Magnet

Sounds like a diagnostics next move Duncan. Maybe something completely different, so worth getting that done before jumping into anything. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Duncan, Has the car been standing for a while and not regularly used of late? If so, it is not unknown for low battery efficiency to throw up lights/codes. If not battery associated, and ride heights are OK, weak point can be the compressor (well actually the compressor piston ring). Known contact for replacement ring if that is the issue. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jasper, A consistent 50mA is fine, but as I said - consistent is the operative word. Not sure how you are going to continuously monitor this over an extended period without ‘timed-referenced-back’ equipment - sleepless nights and boring days! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Rob, I’m very much with Cliff - shoddy workmanship not have replaced the large grub screw, but not essential, and should not result in any disc movement when the road wheel is properly secured. I’m confused. Can you just confirm that there isn’t any movement of the disc when the road wheel is on and tight? You are referring to (understandable) disc movement only when the wheel is removed? Can we clear this up before moving on. Kind regards, Gareth.

Now modern K Seal etc. Cliff - probably another story! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello and thanks Ritchie. Sorry, but I’ve no idea on your model, but it will say in the car’s handbook or a correct year Haynes if you have either. If in doubt, it shouldn’t make a significant difference. The idea was that by cranking the engine over without it starting, it should get some oil circulating around before it fires up, but in reality, what you are doing by starting it should not be any worse than restarting after draining the oil and changing the filter. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello C.? OK, you have established your radiator has a hole in it, and that the radiator needs replacing. We know you have added Radweld or similar to your now highly diluted coolant - now substantially water, but still with a blue tint? We know you intend to make a 400mile journey in this car, before renewing the radiator. Bad news, obviously chance taking, with the potential for being stranded at the roadside, and at the mercy of whatever local garage to charge you -whatever- to sort it out. Assuming you haven’t toasted the engine in the process. We assume you have breakdown cover?? Is there any good reason why you cannot renew the radiator before making the journey? If that reason is cost based then see above for potential costs. Re coolant:- ‘Audi recommended and blue in colour’. This confuses, since most manufacturers were using red/pink OAT coolant around the time your car was new. Ethylene glycol and red OAT are two different coolants and should not be missed. To attempt to do so can result in the coolant coagulating, with obvious consequences. Personally, I would not use the car for this journey, but only you know the severity of the leak - but it sounds substantial from your description. I would certainly recheck the correct type of coolant, and if found it should be OAT, then the system needs to be thoroughly (in caps) flushed before changing to OAT. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Personally, I would not be too hung up about the use of Radweld etc. short term, since it is designed to be air hardening, so should remain in solution otherwise that at the leak site.

Hello Richie, It’s good that you are concerned, and seeking advice. To help further, it would be helpful to have an idea of how long the oil has been in the car - we know the car has been standing for almost two years, but..... The answer to this might influence whether it would be prudent to change it before trying to start it, but changing it come with its pitfalls. If it were mine, I think I would be making sure the oil and water are to the correct levels battery fully charged, putting a couple of gallons of fresh fuel in together with 1/4 bottle of Redex (in first). I would then remove the fuse feeding the fuel pump, and crank the engine over (it won’t start) for about 10 seconds. Refit the fuse, switch ignition on and off for a few seconds - say 3 times- to ensure the fuel system is primed, the attempt to start as normal. Leave it run for a few minutes once started, but treat it to an oil and quality filter change before use. It will also be necessary to renew the brake fluid before use, and of course have the tyres inspected, since standing on one section for two years will not have done them any good. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Continue to use Redex in the recommended dosage for the next 1000 miles.

Thanks Glyn. Perhaps stating the current tyre sizes in a simple comprehensive form may assist others to respond whether theirs are the same as yours.

Hello Tom, As Steve says - get the battery efficiency checked, since it’s probably now at the end of its stop/start life. OK, booking in to Audi is one way, but it may offend your wallet, particularly since their battery cost ( if needed) will considerably exceed the cost of a comparable premium brand battery purchased on line. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Glyn, Re tyres sizes, it’s a maths thing where you work out the increased tyre profile you will need to ensure outside diameter the smaller wheels (and greater rubber) matches as close as possible, the OD current set up. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Fergal, I think your experience with the fabric roofs is probably indicative of the general wear pattern - i.e. a fact of life, but at least you will now be in position to judge and compare the degree of wear. Re. Cambelt - your proposal to ensure it gets done before sale is exactly where I would not want to be, and I think you are on a road to an increased risk if you follow that path. If you consider that the seller/ dealer will agree to renewing it, then it’s realistic to believe they will go for the cheapest option in terms of parts for this critical application - despite what assurances they may make. Compare it with saying you want a new pair of trainers as part of the deal - ‘yes, of course’ , but they supply you with the cheapest pair they can find at the local market! Ok in that case, since you can see what you are having, but in the case of the cambelt assembly, it will be all unseen. My stance would be to cost the job at a local trusted independent, using genuine VAG parts - particularly the water pump. Take that costing forward to the seller, but I would not be realistically expecting them to meet the cost in full, since it can be considered as betterment. The seller, may still advise they do it, and confirm they only use OEM parts, but OEM can hide a multitude of sins. That option would not be for me. Not sure if this helps, Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Duncan, These ‘bulb-out’ warnings normally work by monitoring expected current/resistance across all lighting equipment. A working light with a higher than expected contact resistance can result in this warning, even when the light is illuminated. LEDs ? No a full strip’s worth? - similar I guess. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Paul, My starting point would be to remove the auxiliary belt to confirm noise disappears. Kind regards, Gareth.

OK Jasper, As I see it the logic will follow this path:- They are saying that once the car has fully shut down, the measured drain was within ‘standard tolerance’. Can you confirm with them what that measurement actually was in mA? So let’s say it was acceptable at the time they monitored it after the car had fully shut down. So it was OK then. If the battery is subsequently draining - which it must be - then something must be ’waking up’ later, and staying awake, so the car’s drain would need monitoring over an extended period to confirm or refute that the drain is taking place. Puts me in mind of talking with a very prestigious marque technician who was trying to solve a repeated parasitic drain. Found the offending circuit - sorted the cause, and left the meter connected while he had a rewarding cup of tea. Returned to find the drain had returned! Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jasper, As your thread heading suggests, there must be a parasitic drain on a circuit which is drawing current when the car is ‘shut down’.i.e. about 30 seconds after the car is locked up. Apologies if this is resisting the bleeding obvious, but you simply need to find out which is the offending circuit, then what within that circuit is actually causing the drain. It would sound as if you would benefit from the services of another auto electrician - one who can monitor the current (pardon the pun) amps drain, before removing each fuse in turn until that drain disappears. Presto! - that’s the offending circuit. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Normal ‘at rest’ drain should be around 50mA, so you are looking for drains greater than that.

Hello Paul, Not sure how much of this is going to help. Sorry to hear of your issues, and that the Lockdown has resulted in the car being out of warranty. Having said that, it’s always worth trying to raise a claim, particularly since you infer that the fault was known about within the warranty period, but Lovkdown has prevented its investigation. If you bought it from a dealer then I think you will find that the dealer is responsible for faults discovered within the first 6 months. If it were me, I would be taking some advice on what is reasonable to complain about to whom. Re. the issues and the repair costs - the independent? should come up with a reasonable quote, but if this were mine, I would be seeking a second opinion and repair costings from a trusted local diesel specialist - often better bets than marque specialist, for diesels. You ask a reasonable question regarding whether any other owners have had similar issues, since this may (just may) have some bearing on the potential for a claim on Audi, if this 5 year old car has complete main dealer service history. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Thomas, I believe (but would need checking) that again Pagid is an ECP own-brand name. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Mick, As I understand it, glow plugs only come into play at low temperatures - circa. below 5 degrees, so should not account for problems in starting in reasonable temperatures. If the problem only started after a fuel filter change, then I would be tempted to renew that, but only with a good quality Bosch or Mann one if not using genuine VAG parts. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Dean, Thanks for the reply. The original compressors are usually robust and relatively problem free, apart from the clutch mechanisms which, it seems, are prone to problems, but you have a good choice of aftermarket clutch suppliers selling on EBay from as little as £30. I looked at ECP and found they were selling some at c£108, and I thought they were just too cheap. Not to say they shouldn’t work though. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Thomas, OK, so it sounds as if you are not going to DIY this, so Steve’s suggestion of buying the best of parts/oil and getting your local garage to do the work seems the best way forward - if they are happy for you to supply the parts. If this were mine, it would be a ‘start again’ service, and treat it as if none of the filters have been changed. So change oil, air, fuel, and pollen. Adopting this method, will allow you to decide which schedule to service this under in the future - a Longlife type service which could run to c18K miles or around 18 months, or annually for example. Quality parts? If not using genuine VAG filters for example, then I only use Mann or Bosch ones. I never find I need to select anything else. Oil? I only use the past/ current VAG recommended Quantum brand, and alway go with their Longlife 3, although despite ours being changed every year and approx. 7K miles. Europarts? Why? Because they have ‘attractive’ discount prices on so called retail prices? Always check their after-discount prices with other on line competitors, and it’s rare to find they are competitive - and on-line get delivered to your door. Their own brand filters - Crossland was a once respected brand. Would I use them at any price instead of Bosch or Mann? Definitely no. Would I use their own brand oil in place of Quantum at similar price? No. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Charlotte, Are you really recommending that Chris spends £3,500 on a 7 year old car, just to get the sound system working? Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Thomas, You would need to let the forum know when the car was last serviced, what level of service it had, what the current mileage is etc. Kind regards, Gareth.

Apologies, just realised I got my bends and noises in a twist!

Wheel bearing issues will normally result in the noise disappearing/altering dependent on whether you are taking a left or right hand bend. If you say the noise is from the driver side front, and you think it is wheel bearing associated, then you would expect the noise to get worse as you take right hand bends, and decrease when you take left hand bends. If this isn’t the case, then I would be tempted to discount wheel bearings. This may appear unhelpful Sasha, but trying to diagnose such noises without inspecting the car is unrealistic, and I fear that you could end up with a variety of possible, but unlikely probable, causes. One recommendation I would make, is to find yourself another garage. If I read it correctly, then charging you £300 to simply swop back and front wheels, could be considered expensive - to be kind! - but not sure if this would have included the time spent to unsuccessfully detect the source of the noise. Of course, there might be other more helpful replies on here, but meanwhile, if it were mine, I would be spending a little time finding a trusted local garage who you ‘can talk to’ about the issue. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.