Is this Blackpool seafront in December, or just my A2 dashboard?

[Dexter333]

03 Petrol 1.4

1. Start the car the EMS light is on
2. Five minutes later joined by EPC, both then stay on.
3. Every other day on the way to work, when I turn left at the same roundabout, they are joined by ABS, hazard, flashing exclamation mark light. It is at the exact same point every other day
4. Turn off the engine, all disappear apart from EMS light. that stays on and five minutes later is joined by EPC light
5. And so it goes on...day in day out

Diagnostic checks from an independent garage (not Audi dealer) show nothing amiss.

Any suggestions as to

a. What is causing this?
b. How it can be cured?
c. How much it's going to cost - new MOT legislation means it's going to have to be fixed...

Many thanks for any help

Dexter 333

 

[craigyb]

Blackpool or Brighton? Your location says Hove which is a long way from Blackpool and I suspect a hello of a lot nicer.

 

[MikeMarsUK]

Blackpool or Brighton? ...

Well, it's the Blackpool christmas lights which are best known

...3. Every other day on the way to work, when I turn left at the same roundabout, they are joined by ABS, hazard, flashing exclamation mark light. It is at the exact same point every other day
...

I think this is unrelated to your other issues. The ECU thinks that you are losing traction at that junction. This could be for one of these reasons:

* The road surface is bad at the point where you are turning left, causing one of your wheels to slip each time. If this is the cause, then no problem. I think this is the most likely.

* The outside diameter of your front/nearside & front/offside tyres is different (due to either different pressures, different tread pattern, or different levels of wear). These two tyres should always be as similar as possible. Different outside diameters will cause the wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds, and hence can trigger the traction warning.

* You have an alignment problem of one sort or another (look for uneven tread wear), causing poor grip on cornering.

 

[dan_b]

It is strange though that there appears to be an engine management light permanently on, but no fault codes? I think that needs further investigation?

 

[timmus]

If I understand correctly, the car sometimes needs to be driven a certain distance before it's sure it's got a certain ABS fault.
Some ABS faults can be known to the car as soon as it's switched on (for example, if a sensor has a short to earth) but others (a lightly fractured excitor ring, for instance) are picked up on a comparative basis, i.e. the car is getting signal X from three wheels but a slightly differing signal from the fourth. The reason the ABS light always comes on when you reach a certain point on the road is because it takes the car precisely this distance to be sure there's something amiss.
When you stop the car and then turn it back on again, there doesn't appear to be an ABS fault (and indeed there isn't whilst the car is stationary!) and so the lights stay off.

An ABS fault will itself cause three lights to come on: The yellow ABS light, the yellow traction control and a symbol within the display. I suggest that you drive the car around until all those lights come on and then take it for a diagnostic scan, without switching off the car between arriving at the garage and getting the scan done.

As for the engine management light; it sounds to me like this isn't connected to the other issues. Both the 1.4 petrol and the 1.6 FSI are a bit EML-happy and it's probably due to a dodgy sensor somewhere, either in the exhaust, EGR, intake, etc. Whilst I know it'll need to be sorted for the MOT, I'd not be too concerned about this until the other issue is cleared up.

I hope this helps,

Tom

 

[Dexter333]

Thanks

Well, it's the Blackpool christmas lights which are best known

I think this is unrelated to your other issues. The ECU thinks that you are losing traction at that junction. This could be for one of these reasons:

* The road surface is bad at the point where you are turning left, causing one of your wheels to slip each time. If this is the cause, then no problem. I think this is the most likely.

* The outside diameter of your front/nearside & front/offside tyres is different (due to either different pressures, different tread pattern, or different levels of wear). These two tyres should always be as similar as possible. Different outside diameters will cause the wheels to rotate at slightly different speeds, and hence can trigger the traction warning.

* You have an alignment problem of one sort or another (look for uneven tread wear), causing poor grip on cornering.

Thanks very much Mike, that does seem likely. Have noticed that it has come on once previously when skidding, so might be the road, but will get the tread/pressure checked. Most helpful.

 

[Dexter333]

Thanks Tom - esp re the EPC and EML - good to know that these mosels are known for being EML- happy. Don't feel so alone now. Feel that Mike might have hit the nail on the head with the traction control lights.

 

[timmus]

Thanks Tom - esp re the EPC and EML - good to know that these mosels are known for being EML- happy. Don't feel so alone now. Feel that Mike might have hit the nail on the head with the traction control lights.

It'd surprise me greatly if your problems were being caused by a dodgy bit of road. What are the chances of you losing traction at exactly the same point on the road time and time again, no matter the traffic conditions, weather conditions, your position on the road, etc?
Also, when the A2 loses traction, the lights flash briefly, but then go off again as soon as the car's happy again. You shouldn't have to stop and restart the car just because you had a little wheel spin.

Cheers,

Tom

 

[MikeMarsUK]

It'd surprise me greatly if your problems were being caused by a dodgy bit of road. What are the chances of you losing traction at exactly the same point on the road time and time again, no matter the traffic conditions, weather conditions, your position on the road, etc?...

Happens to me most days at the same roundabout (joining the southbound M3 from Sunbury). There are a bunch of potholes just at the point where you're turning sharp left onto the onramp & accellerating, and it frequently makes the ASR lights turn on.

But as you say, they do turn off again as soon as the front/nearside wheel stops slipping.