1999 Audi A4 Advant Central Locking Problem

[Salad]

Hi there,

I took my car in to Audi dealer the other day with a central locking problem, they said the problem was the central locking pump and i needed a new one, they wanted £450 fitted which i cannot afford - can someone on here tell me where they are located in the car, are they easy to fit and where might i be able to get a cheaper one / can they be repaired?

Many thanks in adavnce
Salad

 

[auroan]

The pump is in the boot on the right hand side. It's usually the impeller plastic that breaks down over time and the blades shatter. They can also fail if they "over pump" because of a leak in the pipe work.

A replacement unit can be got a lot cheaper from the scrappers. You can get around recoding the new one, if your old one's electronics haven't failed, buy just swapping over the mechanicals.

 

[aragorn]

I think you can also swap in the mechanicals from earlier pumps fitted to audi 80's and the like, or buy a repair kit from a chap on here (old_skool iirc).

If its the impeller you'll probably hear a whirring noise from the boot when pressing the unlock button but the car wont unlock.

 

[Salad]

Thanks for that Auroan

So let me just get this right... in the boot on the right hand side there is a little flap, open the flap and the pump should be visable from there??

Remove pump and replace with seconded hand one and the central locking should work?? or once this has been replaced do i need the pump recoded? can this only be done by the main dealer??

sorry for all the questions just trying to save myself a few quid

Thanks
Salad

 

[auroan]

Yep, the pump should be shrouded in a rubber cover with a couple of pipes and wiring coming/going to it. The pump electronics also contains the remote reciever for the central locking. So if your swapping the whole unit, you have to make sure you defo get the right type for re-coding to your remote fobs.

To be honest I wouldn't have expected a unit on a 99 model to be knacked via the break down of the impeller plastic. So double check you have no leaks so that you don't knack the replacement unit.

This is assuming it's not the electrics on the unit that have gone. When you try to lock the car, does the unit make a noise at all ?

 

[Salad]

ok

when i try and lock/unlock the car, the indicators flash but no doors or boot opens at all

so, in summery, change the pump, if i can use the same electronics then that would be ideal as this is coded to my key fob, if not get one the same year change the lot and get the key fob recoded - how much does this cost by the way and can only a main dealer do it?

regards
Salad

 

[auroan]

Coding can be done with anyone with VAGCOM / VCDS. The unit cost vary. You may get lucky and find one cheap on ebay.

Regards testing the pump, when you try to unlock your car with the fob; put your ear next to the pump in the boot. You should hear quite an audible noise if the pump is still trying to run.

 

[aragorn]

If the lights flash the Electronics are probably fine, as the pump is the controller for the remote locking and the alarm.

If you change the PUMP you will need to recode it.
If you change the IMPELLER inside the pump, you wont.

Open the little hatch and locate the pump, then see what happens when you lock the car. If you can hear it whirr then its most likely a broken impeller.

The big advantage of just changing the impeller is you dont need to match the pumps up exactly. You can pull the impeller out of any old pump, or buy a replacement.

You can recode it with vagcom if need be.

 

[olds_kool]

youll be lucky to get a used pump for less than £100 if its got an 8DO 'E' part number for some reason they all seem to breaking at the moment (ive repaired 2 this week and sold two kits for these pumps)
if youve got 2 keys you dont need any special tools or vagcom to code your fobs

or i can sell you a replacement impeller for £40, id recomend pulling it out and having a look to be sure