[V8] at least one heat...

[Scott Simmons]

Back seats?  Passengers?!  Screw them!  I'll have a friend check to see 
if her ass gets hot during a drive, but not too concerned about seat 
heaters anymore because...


...replaced my heater valve.  The old one self-destructed and some P.O. 
just bypassed the heating system and now I know why.  Having replaced 
it, I never want to see another zip-tie again.  Those little tails cut 
the crap out of my  hands.

Warning!  Picked up a $13 brass heater valve at FLAPS.  They crossed the 
Audi/VW part number (without the A at the end) to this and one other 
part.  One was plastic and looked "more German" than the brass, which 
looked simple.  I took the brass one because I figured it would last 
longer and even if it looked cheap,  nobody would see it under the 
cowl.  If it works, it works.  The only problem with this is that the in 
and out were off-set.  Based on the design of a diaphragm, rather than 
an arm, this is how the valve works.  The heater hoses under the cowl 
require great "convincing" to get into this off-set position.  My 
advice?  Buy the Audi part from autohausaz.com or some place that has 
"in line" rather than "off-set."

All in all, my trouble was doubled because the old hose ends, at the 
block, were ragged and one was cut.  Luckily, the one that was cut too 
short was the block-to-valve line, so a good tug got it out and a large 
baggage of curse words along with skinned hands got some new 3/4" heater 
hose to the valve.  This probably didn't help my off-set problem, seeing 
how the replacement hose (what was used to bypass the system) wasn't 
formed to fit and I had to "convince" it as well.  I was planning on 
using the old Audi hoses, but... well... I'd like to find who ever did 
this and didn't just do it right.

Triple checked all my hose clamps, put the air box back on, and voila, 
hot air out of the vents.

Rummaging through my trunk, to see what the P.O. left behind I found 
some interesting items: golf tees, tire shine, a sunroof motor (which 
scares me, what's in its spot in my roof??), and a very odd connector.  
It was found in the trunk but could have come from anywhere in the car.

   http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a143/indischrot/audi/connector1.jpg

   http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a143/indischrot/audi/connector2.jpg

The connector has two male pins and the wires are Red/Blue and 
Brown/Grey.  One of the previous owners was a real wiring genius: he 
redid the brake-pad wear wiring and all four power window wires.  
Because of his work, the brake pad wear light is on and three of the 
four windows don't work.  What should I be looking for not-working 
because of this one?

Cooking nicely,
Scott Simmons