0586slb

Pull the key out and the dash is still lit up!

This alone suggests your ignition switch has failed. Do a search on the forum fo 'Ignition Switch' - there are many threads about it.

I'm soon to be getting a hardtop, but I've never even seen one. Are they heavy and awkward, are they a two person lift or can one struggle to fit?

I'm going to have it repainted but I'm going to strip it first. I appreciate the rear screen is bonded in, however does anyone know if the seal/trim around the window will pull out to make masking more effective? I don't really want to cut the window out if I don't have to.

Thanks

Geoff, did you ever get a difinitive answer for this? Was my 'ABS Self Test' theory correct?

Rear ball-joint or wishbone bushes?

Hi, you didn't post your car year or origin (USA, ROW etc)

When opening the car after it has gone to sleep, you need to get the key into the ignition within 10 seconds to disable the alarm. The Central Locking Light will extinguish if you click the dash tip-switch both ways. The windows may need the 'pinch' limit reset - do this by pressing to close, then press again for about two seconds.

Probably not, as the way that the fobs transmit the actual key pressed, differs in the two and three button units. It is also necessary to make sure the key/fob comes with a label that has a barcode and number on it. This is used in the programming process.

Finally, if the key is one of the latest type that uses the Crypto Algorithym Immobiliser, once the key is programmed to a car, it can never be programmed to another car - even if all the code numbers are known. Please see this post also. Pay attention to the entry from me (0586slb) and Loren.

Hope this helps.

Ah, sounds as if the selector cable or switch has come adrift or is faulty. The car will definately not start if the ECM thinks it is in Drive position.

In the picture that shows your new engine, it looks as though the red axle stands are supporting the weight of the engine on the exhaust pipes..?

Thanks for posting the pictures.

I still can't stress enough you will have to go to an approved shop that have all the alignment points for your car. From the photograps, the gap between the front wing (fender) and door is enlarged - this shows the wing mounting points have been displaced. I would also suggest a full wheel alignment check, being prepared for new suspension control arms.

Is it a traffic announcement from an RDS traffic station?

You are talking about the glass rear screen in your hardtop, aren't you? The plastic rear window does not have any heating elements and the 'Heated Rear Window' switch just switches on the mirror heating.

Puzzled about it switching off when the door is opened though. I'll have to try it on mine.

Also, if the ig. switch is failing, would i still get all my other test lights at startup?

Yes, you could still get other lights.

I would think it would be an all or none kind of thing, since all of the modules that have test lights are run off the DME...

No, they're not.

The ignition switch has 4 contacts:

The S contact - Active when key is in ignition.

The X contact - Active when in engine run position only (for load reduction when starting).

The 15 contact - Active in engine run and start position.

The 50 contact - Active in start position only (to erm, turn the starter motor).

When the ignition switch goes bad, all sorts of different combinations can occur.

Do a search for the ignition switch replacement - the Audi part will fit your car.

That's unlucky.

If you want the car to be straight as it was before your bump, you have to have it looked at by a professional shop that knows what its doing. There's something like 32 reference measurements for the alignment of the front alone. The 'tub' that forms the front boot (trunk) is easy to deform. With all the energy absorbing zones built into cars these days, sometimes deformation will appear in the last place you expect - quite a distance from the site of the impact.

If any of the airbags or pyrotechnic seat belt retractors were deployed, as a minimum the airbag control unit will need changing (as well as the airbag itself, obviously) and some manufacturers mandate parts of the wiring harness are changed too.

Eric,

The different menu options are in the same place when you browse, if you can remember how to get to option for the language. Look for the German word 'Sprache' or similar - thats German for language.

(Your English looks pretty good, so why not set it to English... ;) )

The mechanical part of the ignition lock is usually OK, therefore the steering does not lock (thankfully). The ignition switch has a plastic component (turned by the lock barrel) that breaks, this does not get turned properly so sometimes the engine stays on when you switch off or vice versa.

Did you get a lot of gunk out of the drain? How old is your car and do you usually keep it out-doors or garaged?

Unfortunately, the window regulator is listed as one piece, thats the bowden cables, pinion gear and window guide runners. It may hurt a little in the wallet pocket...

Engine Coolant Temperature (ECT) sender can sometimes go bad. This will not therefore control the fuel enrichment correctly during the warm-up phase. The temperature gauge will work correctly, as there are two separate senders in the one physical device that you need to change.

Engine will idle better with AC on, as the AC unit sends a signal to the DME when switched on to increase idle torque.

I'd love to be able to set my 986 into a 'transit mode' when it goes into the shop for tyres etc... :rolleyes:

No, not weird. It does just sound as though the cancel peg is dragging. When you click the turn signal on, a small plastic peg is moved to a position where the cam on the steering column will catch it, thus cancelling the turn signal. It will only cancel the turn signal with the wheel turning one way, because it pivots if turned the other way. I know a picture would be worth a thousand words here, but its too big a job on a Saturday evening to take my airbag out to get the steering wheel off to show you!!

Interestingly, if i am set to take a right turn and the ratcheting starts and i turn the wheel to the left past the first "lock" position, the ratcheting stops alltogether.

This is because you have moved the column cam far enough out of the way to clear the peg. :)

Is the sound present just when you turn the wheel? Sounds as though the piece that cancels the turn signal may have broken off. Does the signal still cancel correctly?

A fix may be to strip down or replace the column switch assembly.

I'm sure we've had the 'Choose a center cap' poll before... :blink:

Or was it the 'Which these two caps ???' poll? :huh: - I must be getting Deja Vu.

I think your concerns are un-necessary. You mention that the poorer quality fluid apparently left in the ABS pump is a worry because of its lower boiling point. The temperatures in the front luggage compartment are not going to creep much above ambient - no where near the boiling point of the fluid. Its only the fluid in the caliper that has a chance to reach the boiling temperature of the fluid. Because the fluid travels minute distances along the brakeline, it would take decades for the fluid to end up in the caliper, if at all.

Under normal braking, the ABS/PSM unit has straight through passages - it has to, so that if the unit fails electrically, braking will be as conventional. When it intervenes, it just closes a valve in the line it wants to modulate, then a piston either relaxes very quickly (when a wheel locks) or activates to build pressure in the caliper it wants to brake. The fluid that gets in the piston and valve orifices will be negligible

Valcax,

Would you describe exactly what you are expecting to see? The entire panel illuminates when you switch the exterior lights on, is adjustable for intensity with the control above the clocks. During daylight, the sensor within the rev counter will automatically adjust the intensity of the digital displays *only*. It will not switch the dial illumination on or control its intensity.

If you can see the digits comfortably in all day and night conditions, everything is working OK.