Hi All and thank you for letting me join your forum

I have a 2011 Audi a3 8p model s line and love it however i have a problem with it

Drove the car without issue until the other night tried to start it and found i had no dash lights and it would not start

Checked all the fuses and battery and could not find a problem. Left the car for a few hours dash lights appeared and car started right up without issue. Read a little bit on here and found it could be an issue with my dash/clocks as there is an immobiliser located inside them.

Found a few companies that are able to recon the clocks for about £140 however wanted to check the ecu just in case i am 'barking up the wrong tree'

How do i test it as only have this as a very intermittent problem  . I do have a scan tool but i really am a novice and not sure how to properly identify ecu issues My scan tool is icarsoft...Max any help with this much appreciated

 

I can't help with testing the ECU, but I can you tell that failure of the instrument cluster is a well known, though uncommon, problem on the A3. I suggest you send the clocks away for testing as a first step.

Thank you for your response will send off for the clocks to be tested

Please let us know the outcome.

I had the same problem with my 2010 A3 sportback 2l diesel.. except mine starts and runs as normal. Dash clocks sent away for investigation and repair. No fault found. Cluster returned, refitted  everything now working fine again. Conclusion..Intermittent fault. Anyone with any remedy to fix this permanently.. rather than removal and reconnection should it happen again would be appreciated.

Hi

Clocks returned back cost me £168.00 was told that there were some iffy soldiering joints (dry joints)

Refitted clocks and all seems fine so far however this was an intermittent fault done 200 miles since issue without a problem

will keep you further updated

Have the exact same issue, and its great there is updates in this post, it’s just a pity not all posters don’t come back with the solution once found (if any found) rather than leaving us hanging.
Appreciate the info there is in this post, and I will ensure I give a full account of any solution (hopefully) in the separate post I have created. 

Edited February 16Feb 16 by Tugg

Hear, hear.

Simple fix for this problem.. Remove Clock Cluster, Unplug Electrical Connector from Rear.. Leave out for 1 hour, for unit to reset the Immobiliser. Reconnect and it will  work fine mine is stillfine and that was over 2 years ago..if it happens regularly intermittently over a shorter time ,consider  replacing clock unit from a Scrap yard..Much cheaper .

Martyn I was thinking about scrapyard for alternative cluster, but doesn’t it then need the immobiliser coded? If it does need coding I’m not sure the cost would be that much of a saving (rather than repair) along with the obvious risk of not knowing if the scrapyard cluster works. Obviously it would need mileage altered if you wanted to go the full Monty. 

7 hours ago, Tugg said:

Martyn I was thinking about scrapyard for alternative cluster, but doesn’t it then need the immobiliser coded? If it does need coding I’m not sure the cost would be that much of a saving (rather than repair) along with the obvious risk of not knowing if the scrapyard cluster works. Obviously it would need mileage altered if you wanted to go the full Monty. 

Hi get the existing unit repaired if possible as most repairs put in a shunt so no coding required. 

Steve.

11 hours ago, Martyn77 said:

Simple fix for this problem.. Remove Clock Cluster, Unplug Electrical Connector from Rear.. Leave out for 1 hour, for unit to reset the Immobiliser. Reconnect and it will  work fine mine is stillfine and that was over 2 years ago..if it happens regularly intermittently over a shorter time ,consider  replacing clock unit from a Scrap yard..Much cheaper .

Martyn I disconnected the battery for an hr as part of the initial repaired/fix but had no joy.

However after reading your comment I thought I’d try reconnecting the Cluster which I’d removed 2 days previously ready for sending off for diagnosis/repair, as it’s only a 5 minute job to replace as you know.

Anyway long story short Cluster is now back fully working and car fully operational, so well worth the 5 minutes, so cheers for taking the time to reply to my query of your post from 2 years ago

Will update post again in 3-6 months, or earlier if the fault returns.

Edited February 18Feb 18 by Tugg

Your Welcome.