Yes, it's a heater to prevent the breather hose icing up in cold weather.
If the heater element fails it blows a fuse, the same one that feeds the injectors, so the car stops! It did this on my Lupo, not sure if the A2 is the same though.
With regard to the contents of the breather, I'd say this is normal if the car is only driven short distances and hasn't been cleaned out for a long time.
Steve
I'm in the process of changing the oil separator and rubber vent hoses on my 1.4 AUA, hoping to cure a minor oil weep.
Parts are genuine AUDI 036 103 464G - Separator
036 103 493AH - 90deg hose, Separator to Heater Pipe
036 103 493AJ - Long double bend hose from Heater Pipe to Air Intake Box
The Heater Pipe - 036 906 391A
When I cleaned the heater pipe ( small amount of black sludge ), I saw an arrow on it.
Is this a direction of flow, or does it indicate where to position the hoses for correct orientation? The hoses do have white marks on one end which correspond with the heater pipe connections on the ETKA diagram.
This diagram doesn't show the heater pipe clearly enough to illustrate the following:-
The heater pipe has one spigot longer than the other. The arrow points towards the longer end, which I think was nearer the separator.
The removed long hose had the wrong part number, indicating someone has been here before.
This might all be trivial, but I'd like to get it right first time.
Do I put a smear of engine oil on the O - rings on the separator when replacing?
The old separator is a genuine part, and seems clear on blowing through; but I thought it a good idea to change it all, as it's listed as a 60,000 mile service item.
Advice would be appreciated. Thank you.