Panscrank

Nah, he's a prick and is unbelievably arrogant. Long overdue him being called out

Probably just needed to adjust your gear linkages but seems you were sent down the 'get a new clutch' rabbit hole for no reason whatsoever by the know it all Coggins.

Many thanks for the info and quick response Spartacus. I'm not overly bothered by disabling the headlight washer.

I have an 8p 2004 3.2. I have retrofitted new Halogen headlights to the car and am getting the 'Headlight range control defective' error on startup. I have cleared the codes on VCDS but of course they come straight back. I asked for advice to 'code this out' on the Ross Tech forum and the advice was that once removed from the installation list, I need to manually remove the range control module. Before I start, is this module on the driver or passenger side? Many thanks. Link to my post on Ross tech: https://forums.ross-tech.com/index.php?threads/53543/

Check grounds as per YouTube instructional videos... All fine.

From post 1 in this thread: The dashboard clocks. That is what they said, not repairable. When I initially sent them to them a couple of weeks ago, they contacted me AFTER they 'repaired' them and said 'yes, there was a fault and we have fixed it, here is your invoice' and then sent them back to me. Car was still displaying the same symptoms, so they asked to send them back for a re-test. What struck me as odd was that there was no engineer report as to exactly what was wrong with them. And I wonder how they can 'fix' them and then when I had them back and said it was still the same, they are now saying 'not repairable'. Very odd.

Just had a phone call from ECU. They said the unit was beyond repair. Even though when they had it first of all, they said it was faulty and they had fixed it! Seems as though I am back to square one. Going to test for bad earths when I receive the clocks back from ECU.

ATS said the alternator was fine.

Just had this message from ECU Testing, so waiting for a call.

Thanks again Magnet. I'll take a walk over to ATS later and check, it's literally a five minute walk and I know the chaps there as I have used them before for tyres and MOTs. There is a reputable local garage I intend to contact once it's confirmed for definitive that it is the alternator at fault. (DJ Autos)

I believe they check the both, so no harm no foul. I think my keenness to get the car back on the road has affected my patience muscle! Appreciate the sound advice received in this forum.

Thanks for your input Magnet. Appears the clock 'issue' was a red herring. I've asked ECS for the engineer report as they didn't say what was wrong and what they fixed. Doesn't mean that they aren't faulty as well as the alternator of course. I've watched some guides online (mainly for the TT) and it looks a pig of a job so will probably book it into the local auto electrician for a supplied and fitted replacement.

Yes.

I kept the multimeter on the car whilst engine and all electrics on and it was on 12:45 and dropping. Car on but no electrics slowly rose to 13.8.

I did a bit more testing just now and I think perhaps the alternator is faulty. Car has been standing now for about 6 hours since I let it run when I reinstalled the clocks. 'Car ignition off' battery test read 12.71 'Car ignition on' battery test with no electrics switched on was 13.62. 'Car ignition on with all electrics on' battery test was a lowly 12.33.

Thanks Cliff, I have taken your advice and booked in for a free battery test in my local ATS. (Just over the road, luckily). I would be disappointed if it is the battery as it is brand new, a reputable make (so I am led to believe) and I bought it from Tayna batteries which are pretty well regarded. As well as this, the fact that the previous battery also had good voltage and the symptoms were identical, leads me back to the clocks vis a vi the post I quoted from a few years ago. Anyway, belt and braces always the best approach!

Thanks Cliff but as it appears that the battery is fine and the alternator is 'new', I suspect something else. I notice you had some input for a thread from 3 years ago which seems remarkably similar to my issue:

Agreed Cliff, I don't doubt ECUs expertise given previously read testimonials. Battery is (As I understand it), a very good model from a reputable company. (Brand new) Previous battery was an EB740 from Exide but the symptoms I am seeing are identical when I had that battery and I only bought that a few months ago. The alternator was new just over a year ago when i bought the car. Is there a way I can test the alternator on this 3.2 easily? Also, it seems strange that the battery has a full charge but when this issue occurs there are no dashboard lights, nothing but then when I attached a battery booster, it starts..very odd.

Thanks for the response Cliff. When I phoned them, they simply said it was faulty and we have repaired it. I haven't had an engineer report etc, so no idea what was faulty.

I have an Audi A3 8p 3.2. When I bought the car just over a year ago, it had a brand new alternator. I had some trouble last winter with the dashboard clocks blinking and battery seemingly going flat and a booster pack being needed to restart the car. Same again this winter. I checked the battery the last time there were no dash lights, no ignition etc (This was just after driving for 40 minutes) and it was fine at 13.11 volts, brand new battery with the green indicator. Sent the clocks off to ECU Testing and they confirmed an error (Didn't say what), so had them back today. Here is the email I just sent them: When I reinstalled them, the car was still completely dead, no dashboard lights, nothing, no ignition. The battery is a brand new uprated Yuasa model with a green indicator and a 'car off' multimeter reading of 13.11 volts as can be seen in attached picture. (Voltage 13.93 when the car was running) I've had the car a year and there was a brand new alternator fitted just before I bought it last October. I had to connect my Astron battery booster pack and then the car started. I left it five minutes, turned off the ignition but the car was dead again. I boosted it again and then let it run for longer and it finally restarted after I turned the ignition off and on. Nothing appears to have changed in terms of the behaviour I was witnessing prior to sending you the clocks. Any advice offered gratefully received. Thanks & Regards Mike So this is where I am at, any advice, gratefully received.

Turns out I replaced fuse 24 and all is good. Fuse diagram confusing as car is RHD but understand it now

I have a 2004 3.2 8p. RHD. The cigarette lighter port does not work. I took it out and put a multimeter on it and it reads 0.36v. Fuse 24 is a red 10 amp fuse on my fusebox, so I tried changing that for a 20 amp fuse and a Headlight level warning came up on the dash. So this led me to think perhaps I got the fuse wrong but all advice online keeps saying 'change fuse 24' There are three wires on the plug that connects to it; I could only get that multimeter reading connecting as seen in these pics, otherwise it read zero. (This was with the car ignition on) Any help, greatly appreciated.

Can anyone help? Surely there are others who have installed an aftermarket 7" stereo to an A3 and have solved this issue previously?

Hello there. 1st post. I did check through the search but couldn't find a solution. I have just purchased a 2004 A3 3.2 3dr with the Bose sound system. I bough this aftermarket 7" Alpine unit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09RSFQ1QC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title And this fascia adapter: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281902518707?fits=Car+Make%3AAudi|Model%3AA3&_skw=CT24AU15+Audi+A3+8P+2003-12+Car+Stereo+Radio+Double+Din+Black+Fascia+Facia+Panel&itmmeta=01J82PXG16VC0RB9NN39CCB2SM&hash=item41a2b311b3:g:2qEAAOSwzZFd75r9&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAABMHoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKnZ%2FGaDWuDC0q0gZe267IGTc9xIDhTP%2B9zk8PcjSpqBFT4sy0%2B4TANww4b%2Bd%2BnXMe%2Bg1IcMhVWK2x3d%2Fn2QzGk%2FebQQwSuMLt1IYYTJdSu0wnN2uYFsxI2i8pk2aQHFJrPCkpF2k9m46IkD5%2BU90g73yDTeKtqJZ3KUDoC9hvNLQ%2FQnid%2FewMDRHK%2F1%2BbaHwuE2aBg9sGGVNVqQb60vicphHMfAms9QHSwkGpCJCEBevBJ0ipYE3uWeFQsX68mORXB0EICXo9ofi5BIoH%2FpfkvqAwuzXIPWsc2W2XMhcuRoLNX2%2FxUI35UnhsFBjljlhiFjyJSYn9fzcewEDmkrRdxh1kqQCMgTB6JVr1kqXh652HeAXWb9tiNCH8SnID6%2FLP8%3D|tkp%3ABFBM2oD21sBk The fascia fits into the space beautifully but this stereo I have bought is way too small to sit snugly in there. Do I need to purchase a double din cage, as there wasn't one with the unit. And if so, is there a specific one I need? Do I need a different fascia? Looked around everywhere but all i can see is ones like the one I bought already. Any help greatly appreciated.