Skip to content
View in the app

A better way to browse. Learn more.

Audi Owners Club (UK)

A full-screen app on your home screen with push notifications, badges and more.

To install this app on iOS and iPadOS
  1. Tap the Share icon in Safari
  2. Scroll the menu and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add in the top-right corner.
To install this app on Android
  1. Tap the 3-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of the browser.
  2. Tap Add to Home screen or Install app.
  3. Confirm by tapping Install.

Welcome to the Audi Owners' Club - An Independent community!

Membership is completely free, and our community is built by enthusiasts, for enthusiasts. We’re a proudly independentnon-official club, so all the help and opinions you’ll find here come directly from members with real experience of Audi ownership.

Join the club now!

 

Lost Communication with tcm after jump start

Featured Replies

Hey everyone. 

Im new to the forum and to Audi's in general so i apologise in advance if what im saying has been mentioned before.

Iv recently purchased a 2006 8P A3 with a 2.0 FSI petrol. I got it cheap with some jobs needing doing to it. Im located in New Zealand, this car was a japanese import(yes a bit odd). And it came with a japanese head unit that was useless. After i had the car mostly sorted and ready to go i thought id throw a new head unit in. I then found that the japanese head unit had about 20 kilometres of extra wiring added to the original loom. Stupidity i left the ignition on for the hours i spent untangling the mess. And when i finally had it working and went to start the car i got a battery warning light and a very slow crank. Iv only ever driven "older" more basic japanese cars and 4x4's so i instinctively hooked some jump leads on and fired the a3 up. To which i was met with a engine light, power steering light and a esp light. I plugged in my cheap obd2 scanner to find the fault saying "lost communication with tcm" i cleared the code and found that the other 2 lights might just need a drive to sort themselves out. So i went to go for a drive. But, the car is stuck in park. I found the emergency release, and once released the car goes into gear but with a sizeable clunk. Iv spent hours checking every fuse in the engine bay and the dash but nothing was blown. Im totally stumped now. Is it possible that iv done some serious damage to the TCM or could there be another fuse box that i could check? 

Any help at all would be really appreciated. Auto electricians aren't cheap so im doing my best to try avoid it.

Thanks in advance

  • Author

Battery seems fine. Holding 12.5 volts and starts the car good. The old head unit idea sounds promising. Ill give that a go. Thanks for the tip.

Forget the voltage of the battery. The right voltage and the ability to start the engine do not mean it is in good condition. Internal faults can interfere with the car's electronics and cause false warning messages and symptoms such as limp mode, loss of radio presets, loss of cruise control etc. So I ask again how old is the battery?

  • Author

It is pretty new. About a year old. 

  • Author

I did have the lights set to auto, so the lights were most likely on for a while. Iv been through everything again. Found something that rekoned by holding the accelerator flat for 20 seconds re calibrates or resets the DSG. Tried that to no avail. 

  • Author

Just re installed the old head unit. Unfortunately no change.

  • Author

Just pulled the TCM or TCU whichever you want to call it, from the left front wheel arch. All the connections look ok. I checked the plug and there is power getting to it. So that sort of rules out any blown fuses maybe. Will blast it all with contact cleaner. Otherwise my next options are see a expert or buy a new TCM which is about 300NZD or 150 pounds. Just trying to keep the thread going for anyone in future if they have the same issue.

Side note if anyone has the wiring diagram for the plug id really appreciate it if they could send it through. Would help to see if any particular contacts should have power

Cheers

  • Author

Just pulled the cover off the module, everything looks in decent order, no fried bits. Gave everything a thorough blast with contact cleaner. Put it back together and plugged it back in. And sadly nothing. 

  • 3 weeks later...
  • Author

I decided to order a new TCM. installed it and NOTHING. really am stumped. Out of desperation i remembered one ground i pulled out with the old head unit which i didn't plug back in as the unit turned on without it. it was located close to the CAN bus so thought there might be so correlation. Sadly nothing still. Currently i have the glove box out in an effort to find anything that i may have touched when fiddling with the head unit. the one thing that pops out is a stray plug which i have no recollection pulling out and doesn't fit any of the head unit wiring. Ill attach a photo in a separate reply. 

Create an account or sign in to comment





Background Picker
Customize Layout

Account

Navigation

Search

Search

Configure browser push notifications

Chrome (Android)
  1. Tap the lock icon next to the address bar.
  2. Tap Permissions → Notifications.
  3. Adjust your preference.
Chrome (Desktop)
  1. Click the padlock icon in the address bar.
  2. Select Site settings.
  3. Find Notifications and adjust your preference.