Audi A3 2002 PD MOT Fail help needed. no ABS or ESP light on ignition on.

[skydivebaz]

Hi and hello to this forum.

As a VAG man i have the oppertunity tobuy an A3 local that has failed it MOT and very very cheap.

It is an A3 TDI with 120k on it and timing belt done 9K ago but its failed its MOT with a big list.

1 Most of it is small things but the most worrying is the no ABS or ESP lights when you turn on the ignition and its failed for that.

2 Also on the fail is no brake lights. now i read that could be the brake light switch? are these three faults related?the car isn't the best job list wise but most other things are fixable, track rod end and broken spring at front, and need a new windscreen. deffo needs new discs all round and the drivers window keeps falling a few inches and wont close properly. but apart from that it just needs cleaning lol but at £400 its got to be worth a punt as i could really do with it for a commuter to work.

Its only a 5 speed so i think its only a 110? never got a chance to take a pic of the build sticker in boot.

Anyone got any ideas on brake light ABS ESP ?

 

[Vex182]

First job would be to read the fault codes that the car has stored, it must have saved some that will help. Brake light switch is a good start too, common failure.

 

[skydivebaz]

Unfortunatly my obd machine is in Andover and im in the highlands as my mate borrowed it and yet to return it!!

Im just wondering if the switch would cause the ABS ESP not to function on ignition on ? as its not my car i cant really i would have to buy it blind on a punt. but i just dont know if its worth the risk.

 

[Vex182]

I don't think it would cause the issue off hand, it really wants to be scanned by someone before throwing money at anything else.

 

[JimS3]

I don't think it would cause the issue off hand, it really wants to be scanned by someone before throwing money at anything else.

2002 5 speed is likely to be a 100 bhp PD engine.
The 110 engine is not a PD engine and is less refined but generally more reliable at high milage.

I had an A4 with no ESP or ABS light, turned out the owner had taken the cluster apart and put electrical tape over the Led to hide a fault! Apparently this is quite common so may be worth a look.

As has been suggested already, plug it in o VAG-COM and check stored codes.

You can also test the brake and clutch pedal switches with VAG-COM, in the measuring block the 0 should change to a 1 when the pedal is pushed.