Am I retarded, or is there no check engine light in my "new" MY99 A3?

[grue]

No mention of it in the manual that I can see, and I don't see one when I start the car?

Powerplant is an AKL 1.6

 

[16Klappe]

Yes; you are retarded.

It should be under the airbag light on the speedometer in line with 20mph, it should illuminate on ignition and go out after a few seconds of starting.

If it doesn't then the light has heen disabled, but nobody does that any more.

It looks like this -

 

[grue]

This is… disconcerting. Either the light is broken, or has been disabled. I also noticed as it turned dark that the illumination is always on for the instrument cluster (but not the stereo, climatronic, etc). is that also abnormal?

 

[Lemon S3]

I also noticed as it turned dark that the illumination is always on for the instrument cluster (but not the stereo, climatronic, etc). is that also abnormal?

I think that is normal, I can't actually remember what mine does now but I think the dials always lit and the stereo and climate controls don't illuminate until you turn the lights on. I'll go out and confirm this.

 

[16Klappe]

Dials on pre-facelift cars only illuminate when the lights are on.

Iirc.

 

[Lemon S3]

Just went out and checked, my dials illuminate when ignition is on and the stereo etc only illuminate when lights are on.

 

[Broken Byzan]

No engine light on that car iirc, later FL ones did tho

 

[BENJAMIN]

No cel on early models. Early s3's have an epc light, no cel though afaik.

 

[16Klappe]

Not true.

My last A3 was Audi's own launch and press car, built in July 1996.

Mine had a CEL.

 

[Broken Byzan]

You were lucky then, What engine did you have fitted Jardo? The early cars were not normally wired to have a CEL light. I can provide you with information from ELSAWIN to prove it if you like.The old generation ECU's just simply do not support it. ME7.55 onwards DBW cars only, with EPC. 1996 will not have been DBW

 

[16Klappe]

You were lucky then, What engine did you have fitted Jardo? The early cars were not normally wired to have a CEL light. I can provide you with information from ELSAWIN to prove it if you like.The old generation ECU's just simply do not support it. ME7.55 onwards DBW cars only, with EPC. 1996 will not have been DBW

Mine was an early 1.8t with eprom chip and ME3.2 I believe, couldn't be live mapped and only genuine ross tech vcds cables worked.

Mk3 Golfs had CEL's, so why would 't an A3?

 

[Prawn]

yours didn't have an engine management light jardo, and nor does mine. No AGU's came with the management light mate.

Also, as stated above too, dials light up with ignition, stereo and everything with lights. perfectly normal.

 

[Broken Byzan]

ME3 unless US spec ECU does not have a CEL lamp end of, yours would have had some other counrty ECU in it or similar. Also to add, the oP has a 1.6 and thet DOES NOT have a CEL lamp fittted as its DBC.

Not all Mk3s had CEL lights, deffo not 1.6 ones.

You cannot say that the OP's car must have a CEL lamp because the odd one pre release car you had was fitted with one, it's mis information. His early DBC doesn't have one end of.

from memory also PFL S3's. A3's and A4's with M382 and Me7.1 ECUs do not have engine lights, EPC maybe if they are DBW equiped.

I must be mistaken then from all of the vehicles I have seen/worked on because your car had one. Your car by the sound was very specific and I'd bet actual cash that it wasn't a Euro spec ECU fitted because US specs are completly different to ours

 

[Prawn]

couldn't be live mapped and only genuine ross tech vcds cables worked.

Just to call you out once more, because it's quite fun, my ebay vagcom lead worked perfectly on your old car, and I have many logs from it to prove this fact.

You owned that car for about 4 months, where I'd known it for 4 years previously, and known all it's owners, and picked it up with Pierre on July 1st 2007 as a 100% standard car, so you could say I knew it a fair bit better than you just to wind you up

 

[ScottD3]

 

[16Klappe]

Just to call you out once more, because it's quite fun, my ebay vagcom lead worked perfectly on your old car, and I have many logs from it to prove this fact.

You owned that car for about 4 months, where I'd known it for 4 years previously, and known all it's owners, and picked it up with Pierre on July 1st 2007 as a 100% standard car, so you could say I knew it a fair bit better than you just to wind you up

It DID have an EML, and my VCDS cable which works fine with my new car never worked with it. Always said port not found.

Mark's probably right though.

 

[Broken Byzan]

yours didn't have an engine management light jardo, and nor does mine. No AGU's came with the management light mate.

Also, as stated above too, dials light up with ignition, stereo and everything with lights. perfectly normal.

Jardos car was potentially a special pre manu car, because from memory we didnt get actual 1.8T 8Ls in 1996 specifically, so some kind of pre production model maybe with US spec parts. In the US they have had CEL lights on M382 / M383 / M592 because it's required to be out for emission ? MOT purposes

 

[Prawn]

Not convinced myself. Jardos old car was first registered on the 26th of August 1997, and was on an R-plate, it was slightly different inside to others, but just early stuff that they soon changed because it was dated. it didn't have an EML

Just to carry on being mildly annoying, here's a picture of jardo's old car (and mine) that I took when he was 15

 

[BENJAMIN]

No uk mk3 has a cel. Late U.S 96/97 obd2 cars did, but uk cars categorically don't.

 

[16Klappe]

Bah, you know best despite me driving the thing with it flashing at me every day...

 

[Prawn]

pretty much

 

[jezzy]

some dealers put a small piece of black tape over the light (cel, epc,esp) to cover the fact that there on, to hide a fault.

 

[Prawn]

Quite possibly, but it's hard to tape up a light that wasn't there in the first place

 

[grue]

Welp I'm no longer freaked out after waking up to see the thread