New Audi owner with odd coloured A4

[pjw]

Got VAGCOM up and running, along with the dash bulbs in. Cleared the airbag fault, and found the ABS fault to be a sensor. One coming in the next few days.

Just having some teething problems with vagcom then should be all good, going to clear the service lights too.

 

[aragorn]

Sensor faults are sometimes a faulty reluctor. The ABS ECU doesnt know the difference.

 

[auroan]

Got VAGCOM up and running, along with the dash bulbs in. Cleared the airbag fault, and found the ABS fault to be a sensor. One coming in the next few days.

Just having some teething problems with vagcom then should be all good, going to clear the service lights too.

Cool, fingers crossed you'll get it all sorted. And we all know to stay clear of any car being sold by the guy you got your's off. ;-)

 

[pjw]

Sensor faults are sometimes a faulty reluctor. The ABS ECU doesnt know the difference.

Didnt think of that. Are they part of the hub or interchangeable? Ive had mixed results changing reluctor rings on driveshafts before, and always found changing the driveshaft easier for a guaranteed fix..

Cool, fingers crossed you'll get it all sorted. And we all know to stay clear of any car being sold by the guy you got your's off. ;-)

Ha yeah fair one, i think if he had a vagcom it would have been sorted. There was about 10 engine bay faults that i cleared and they disappeared, so i presume he has done work in the past and repaired it, but not cleared the faults.

I also managed to reset all the service lights as the "push button/pull button" method doesnt work on the prefacelift ive found. I had to reset them all through Instruments17 to another year. Good, as it will remind me to service it next time.

One last thing i want to look at is the lock on the drivers door. It locks and opens fine but the little piece of chrome trim that fits over the barrel has fallen out, leaving a 4mm ish recess and it looks terrible. I need to see if i can replace just this part or i need to replace the entire handle, and swap the locks..

 

[aragorn]

depends which end has failed.

On the front they're part of the CV joint.

On the rear its a ring pressed onto the back of the brake disk.

That said, if the fault appears BEFORE you drive away, then its probably a sensor or electrical problem. Reluctor fault would appear after you drive away and the ECU realises it doesnt know what the wheels doing.

 

[pjw]

Yeah if i clear it when standing, it comes back up on a new scan as ABS Sensor Rear Right No Reply. With the weather as it is im not going to mess about, ill just replace the sensor. Im just glad its not coming up as the module or the unit, couldve been big bucks.

 

[aragorn]

Ah fair play then, sensor first!

 

[NineNails]

On my last A4 I had the same fault and it turned out one of the wires had been damaged by some earlier work. Have you checked the wiring first? The sensor loom is connected under the rear bench
Si.

 

[pjw]

Not yet, i didnt know that. Is it out in the open or is it under a cover/panel?

 

[aragorn]

All the wiring sits in a plastic trough under the rear bench. Its not hidden, its all in plain view.

 

[pjw]

Got the ABS sensor on today, im pretty amazed at how easy it is to work on this car compared to others. I also like the way the connector is under the back bench to protect it, its a shame other manufacturers cant think in this way when making a car.

All sorted, it cleared the beeping instantly. VAGCOM'd it and cleared the fault code, rescanned and it didnt come back. Ill take it out for a run in a bit and make sure the reluctor is ok, fingers crossed it is, and that should be the end of it.

Next will be a timing belt change for my own piece of mind, and sorting the drivers lock out. From my research it seems that the bit thats missing is part of the barrel, and im willing to bet i cant replace it without doing the whole barrel.. Which would mean the entire lockset - so its worth a go!