S4 Relay Chatter Gremlin

[Michael Newcomb <miken@miken.com>]

I have a 1993 S4 with 21.5K miles.

Over the past few months, it has developed a really annoying and peculiar
electrical gremlin.  With the ignition off, relays inside the dashboard
start chattering and clicking wildly.  If the windows are down, they roll up
by themselves.

I've noticed that the window power doesn't always shut off like it's
supposed to when you open the doors. Sometimes it _does_ shut off, then
turns on by itself later.

The only reliable way I've found to silence the noise is to pull three fuses
from the box in the engine compartment.  If I don't, car will try to roll
the windows up from time to time, draining the battery.

The dealer claims he can't find anything; I don't blame him because the
problem is very erratic.  Sometimes it goes days without malfunctioning.
Other times, it starts up in the middle of the night and sounds like a ghost
moaning in the garage.

Does anyone have any clues as to what might be going on here?  I can
probably hassle the dealer into replacing components, if I know what to tell
him to replace... <g>

Any ideas will be appreciated,

Mike N.

Web:   http://www.miken.com
EMail: Michael Newcomb <miken@miken.com>