geoffrey

if i read this right you have no user manuals for this car. Then you bought another radio unit without it's code? pay the £13 then another £13 for the original radio code. The four digit number looks remarkably like a code. Worth a try.

so you can get into the car using the remote key option, i also take it that you can start your car and drive it ?

next step is to strip the door card off and look at the door lock linkage.

good luck

have you tried WD40 ? Lemon juice ? lighter fuel ?

jake's

previous download is a chargable event from microsoft , cost £0.79p

i agree with Cliff  they are an aftermarket indicator add on .

Ken

update to my last comment about headlights.

on my mot inspection my car was failed on headlight beam distortion.

i had a chat with the MOT inspector about this and was quite surprised to be told the reason. for the failure.

it's a simple reason and not to easy to take.

the bulbs had been incorrectly fitted, even though they have location tabs they can be forced into the fitting.

the proof is in the light output on the beam measuring device.

mine showed a full moon due to incorrect fitting.

the bulbs are very fiddly to fit as i witnessed ,

when the bulbs were correctly fitted the beam was more of a crescent moon lying on its back.

this car had been passed by a well known MOT station  last year

i guess they didn't use the beam machine to do the required test.

at least i will not be dazzling on coming traffic from now on.

Regards Ken

when i bought my audi a3 2008 diesal 2.00tdl it only had one key.

i decided to get a second key as a backup

this i did and also got a blade  cut to the original.

so far so good,second key opened and locked the car manually.

i then tried to pair the key with the original using suggested methods off youtube.

1/ original key in in ignition  switched on, second key in door.

2/lock door using second key

3/ press unlock on second key untill light shows once.

4/unlock and lock second key then remove master key

5/ use second key, only to get the SAFE light on dasboard.

i have tried variations as i found on youtube , but the result is always the same , locked in SAFE mode.

original key is still working.

any help would be most appreciated.

Regards Ken

Hi Paul,

my comment was a possible cause of the situation open to exploration. i.e a relay playing up.

the diagnostic software is not infallible .

still looking forward to your eureka moment.

Ken

when i first listened to the video my first impression was a starter motor .

on second and third replays my thinking fixed onto a starter motor overrunning or not properly disengaging .

that leaves two venues , either electrical or mechanical.

the mechanical venue i think has already been covered as non contender.

that leaves the electrical system,

1 faulty relay not dropping out cleanly,

2 residual power holding the contact in

(this can happen if the flywheel diode fails)

3 deeper electrical problem

it will be very interesting to hear the actual fault when found.

Ken

Hi Mark,

no fault found ?

door lock not a fault?

did you clear /repair the door lock ?

detailed feedback would be most helpful to the forum.

Regards Ken

what on earth is meant by 'not giving a good beam ?'

and how is it supposed to be an MOT failure.

do headlights now require to give a legal light intensity, apart from the geometric alignment?

or is this some cowboy trying to upsell something ?

just curious.

regards ken

Hi Gareth,

 it was indeed a long time ago, when i also had hair.

Regards Ken

this issue reminds me of a problem i had many years ago.

apparent coolant loss and heater not working.

long story short.

coolant had been contaminated with a different coolant .

resulted in a oil/water situation ie one coolant floating on top of the other and not mixing.

complete flush and filling up with correct fluid fixed it for me

particular attention was paid to the heavy coolant to make sure it was cleared from the bottom of the engine.

i am at a loss as to why silica gel crystals are involved in a cooling system, maybe the coolant is not H2O based ? that would make some sort of sense.

Regards Ken

18 hours ago, Stevey Y said:

Hi oil pressure is virtually instant it has to be or the big ends will knock, I don't know what milage you have done but if you have never changed the chain/tensioner it is of the old variety, most hydraulic tensioners have a spring inside which holds the position of the piston against the chain for a couple of seconds until the pressure from the oil arrives, VAG in their infinite wisdom chose to use another design which uses a ratchet system similar to a rack on steering, the idea is that the ridges on the piston when the oil pressure drops engage with a small male ridged pawl that sits above it and stop the piston moving back maintaining the pistons position against the chain mechanically, my guess is the pawl on your unit has failed and stripped its teeth away allowing the piston absent oil pressure to go further into the tensioner housing therefore making the distance to engaging with the chain far greater than normal and allowing it to jump, apparently this is quite a common problem and guess what VAG now do an upgraded version with a spring in it.

Steve.

thanks for that reply Steve.

so this original idea of oil draining back under non usage is a non starter as the chain is kept in tension under the back up systems .

1/ spring valve

or

2/ ratchet system.

that removes my worries about non usage.

sorry if i seem pedantic

KEN

2 hours ago, Stevey Y said:

Its not a leaking valve problem they all do it if you let them sit for to long the oil in the valve syphons back.

Hi Steve,

if as you suggest the oil naturally syphons back after a period of time are you implying that they automatically self prime?

it would seem a reasonable assumption to believe that they self prime.

to  take that assumption one step further requires the oil pressure on the said valves  to be instantaneous.

any lag would leave the cam chain lacking tension allowing tooth jump and the resulting consequencies.

Does Audi have a procedure to deal with draing of oil and restart after refilling with oil?

my usage leaves me with my car standing in the garage up to a week at a time should i be worried, i cannot afford a £2 k bill.

JRHILL1 has my sympathies

the idea behind the automatic start stop as i remember was to help prevent unnecessary pollution and reduce fuel consumption whilst stuck in traffic queues?

as to other 'savings' it is highly contentious as to whether the production/maintenance costs balanced these savings out.

the fact it never caught on may well answer those questions.

reduction of road tax ? i will fit two . only joking Steve

really tempted to say something but i will use my option to say nothing.😁

to lose all of the light cluster would to me be a ground wire broken.

this falls very much in line with Gareth's reasoning.

i would be concentrating on proving continuity of the ground wire

last time i had to look at a similar problem i found most of the wires in the harness were damaged and had to be cut and rejoined.

Regards Ken

Stevey ,that remark went over my head..

what matters is that people like you Cliff, magnet and others who do find/make the time to reply to genuine information seekers do not give in to the ignorant few.

i for one like to read of problems and their solutions and if i can to add my little knowledge to further the forums status as a place to come to satisfy self help.

respect to your knowledge and shame on these people who have no idea of what they are doing /talking about

dont you just love it when people drop their problem on the forum , receive sound advice .

then nothing, no follow up or acknowledgement as to if it helped or not.

forgot to mention i use a fuel additive and have never regretted it.

my car has done 150k when i bought it, and it smoked, since the additive its like another engine , well impressed.

the additive i use is called MAXIMUS for diesal.

good deals on line as well.

Ken

https://www.dpfrepair.co.uk/audi-a3-dpf-repair-in-castleford/

interesting as i did not know what a dpf was.

i do now ,found this link which you should find of some use..

if the link dont work i have reiterated what it says.

AUDI A3 DPF REPAIR in Castleford.

regeneration guide

bring engine up to temperature

ensure quarter tank of fuel ( (assume this to stop sucking up any sludge in tank) my remark)

drive at 50mph for 30 minutes

when regen is complete light goes out.

no suggestion of buying a new DPF unit for £1200

just needs the crap burning off through a good run.

Ken

so as my audi is 2008 a3 2tdi when i replace the battery i need to code it in ?

any pointer as to where i can get help in doing this myself would be most appreciated.

ken

in which year and model did the battery first have to be coded ?

i am aware that not coding can/will cause problems.

knowing this information would probably help skynet600

ken

glad to hear you got a good deal from Halfords for your replacement battery.

my experience with my local Halfords has been positive cost wise, service has been good.

apart from the voltage checks taken on the battery whilst running have you checked the current flow with a DC clamp meter?

the two tests will give a good indication as to the health of the charging system.

voltage check will NOT show any high resistance problems  on its own.

DC clamp meter on the other hand is good for checking drain on the  system also to prove current flow on charge,

interesting problem.

it is also questionable that the battery is at fault.

you did mention you had a replacement alternator and it would appear your problem arose after this part was replaced.

i had an alternator problem on a FORD (sorry didn't mean to swear) which i put down to faulty batteries.

after it stopped on an outing ,opposite a garage.

i did all checks on the electrics and eventually had to swallow my pride and push the car onto the garage forecourt and ask the help of the mechanic.

 electrical checks were made voltage on battery when engine running o.k (slave battery)

next he checked the alternator from under the car.

on checking the cable from the alternator  the lug snapped off.

he renewed the lug and started the car o.k

on inspection of the lug it was apparent where the lug had snapped that the lug was crystallized and had from the day of manufacture presented a high resistance to the flow of current.

from that day i never had another problem with the battery.

after that car i always bought Audi's that was 30 years ago , best thing i ever did.