gsmdo

⭐Hi there, I shut the boot this morning and something fell onto the floor. It was the right hand number plate lamp 🤦‍♂️ As you can see, the whole alloy housing is badly corroded, and I remember having to use a self-tapping screw and some epoxy to hold things together when I fitted LEDs a few years back. So, I have managed to source a new OEM housing for a pretty reasonable £80 delivered, and I'm going to order a new pair of LED lamps to fit into it (which I will be treating with a good degree of water and salt proofing to avoid a repeat of this).The only thing I don't know, is what size screws/bolts hold the lamps in place - can anyone give me a steer please? Whilst we are on the subject - is this likely to be an involved job? I see I'll have to remove the boot lock - is that going to come out in one piece with the latch mechanism? It's clear I have no idea what I'm doing, isn't it? 😂🤣😂 As ever, any help and advice appreciated. Mike 😃

Well the vendor has been brilliant 😃. Here's the response from him first thing this morning: Hello I found out what is the issue. You have a rare version of software in door ECU and this is actually making a mess. It happened only twice so far for a few hundred modules already sold. Today morning I posted a compatble version of the remote control module that will solve the issue. Tracking available at XXXX We stay in touch. Regards I don't think you can ask for better service than that 😎 The vendor is based in Poland, so from experience it'll take a week or so to get here. It'll be ten minutes work to fit it (now that I have the right door clips - and some spares😆). My car is a 'facelift' 2006, which I have found differs from its predecessor and successor in some weird ways - like keeping the relays under the ECU, for example - so this may be another anomalous example of that. I'l post the result once it's been fitted. Cheers, Mike😎

There was a chap in Essex who advertised on eBay to solve any A4 Convertible roof problem. Unfortunately, you're a long way from his neighbourhood. That said, he might be worth giving a call? I saw his listing a while ago and - owning an A4 convertible - made a note of his details: "I've been in the motor trade for 35 years and have extensive knowledge of VW and Audi convertible roofs and can fix most problems on the first visit Please call 07850685729 or 01728685729 I only operate in Suffolk Norfolk and Essex" I think the first thing you need to do is find someone with an OBDII to see if there are fault codes being stored about the fault. That will give you a place to start... Cheers, Mike😎

Hi there, I had a remote roof module fitted in my A4 about six years ago and it worked fine. Recently it started playing up - specifically it wouldn't open the hood remotely. I thought six years was fair for a cheapish after-market gadget, so ordered another one to replace it - this one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143424315368 I removed the door card to fit it and, since it was similar in appearance to the defective unit, and had identically coloured wires, I just cut the old unit off and, using crimp connectors, joined like to like. Before I put the door card back on, I tested it. Nothing - not a sausage.🤦‍♂️ I put the car away for the night, having also discovered that I had bought the wrong size door card clips. 🤨 The following morning, I came out to the garage with a mate of mine to explain the snag. Before we took anything apart, I tried the unit again (you press 'lock' three times within five seconds to raise the roof; 'unlock' three times within five seconds to lower it) - bingo - it worked perfectly 😃👍 My mate (an RAF Techie on the F35 LIghtning) just said "Ferking canbus - there's no understanding it" 😆 He reckoned the canbus does a system check during down time and finds and adopts new stuff. This might not be accurate, but certainly follows the early snags I had with the original module, which was a nightmare for 24hrs - and then worked perfectly... 🤔 Fast-forward two weeks and it has become unreliable. Normally when you press the remote for the third time you'll get a 'click-click' noise from the car, and then it'll enter its routine. Today I've been unable to raise or lower the roof remotely (although the button on the centre console still operates normally, as does holding the key in the locked or unlocked position in the driver's door to raise or lower the roof). Anybody have any ideas on what might be causing this, or how to persuade it back to normal operation please? I'm going to drop the vendor a line with a link to this post, although my feeling is that it's not a fault in the module - more likely another canbus interface thing. I recognise that this is likely the ultimate first world problem 😆 but any advice/experience would be appreciated. Thanks, Mike 😎

Hi Ann, A couple of garbled posts there - have you fixed the problem? Mike🤔

Excellent news! 👍

Holy crap - this should be interesting... 🍿

OK, I did a further search for the correct part number on Amazon and found these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08S1WWZW8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I bought a pack of 20, as they would be delivered the following day - and the sun's out, so I wanted to use the car... 😎 They arrived this morning, fitted perfectly, and I've just refitted the door card. So, for anyone looking for the correct clips for a facelift 2006 A4 B6/B7 Convertible door card, you need Audi Part Number 8Z0868243, or the link above (which you can find by doing a search for the part number on Amazon). Cheers, Mike 😃

Hi Steve, Many thanks for the link - great value! I've just got off the phone to my friendly parts chap - the part number is listed as 8Z0868243, which, when put into the Vehicle Clips search, comes up with these: https://www.vehicleclips.co.uk/interior-door-card-panel-clips-for-seat-8e0868243/ ...which look like the ones that are on the card at the moment. These were £3.80 for 10 with free postage! I've ordered 10 anyway - handy to have on the shelf. I can get the real thing from Audi for 98p each, which still isn't excessive, although I'm going to call that Plan C... 😆 Thanks very much for the input Steve - Vehicle Clips' site is now bookmarked... 👍 I'll post results of this up when I get a solution... Mike😎

Hi there, I have just fitted a remote roof module in my 2006 A4 Convertible (actually it was to replace one that had partially stopped working after six years). The job requires the driver's side door card to be removed, so, forearmed by watching a YouTube video, I took their advice and bought a bag of 20 after-market door trim clips, as they are very likely to break during the removal. I bought these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08V88CZNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 So, the job went well. I removed the door card (I hadn't done this before, as I wasn't the one who fitted the original module), removed the old clips (about half of which were broken) and then fitted and tested the module - all good. When it came to replacing the card, it unfortunately became clear that these are the wrong clips - the expanding end that fits into the metal of the door was a good couple of mm too small. I rechecked the listing and confirmed they were for an A4 (amongst a slew of other VAG types), so I'll be returning them. Unfortunately the listing gave a couple of measurements, but not the critical one. I've just ordered these: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07C2TJKP3/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ...which look like they'll fit. If they don't, other than going direct to Audi, does anyone have a link to a part that will fit, or a part number please? If they do fit, I will update this thread to confirm this. Thanks, Mike😎

I don't own an A3, but it sounds like you might have a gear lever linkage of some sort. Is the gear lever stuck in one position, or can you stir it about like a pudding?

I'd do that right away. If they're not willing to stand by their work, then you still have the expense of repairing the gearbox. To talk about 41k being 1k late and thereby not being under warranty is the mark of someone who knows they've screwed up, and have been searching the small print to see if they can avoid the consequences. Gits. Good luck - keep us informed. And make sure you never use that dealer again.

It's a beautiful day, with hardly a cloud in the sky, and already warm when I take the convertible out of the garage... Let's get all sweaty working under the bonnet, eh? 😆 Half an hour before commencing work, I'd given the wiper trim joint a fair spray of penetrating oil. I remove the battery cover, scuttle cover and pull the scuttle seal off. I then remove the two front screws on the ECU cover. Crouching down at the side of the car, I remove the trim clip and then try to see if the wiper trim has any 'give' in it. No joy. No matter. I remove the wipers and then gently l manually prise the wiper trim up to try to gain access to the rear driver's side screw. I have a wide selection of tools to try to do this, and it would have been easier if it had been a hex head bolt, as I could get good access at a slight angle. No good for a torx, alas. Eventually I pull the trim up as much as I dare and jam a small block of wood between it and the ECU cover... This gives me just enough room to get a tiny ratchet driver with a T30 bit square onto the screw. I can turn about 10 degrees at a time, but it's a fine tooth ratchet and makes short work of it. I then undo the other side and the slightly difficult back screws. So far this has taken me about an hour - but I'm taking my time trying not to damage anything. I juggle the cover about and get it off... ...to reveal the ECU, held in place not by bolts, but by a large spring clip. I'm pleased to see everything looks watertight and like new in this area. I undo the clip, carefully lift the ECU out of the way and there it is... ...relay 614. I pull it out (even access to do this is a challenge 🤦‍♂️) and have a look... As expected, it's the original fit in the car, and the contact blades are showing various degrees of corrosion. I spray a little contact cleaner into the sockets in the car. So, out with the old and in with the new. I wet the contacts on the new Herth relay with contact cleaner and wiggle it gently into place... Right - time to start reassembly. I replace the ECU and secure its spring clip, then clear all tools etc from under the bonnet, plug in my OBDeleven, open the App and start the engine. I do a full scan and find three faults: All three are Code 01304 - saying there's some problem communicating with the radio. I am expecting this, as I have an afterrmarket stereo fitted in the car. More importantly, it does NOT have a fault code 1314. The fix has worked. 😎👍 So - time to put it back together. Weirdly, it took very little time - the driver's side rear screw (which I'd put some rubber grease on, as it was a bit dry and rusty) went in finger tight until about a turn from set, the other screws also behaved themselves. I refitted the scuttle cover, seal and battery cover, then put a dab of copperslip on the wiper splines before refiittlng them. Time to take it out for a spin, I think... 😎

Well, first of all, you've got a really sh*tty dealer. Yours sounds like a cut and dried case, from your description. Did you pay with a credit card?

It certainly was! 😃

Good call - will do 👍 I've just found this (really low quality) YouTube of removing the ECU from a LHD S4. The ECU housing is on the opposite side from mine, but it shows the chap pulling the wiper trim up just enough to gain access to the screws - so this seems to be the way to go. Thanks, Mike 👍

Thanks Stevey, I was expecting it to come away easily (I could only find a single clip at the far left (as I was looking at it), but the trim disappears under both sides of the windscreen edge trim and I was reluctant to pull it too hard as it's quite thin plastic and I felt sure I must have missed a step, as it felt like it was glued in place along the bottom seal trim of the screen. If I can get it off, then undoing the screws will be easy. I can't believe how much effort I am going to without experiencing any symptoms 🤣😂🤣 I suppose it's because I feel the car (after the flywheel and clutch work) is now in tip top condition and this is the only fault stored... 🤦‍♂️ I'll report back, thanks again - and thanks for confirming what I though about the parts diagram. 👍 Mike 😎

Top tip - Having nearly been stranded when the remote for my motorbike's immobiliser failed, I now replace the batteries on the remotes for my cars when I get them MoTed...

So, I decided to have a look at the ringed black box above. Once you have removed the scuttle cover and the edge seal, it looks like this: I have already removed the two screws on the front edge (T30) and the one on the right of the picture - all these are easily accessible. Then we enter the dark side... Buried way back on the right back (as I face it) is another T30 screw, access to which is blocked by the wiper trim. I managed to get a short T30 bit in a ratchet drive in there and get it finger tight (after about 10 minutes), but it became clear there had to be another bolt somewhere, as the cover didn't want to budge... Dammit - how the hell do you get to that? Hey-ho - I remove the wiper arms (16mm) and undo the clips on the wiper trim panel - and reach a block. The trim panel seems to fit under the windscreen trim on both sides and all along the bottom of the screen... I can't see how to get the trim off and decide that I'll button everything back up and live to fight another day. After washing up, I go to my computer to find my mate Kev has sent me this pic as a guide: ...which confuses me further, as it shows a slightly different shape and a different screw pattern. I am aware, though, that sometimes these are generic drawings to cover a number of models, so maybe that's what's happening here. So - can anyone tell,me how to get the wiper trim off please? 🤔😆 Mike🤦‍♂️

OK, I have found another video, which shows the location of the relay panel is under the ECU. Since my car has a pollen filter where the YouTuber's ECU and panel is - I wondered if it changes depending on which side the steering wheel is... 🤔 The area ringed has a plastic housing, secured by screws hidden under the scuttle cover - is this the location of the ECU? Any help appreciated (couldn't get to the car to check today)... Mike😎

Watching the first video more carefully, the chap accesses a relay and fusebox on the left side of the car by the washer cap... Unfortunately, that space is occupied by the pollen filter on my car. I removed the scuttle cover and had a good hunt around, but can't find another location... 🤨

So - a fifteen minute job - or so I thought. I popped the crash panel off the driver's side of the dash, and then expected to see this: ...with Relay 614 on the far left of the row. What I actually saw, was this: ...a completely different layout of relays. Ignore the charger thing - it's a power supply for the GPS, put there because it was a convenient space. There is another row above this one, obscured slightly by cabling: ...but the 614 relay doesn't appear there either 🤨 There must be another relay box somewhere - I'm going to start Googling to find it - any advice appreciated. Thanks, Mike 😎

Since the sun was shining this morning, it seemed like an opportunity to have a short run to get a spot of breakfast... So I picked my mate Adrian up and headed over to The Goat Shed, which is a cafe added onto the side of a very high-end farm shop. The green welly count was high... 😆 The food was pretty expensive (you could have eaten for literally half the price at Wetherspoon's (😄), but of excellent quality. We both had the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) breakfast... ...which came with sourdough toast, which was excellent. If you happen to be in mid-Norfolk and want breakfast (or just look at goats - I'm not judging you), then give the Goat Shed a look. The car drove brilliantly. I had only previously noticed the juddering from the flywheel when pulling away from stationary, but it was clearly there throughout the drive - as the car feels as smooth as silk now... Mike 😎

Hi there, I bought myself an OBDeleven the other day, to code a new battery into my Škoda (what an age to be alive - coding batteries 😆). So naturally, I thought I'd plug it into the convertible this evening and see if there were any faults in the system. There were half a dozen, all but two of which were clearly quite old and cleared immediately (and didn't reappear). The first is a radio code - this is expected as I have an after-market stereo fitted. The other is an ECU code 1314 - intermittent. So, I have no symptoms and did a quick Google search and came across this chap's YouTube video, which basically says to pull and replace Relay No 614. Relay 614 is in the glowplug and fuel pump circuit. I'm tempted to replace, rather than pull and immediately replace the current relay (which is 16yrs and 103k miles old), with a new one. Any thoughts please? Thanks, Mike 🤔