I've searched on here and I couldn't see anything similar but please point me to anything which may be relevant.

I will try to describe the fault in detail and the things I have tried to resolve it so members have all the information to work with.

The fault: Constant warning tone from the dashboard when the engine is started but no warning lights on the dashboard.

The tone doesn't stop during a drive and the only way I could prevent it was if I turned the engine off at traffic lights and re-started it and sometimes it would disappear. This got worse and eventually even this did not work.

Clearly, this condition should not be ignored and I have tried and checked many things over the last few weeks. The car drives perfectly normally with no loss of power and all functions seem to work correctly.

Diagnostic routines:

I purchased a VeePeak ODB II bluetooth reader from Amazon and paired it with my Android phone. I naively forgot to make an exact list of the fault codes but these are some of the conditions initially reported.

Dashboard - No Basic Settings

CAN: 

Electronic Parking Brake

I know clearing faults doesn't solve the underlying issue, but I wanted to clear the faults from the ECU in the hope the car would flag up the condition causing the problem so it would be easier to detect. Alas this strategy did not work.

I found out that the No basic settings warning can occur is the service interval has not been reset by an Audi service centre. I took the car to my local mechanic and he kindly reset the service interval with VAG Comm. I cleared the No basic setting fault and this has never returned. This always used to reappear if I cleared it with the service warning present.

Several years back the electronic parking brake got itself in a tizz and a warning did appear on the dash, but after recycling the car a few times it cleared and the brake worked as normal. I've never had a problem since.

The CAN fault also disappeared when the service interval was properly reset, not sure if this is a coincidence.

If I rescan now I have no DTC faults. I've checked after I've driven for half an hour or so and still nothing.

I've checked the seatbelts, blowing dustoff in the connectors, plugging them all in etc.

The parking sensors can be deactivated by a button, so I am certain these are not false triggering.

Today I took the rear road wheels off and visually inspected for damaged brake sensors/speed sensors but they seem fine. Having spoken to my local garage he said it might be worth disconnecting the battery, waiting half and hour and reconnecting.

I read about the consequences of disconnecting the battery and decided to give it a go, no joy - still beeps.

I can only assume there is a faulty sensor or component somewhere causing this, but it is not being picked up by the VeePeak scanner.

Before I have to admit defeat and take it to the Audi main dealer, I thought I'd see if anyone has ever experienced anything like this.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From what I have read on this forum, because I am not a user of these machines, it is common for cheap code readers to be unable read all codes. Only professional quality readers like VCDS for example are of any real use.

Thanks. I did manage to borrow a VDO reader from the garage in my village. That one only found the same CAN + Dash No Basic Setting faults. However, I think the next step will be to take it to Audi to at least have a fully professional diagnostic performed. Like you say it may pick up something the cheaper units can't.

 

Your choice obviously Steve, but I wouldn’t be taking a 13 year old car to a main dealer, where diagnostic checks will seriously damage your wallet, and you will only be able to talk with a service receptionist. 
If it were mine, I would first be checking out a trusted localish independent, where you can hopefully talk with  whoever does the diagnostics. 
Regards,

Gareth. 

Sound advice Gareth, I think that's why I've struggled trying to find the fault myself, fear writing a blank cheque at the main dealer on such an old car.

Just in case someone happens across this post, the solution was in the end quite simple, however the indicators are not so obvious.

I fixed this issue by simply replacing the battery. It is important to ensure you have a slightly more sophisticated diagnostic tool capable of completing the battery registration. The consequences of omitting this can cause the car to overcharge the new battery and shorten its life.

It is reasonably well documented online that if weird and unexplained dashboard lights or false triggered DTCs appear with scan tools that it may be the battery. What threw me intially was the fact the car started fine, there were no dashboard fault lights and just some random DTC faults, which if cleared didn't re-trigger.

I had other cars to drive, so got a big lazy but in the end I purchased an Ancel VD700. This has the EPB piston retraction function, battery registration and other useful stuff.

The battery test shows the current voltage and importantly the lowest voltage during an engine start. In my instance, it dropped to 6.7v during startup, which was the biggest indicator yet that it was indeed the battery.

Check your battery spec carefully, physical size, terminals, Ah rating etc. It's fine to put a 95Ah in a car with a 92Ah, the registration software will ask for this value and the car will charge it accordingly. Mine is Start/Stop so AGM, this is important.

Fitting is ok, they are heavy (15Kg). Make sure you remove the -ve terminal first then the +ve. Wrap the terminals in a cloth when changing the battery. When replacing terminals, +ve first then -ve.

Battery registration is easy, follow the prompts on your chosen scanner.

I repeated the battery test and  the lowest voltage was 10v, which is what I would expect is nominal.

After a test drive, the Stop/Start works fine and to my relief the infernal bleep had stopped.

I did read somewhere, there is a battery low warning, but that did no manifest itself on my car.

When you are used to car batteries either being good or flat, this liminal state can throw your own diagnostics off track. Hope this helps.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, BitterPil said:

I fixed this issue by simply replacing the battery. It is important to ensure you have a slightly more sophisticated diagnostic tool capable of completing the battery registration. The consequences of omitting this can cause the car to overcharge the new battery and shorten its life.

It is reasonably well documented online that if weird and unexplained dashboard lights or false triggered DTCs appear with scan tools that it may be the battery. What threw me intially was the fact the car started fine, there were no dashboard fault lights and just some random DTC faults, which if cleared didn't re-trigger.

Thanks Steve. This is a something we have been trying, often unsuccessfully, to convince owners of for a few years. Any unexplained electronic problem should always start by having the battery tested professionally, which involves measuring the voltage while drawing a large load. A simple multimeter measurement without a load does not reveal faults such as sulphation of the electrodes that causes high internal resistance.