2003 A4 1.9TDi 130 - ESP & ABS light on, glow lamp flashing!

[brixo]

Had my 03 A4 1.9 TDi Sport only a few weeks now. Had a nice AmD ECU remap, which is awesome. Love the car but....

Today the ABS light came on (I had this on my B5 A5 too!), then the ESP light came on. Came on in the centre of London, in heavy traffic, therefore started to get a little worried! I was in stop/start traffic at the time.

Then in my panic-and-get-home-asap mode, the glow lamp started to flash whilst driving. I looked in the manual which suggests something wrong with the engine management - I was expecting a full limp-home mode, but the car seemed to drive as before.

So, from setting off this morning, with no problems, I drove home with my dashboard resembling the Oxford Street Christmas illuminations... ABS/ESP lights and the glow lamp flashing...

Just taken it out for a drive, to see if the problem would miraculously disappear, but no. The ESP/ABS light comes on after the first press of the brake pedal, but the glow lamp light has stayed off...

Anyone any ideas? Currently kacking myself as the warranty only covers stuff up to £500...

 

[cnpaterson]

The glow plug lamp flashed on once when I was stuck in traffic, it cleared itself and has never come back on. No idea what caused it. I'm going to monitor it next time i'm in traffic to see if it reoccurs. Will let you know.

 

[dieseldave]

Sound like you have a brake switch problem, if brake light switch fails then esp and glow plug light will come on. See if you have working brake lights, you my have as the switch is a double contact switch. Find someone with rosstech.

 

[brixo]

Lovely - thanks for this. I will take a look when I get home... dare not drive to work today in case it exploded or something exciting.

Cheers.

 

[brixo]

Well. Sod's law. After coming on consistantly as soon as I touch the brake pedal, it's not doing a thing now.

I have tried touching the brake pedal softly whilst driving, tried slamming on the anchors and light stays off. Let it warm up, caned the hell out of it, braked on corners - still nothing. As per normal operation. Bummer.

I shall keep an eye on it as I think it will haunt me. Will feedback anything I figure out.

Can anyone tell me if the fault will remain in the computer (so we can run it on VAGCOM or similar)? Or does it reset as soon as I turn off the engine?

 

[brixo]

A big thanks to dieseldave!

Yup. It must be the switch under the foot pedal. Today the lights came on as soon as I touched the brake pedal, and the brake lights don't work at all.

Only problem is that the brake pedal seems to go right up into the dashboard/steering column and can't figure out where the faulty switch is. I think I may have to employ a midget with a scrawny arm to get up behind there...

Once I sort it, I'll take pics and post up here. Cos I know how much I panic'd when I saw all the lights on the dash!

 

[jim1965]

try this....cant remember where i got this (might have been on Audi Sport! thanks simon))but had a similar prob some time back

hi jim, the brake light switch is located to the left of the brake pedal (as you sit in the drivers seat)..if your car is a manual then the clutch pedal switch is right next to it..ensure that you change the correct one...an easy test is to depress the brake pedal and watch for the plunger moving.To access the switch simply remove the lower part of the dash on the drivers side..this is done by removing the panel on the end of the dash (fuse box cover) and undo the 8mm bolt there, there are also two more 8mm bolts, one next to the bonnett release and one on the other end of the lower panel, next to the transmission tunnel. The switches can be a bit fiddly to do, especially if you've not done one before, they push and twist, you'll think it's in but you really need to give it a final turn and it will make a definate click..if it's not fitted correctly the brake lights will remain on all the time...also make sure that the plunger on the new switch is about the same length as the old one.(you can push them in and out BEFORE YOU FIT IT!!!!...after this lengthy explanation i'm pleased to tell you that it is highly unlikely that the switch will fail again, as it's probably been replaced with a modified part..hope this helps, simon

 

[cnpaterson]

Thanks for the info dave. Its funny you should relate this glow plug lamp with the brakes, as the day before the lamp came on I had just changed the right brake bulb. The new bulb has blown again since, third time this year. I'm going to change the bulb again and monitor the glow plug lamp, maybe its all coincidence. If the glow lamp comes on again or the bulb blows then the cars going to the garage. This will also test the warranty I took out with the RAC, see if they pay up!!! Cheers.

 

[dieseldave]

fault code will remain in ECU until it is read.