Engine lights after Jump Starting

phil pk

phil pk

Member
Hi
Well today I did my good deed for the day, and gave a stranded motorist a jump start. All was well, and his car started, I drove off. When I next got into my car, the over zealous Engine management Light, and the EPC light was also on. Since then, the engine light is on, but the EPC comes on and off. It is common for these lights to sometimes come on for no reason - usually 2 wks after a service.

I am sure it can only be a result of the jump start, but really dont want to go to Audi garage to reset it and charge £75 in the process, so does anyone else know if this is common after jumpstarting - has any one else suffered from this?

The car so far seems fine (touchwood)

Cheers all
Phil
 
Sometimes low battery voltage can trigger fault codes / warning lamps. Any chance the voltage dipped on your car while you were doing your good deed.
Disconnecting the battery for a while can clear warning lamps so its worth a try. Depending on the age of your car, you may need the radio code and beware the boot lid can lock itself with the battery disconnected (I always chock mine open with an old towel - saves the hassle of using the manual release on the back window)


Cheers Spike

Cheers Spike
 
Cheers Spike, will give it a go. It is a new battery (1 yr old), but will have had some effect on the voltage. It still shows the green light on it, and as yet......no battery light lit on the dash.

Which terminal on the battery do I remove 1st, and replace first on the battery, I don't want to kill myself!

Thank you!
 
Remove the Earth first, why, not much chance of touching a live while undoing it, take positive of first and everything around you is an earth ...............
 
As Steveb suggested, remove the earth terminal first. This kills everything so no need to remove the +ve terminal as well. I always wrap the removed terminal in a rubber glove so there is no chance of it accidently re-connecting.
Another good reason for removing the negative first is you can get a massive spark while removing or replacing the +ve lead with the earth still connected. No matter how many times you do it, it still frightens the life out of you. The negative only gives a tiny spark when re connecting

Cheers Spike
 
Right - sorry i did not pay much attention in Physics!

Just to confirm, I remove the black cable, and no need to remove anything else, then after a min or two, reconnect it. I can see the logic there SteveB - thank you all!!
 
Last edited:
OK,
Managed to find my radio code, so disconnected the negative terminal from the battery.

Waited a min, then replaced it. The Radio did not need the code, so that was good, but the warning lights are still on. Any ideas??
 
phil pk said:
OK,
Managed to find my radio code, so disconnected the negative terminal from the battery.

Waited a min, then replaced it. The Radio did not need the code, so that was good, but the warning lights are still on. Any ideas??
Click to expand...

Try the battery disconnect for at least an hour. Its free so worth a try and there is a slim (very slim) chance it may work.

Cheers Spike
 
Cheers Spike,

Will try the battery another try, and will leave it overnight. However, just in case, I booked it into the Audi Garage (2nd time in the year for the same lights on the dash)

Hopefully it will be a cheap repair, if not, it will then make its way to you Spike. She seems to be using a lot of fuel, so thinking if its connected to the last faults, it may be covered by the 12 month repair warranty (fingers crossed)!
 
Just an update on my recent problem, and to provide any assistance to anyone in the future!

Booked the car into Preston Audi yesterday as did not want to risk driving her too much after the last time I had the engine lights on.

They had her for most of the day, and at first replaced brake light bulbs and switch, but still the problem remained. They then thought it could be a possible ABS ECU issue, but having carried out a full wiring check, the issue was cured - thankfully!

To be honest, I do not know what the wiring check involved, or even if anything was replaced, but was just glad to be able to leave and could not be bothered to ask any questions!
 
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