[s-cars] Avoid after market ignition switches and Autocheck question

[Bill de Alva]

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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