Re: Tick in dashboard

[Tony Fordham <roner@novagate.com>]

Robert Myers wrote:
> 
> I'm not sure that Audis as late as 90 models even have a tach cable.  My '89
> is totally electronic.  I suspect yours is also.
> 
> What you are hearing may well be one of the under-dash relays located in
> front of your left knee and under the dash (probably behind a removable dash
> part coving the under wheel area) cycling on-off.  Will the clicking
> continue with the car not in motion?  If so, try feeling the relays to
> identify which one is making the noise.  This may lead you to locating the
> cause of the cycling.  Perhaps an extra heavy load in the circuit or perhaps
> a faulty relay or...
> 
> At 07:25 AM 6/8/96 -0400, you wrote:
> >Hello Everyone,
> >
> >I've got a ticking noise coming from the drivers side of my dashboard
> that's driving me
> >nuts!  It occurs intermittently.  When it happens, it is random in nature
> (sometimes
> >it's a constant tick tick tick, sometimes it's not).  I don't think it's
> the tach cable
> >because it doesn't vary in speed with the rpms.  It doesn't vary in speed
> with the car speed either,.... 
>    Bob
> ****************************************************
> *  Robert L. Myers         rmyers@wvit.wvnet.edu>  *
> *  Rt. 1, Box 57            304-574-2372           *
> *  Fayetteville, WV 25840                          *
> *  Obligatory quattro and sleddog-L references:    *
> *  My huskies enjoy riding in the '89 200TQ        *
> ****************************************************



Bob-
You called this one right!
I removed the panel under the dash and felt the relays when I heard the ticking and it 
was easy to tell which one was making all the racket.  I went to my Bentley manuals 
to determine what the relay was for.  I was befuddled at first because it is the relay 
in position 18 and Bentley says this spot is not used.  So then I just started going 
thru the electrical schematics trying to match up the wire colors and the terminal 
points with the schematic and after about a half-hour of searching, lo and behold 
there it was, right in front of me!  It's the relay for the passenger side seat 
heater!  But wait, this relay is supposed to be in position 14, along side of the 
drivers side seat heater relay in position 13.  Aha, a footnote in very fine print!
"Beginning with model year 1991 the passengers side relay may be loccated in position 
18."  My car is a 1990, but it is a very late 1990, so I suspect the change actually 
took effect when some 1990s were still being produced.

My passenger side seat heater has been working fine.  A gave the relay a few sharp 
taps with a screwdriver handle to see if this will fix it (maybe for a while anyway). 
So far it hasn't ticked anymore, but sometimes it doesn't for weeks at a time anyway.
At least it's nothing serious that has to be fixed right away, cause I've got enough 
other things to worry about right now, like the whine in the tranny, the worn clutch, 
the ticking sound thats coming from under the hood someplace (but not from the 
lifters), the squealy brakes, the burnt out clock light and upper brake light bulbs 
(which I know how to fix but haven't got the new bulbs yet), the missing body panel 
under the front end that's leaving my oil filter exposed, those ugly wheels that I 
hate but I keep because the only aftermarket wheels I can afford are the cheapies 
which scare me because I hear of some people having vibration problems with them.
God I love this car, honest.

Thanks again Bob for the info.
Tony Fordham,
Grand Haven, MI
90 90