[urq] New quattro

[Tony Lum]

At 10:43 PM 10/6/2004 -0500, Andrew S Basinski wrote:

>#2, what is a good option for a coolant temp gauge?  Where can I put
>the sender?  I noticed one already towards the front of the engine, can
>I use that with just another wire?

Go to a pick-n-pull wrecking yard and pull the coolant gauge from a '85-87 
4000S, quattro, or Coupe GT.  You can use the earlier '81-'83 guage, but I 
prefer the arc vs. the linear style markings.  Replace the boost gauge with 
the new gauge.  You MUST remove the blue warmup light in the warning light 
cluster as it sits on the same circuit.  Last to make the gauge work, you 
need the coolant temp sensor from the same cars listed above.  Remove the 
sensor from the back of the head and install the new sensor and plug in the 
harness.  No rewiring is necessary.

You'll notice a threaded fitting on the coolant overflow tank.  Well if you 
can find an old '81 4000 or 5000 turbo diesel in the wrecking yard, you'll 
see a float switch mounted in the tank.  Grab the switch (and the harness 
connector if necessary)  carve out the plastic in your tank and mount the 
switch there.  Connect  one of the 2 terminals to the tank's mounting 
screw, and the other you connect to the overheat switch line.  I think this 
is blue/yellow wire.  That way if you get low on coolant for any reason, 
you'll get a flashing overheat warning in the dash.

>Other questions:
>
>Do the mirrors fold, or just flex?I noticed you can move them back and
>forth, but i didn't want to push too far.  However, folded mirrors
>stand less chance of getting hit here in the city.

Flex only.

>The car sometimes has a little trouble starting up.  It's parked on a
>steep hill, and this may be the cause, but it seems a little hesitant
>even on flat ground.  Could this be something with the battery, or is
>it always like that?  In addition, I noticed that when I put the turn
>signal on, the battery light flashes opposite the turn signal light.
>Not brightly, but you can see it flash when the signals are on or the
>high beams are up.  Is this just background, or should I consider
>getting a new battery?

I wrote a long post on this phenomena.  Do check the battery, but I'll 
think you'll find that the problem with the crazy warning lights is due to 
bad connections in the fuse box.  Inspect the box for brown or burnt 
connectors, especially on connector "E" pin 2.  This pin carries the brunt 
of the load from the ignition switch to the rest of the car.  My wiring was 
so bad at one time that I could not exceed 3,000 rpm with the headlights 
on!  Also the idle would vary with the turn signals.

>One more thing- shifting the car is sometimes difficult, particularly
>into reverse.  I usually have to push down on the shift knob a little
>(it moves down with a little spring pressure, is that normal?) and
>it'll go in, but I'm just curious if that's supposed to happen or if
>something might be off.

Normal.  Its a safety interlock.

>There are some other things I'll probably ask soon.  My rear defroster
>doesn't work.  I know this is a lot of questions, but any help would
>really be appreciated.  This is my first Audi, and I love the car so
>far, but it does certainly have some quirks.

The defroster problem is probably wiring.  To rule out the grid on the 
window, get a digital ohmmeter and measure the grid where it connects to 
the car.   I also modified the heaters in the side mirror to run only with 
the defroster.  For some crazy reason,  Audi wired the heaters so that they 
were always on, wasting power that could go to the fuel computer.

HTH,


--
Tony

'80 5KS
83 urquattro #DA900302
'85 4kq
'87 5kcstq
'87.5 coupe GT