to be ok. What else should I check?
Does anyone know if there are distinct beep tones for different errors that would normally be displayed on the autocheck or does any error produce the three tones? I assume there may be error codes that could be read with the proper diagnostic tool. Can anyone recommend an aftermarket tool and or software + laptop patch cord that would allow me to read error codes?
Thanks in advance for any help!
Bill de Alva
'95 S6
'91 200 Turbo Quatro
Bill de Alva <billdealva at yahoo.com> wrote: Date: Fri, 16 Sep 2005 21:13:00 -0700 (PDT)
From: Bill de Alva <billdealva at yahoo.com>
Subject: '95 S6 Electrical Problems Compounding
To: S-CAR-List at audifans.com
Hi All,
I have a growing list of electrical problems. First, my ignition switch went bad. The spring broke so the switch did not return from the start position. I lived with this for a couple of months, remembering to manually turn the switch back each time the car was started. There is a service bulletin on this problem that convinced me that I did not want to tackle replacement of the switch (involves removing the steering wheel and dash).
So... I had my local mechanic replace the switch. Just before delivering the car to my mechanic, the autocheck display died. My mechanic checked the bulbs that back light the autocheck display and replaced the display with a used one from a wrecked car. The display is still dead.
I drove the car for a couple hundred miles with the new ignition switch. Yesterday, when I turned the car off, the fresh air blower stayed on. The back light to the emergency flasher switch also stayed on. I had to pull the fuse for the blower to keep the battery from going dead.
I somehow suspect all these problems are related. Obviously, the most pressing problem is the fresh air blower staying on. I suspect the blower problem is related to the ignition switch replacement. I know the heater control module has a self diagnostic function but I doubt that will help as the blower still runs when the heater control is off.
My instinct is that electrical problems of this magnitude would best be dealt with by a mechanic equipped and trained for all the diagnostic procedures described in the manual. Unfortunately, the service manager at the nearest Audi dealer told me he no longer has any mechanics trained to service the '95 S6 and recommended several independent mechanics instead. I've used several of the recommended mechanics, most of whom seem to be very good at dealing with mechanical issues but somewhat lost when it comes to tracing electrical problems.
Any suggestions regarding the source of the problem with the fresh air blower or the name of a mechanic expert in electrical problems would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again for any help,
Bill de Alva
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