Multiple brake warning lights and dealers

Good on you A2Sport

A2SPORT said:
Hey Spike

The ABS cable was torn so I had a close look at the cable and noticed there's no optical wiring in the cable.
Which is a pain if you wanna fix. So I decided to have a go soldering the two to gather once finished taped it all up and hey presto ABS light gone.

A2SPORT
Click to expand...

Good on you A2Sport, was it a difficult job? could a no technical, no electrical/mechanical person attempt this? And what part of the car would need to be taken apart to get to the wiring loom that was causing your problem. I am seriously thinking of attempting the job myself, I have no experience but am very determined to not get ripped off by the dealers.

Thanks Frank
 
Hope this helps

frank.c said:
Good on you A2Sport, was it a difficult job? could a no technical, no electrical/mechanical person attempt this? And what part of the car would need to be taken apart to get to the wiring loom that was causing your problem. I am seriously thinking of attempting the job myself, I have no experience but am very determined to not get ripped off by the dealers.

Thanks Frank
Click to expand...

Hey Frank

First of all you need to identify which abs cable is worn when identified you'll need a car jack, wire stripper a soldering iron, black tape, once you have all the equipment you’ll need.
attempt to take off the wheel which the affected abs cable is behind.

1st Cut out worn part of the cable.
2nd Use wire stripper.
3rd Solder the wires together. Quick guide- ( http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm)
4th Tape up the wiring.

Hope this helps! All in all cost me £5.:D

A2SPORT.
 
A2SPORT said:
First of all you need to identify which abs cable is worn when identified you'll need a car jack, wire stripper a soldering iron, black tape, once you have all the equipment you’ll need.
attempt to take off the wheel which the affected abs cable is behind.
Click to expand...
If you can, get hold of some adhesive heat shrink tubing from Maplins. You can melt and shrink it with a hairdryer or soldering iron and it makes the repair 100% more waterproof.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Maplins here i come

Skipton01 said:
If you can, get hold of some adhesive heat shrink tubing from Maplins. You can melt and shrink it with a hairdryer or soldering iron and it makes the repair 100% more waterproof.

Cheers,

Mike
Click to expand...

Hey there Mike

Thanks again Mike need to take a trip to Maplin then lol.

A2SPORT.
 
A2SPORT said:
Hey there Mike

Thanks again Mike need to take a trip to Maplin then lol.

A2SPORT.
Click to expand...

No worries - the maplin code number is KC45Y which is 3mm inside diameter unshrunk, 1mm shrunk. It's £3.29 for a metre, which will do about 30 repairs!

Cheers,

Mike

PS If using the soldering iron to shrink it, keep the iron moving or you'll burn the stuff.
 
Great work all. Its very good to see a viable alternative to stealer ignorance and prices. Less good is that I started my little A2 up last night to find the same warning lights and the big red exclamation. :(

First time for me, so hopefully its gone this morning.

I've rung my local garage, but they're telling me the middle of next week is their earliest slot, so if not she'll be out of action for 7 days or so. As we're on the due date for our firstborn tomorrow, I'm not sure how that's going to work for us, and I really don't fancy the hospital dash with a flashing "!" on the dash.:eek:

With the car on the driveway in daylight, do you reckon the worn wiring might be visible? If I can pin it down to this issue (mine's a sport but came with inherited aftermarket 17 inch rims fitted by the previous owner) I stand a chance of convincing an electrician friend with a soldering iron to help out :)

Marvellous timing...

On the plus side, the only way to park in our cul-de-sac is to do a full lock 180 degree right turn, so if there is a risk of wearing, its a very good place to start.
 
Had the wheels off over the weekend. No sign of wear, nor indeed anywhere that wear would have been possible. All looked very tidy under there, so am thinking mine must be fitted with different length cable runs or something.

For anyone wandering under and around the car, be careful with the plugs connecting the brake pad sensor wires. Mine were awful floppy and gave me a whole new error "(O)" whenever I touched them.

In the end, I took Stubby back to my 'round the corner reasonably priced but slightly scary looking tyre fitters that service things' shop. They diagnosed a faulty brake light sensor, whipped it out, put a new one in and hey presto, all is good. Would have been about £84 for parts and labour, only they did this exact same job a few months back on her, so no charge.

Ker-ching! All good now. We'll see how long this one lasts.
 
A2OC - Shrewsbury Audi think someone is making things up!

spike said:
Hi rktec
Apologies if Skipton has already responded but I found a copy of the ABS sensor wire bulletin - see attached

Cheers Spike
Click to expand...

Folks see attached response from Shrewsbury Audi (car purchased from new from them and serviced there since new, still called me by my surname, they must have been busy) after I recently had an interim service.

The sensor cable is worn through (17" wheels) and after i gaffered it together as a temp fix, as I was advised this is an MOT failure.
This cleared the fault, however the gaffer tape worked loose and fault lights came on whilst I was driving to drop the car off!

RESPONSE FROM SHREWSBURY AUDI
Hi Martin
Our Master tech has had a look at the Bulletin you forwarded to me. We have checked the transaction number which is not found. Also the part numbers are similar to the correct Audi part numbers but are not actually the correct part numbers.

It says on the bulletin as the Problem description: - The front engine speed sensor cable is chafed. The part behind the wheel is not called the engine speed sensor.

Im not sure where the bulletin has come from? But it is a non-genuine bulletin. If you have any further queries please contact Audi Customer Services on 0800 699888 and they may be able to assist you further.

Im sorry I can not assist you any further in this matter

Kind Regards
Customer Experience Manager
Shrewsbury Audi
Knights Way
Battlefield Enterprise Park
Shrewsbury
SY1 3AB
Tel: 01743 453300


Comments welcomed
Cheers
Glen
 
This reply just shows the narrow mindedness of some dealers - of course the bulletin is genuine, it's just old that's all.

The problem is that this bulletin was issued is 2003 and the part numbers mentioned were dropped on the 1st May 2005, hence the confusion (I'll be generous - they're being pedants really).

You are not responsible for the incorrect nomenclature used in the bulletin - the correct name for the part is 'wiring harness for speed sensor'.

I'd get in touch with Audi customer services and explain that you KNOW there is a technical bulletin for the chaffing of the speed sensor harness on A2s with 17" wheels and you'd appreciate help in getting the fix done. You've tried to help out your local dealership by providing the paperwork you had, but as it wasn't the latest version of the bulletin, it has condused them!

Take it from there Glen, but they are being really pedantic. If push cones to shove, get the parts (£30 per side) and I'll fit them for you, at a lot less than Audis prices!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Thanks Mike,
have suggested to the customer experience manager that the link is passed on to the master tech, also suggested that they have a look at the previous posts to confirm that this is an issue with many owners.
The prices quoted by the way from the last service is as follows:
o/s/f ABS wiring loom £75.73
in addition:
front anti roll bar and bushes worn £342.67 inc four wheel alignment
I am not going to drop this and will follow up via customer services

if I get no joy mike, the job is yours, happily pay you!
cheers
Glen
 
They're ripping you off big time if that £75 is for the part alone - my price info is a little out of date, but is within 10% of the correct pricing and the price for either front harness is £30.06 (the nearside includes the brake wear indicator wiring).

Similarly, the ARB is £64.94 and the bushes are £2.48 each (2 needed), so even adding on 1.1 units of labour for alignment checks (that aren't strictly speaking needed, if the position of the subframe is marked and it is replaced in the same spot it came from), then £342 is excessive.

See what comes of the customer services complaint, but they are just being arsey to be honest - and suggesting that there are mis-truths being told is not on. Some master techs are so up themselves it's untrue - they hate to think that members of the general public know anything that they do!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Hi Glen
As your ABS cables lasted several years I suspect you would struggle with a 'goodwill' claim even when Audi acknowledge the service bulletin covering pre 2003 cars existed.
I'd be tempted to cut my losses and have the cables replaced at Skipton Autos. I'd also try fixing the anti-roll bar using Polo bushes. There is no need to replace the rollbar or have a wheel alignment check and the parts cost under a tenner. Several club members have had total success with this mod.

Cheers Spike
 
spike said:
Hi Glen
As your ABS cables lasted several years I suspect you would struggle with a 'goodwill' claim even when Audi acknowledge the service bulletin covering pre 2003 cars existed.
I'd be tempted to cut my losses and have the cables replaced at Skipton Autos. I'd also try fixing the anti-roll bar using Polo bushes. There is no need to replace the rollbar or have a wheel alignment check and the parts cost under a tenner. Several club members have had total success with this mod.

Cheers Spike
Click to expand...

thanks Spike, I have already had the polo bushes replaced on the other A2 with good success and will be doing the same with the sport, just wanted to highlight the approach from the main dealer.
Agree with the argument about justifying a 'claim', I will book into skipton autos but thought I would check with the dealer whom have been pretty good up to now, just disappointed with the response.
cheers
Glen
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top