Relay location

[Toody]

Hi

i have an a3 1.9tdi 2009 registered.

its always been good to me until i came back from my hols a few weeks ago. I went to start it and it would crank but not start. Also the abs warning light came on and told me to drive carefully to the nearest workshop! The esp light also came on. After a few attempts the car did finally start and ran ok. Next day same problem.

luckily for me my nearest workshop is next door. They ran some diagnostics and decided it was either the ecu or the ecu relay. Being decent folks they ordered a new relay first.

the relay arrived and they started to look for the original. Not in the engine fuse box, not in the relay carrier in the drivers footwell, not in the ecu compartment. After taking all the front to bits, and looking in every location their considerable experience told them it might be, 5 hours later they gave up, and suggested i talked to the dealership about the location.

i made the call and after getting through to the parts dept, the guy understood my request and went away for a while. When he came back he very helpfully told me that he could not divulge that information to me!

so i have been googling everything i can think of over the past 2 weeks with lots of conflicting info on where it might be and what number is on it, but all the locations mentioned(evenon the wiring diagrams) are not correct for my car.

has anyone out there had a similar problem...know where the relay is (or is it built in to the ecu?) or know the number....PLEASE!

[cliffcoggin]

How very unhelpful of Audi. Perhaps your car was built for a foreign market and has a non UK specification. I can't think of any other reason it would not have the expected wiring.

There is another fuseboard you have not mentioned. It is in the dashboard and is accessible by prising off the right end panel. Frankly I doubt the relay you want is there but it's worth taking a look.

[Toody]

Clifford

thanks for the sympathy and the tip.i am sure the mechanics have looked there too.

according to the VIN it was made in germany, but seems that no matter where i look, i cant find a relay carrier that looks like mine!

if i knew what number it had on it, that might help, but seems no one has been enthusiastic enough to publish the numbers and what they should do

[Magnet]

Hello Martin,

Sorry to hear of your issue. I’m certainly not trying to excuse the Audi dealer’s unhelpful response, but I would guess it’s the old risk of, if they tell you and you get it wrong, then there might be an element of come back. 
Normally garages have access to such systems as Autodata. which can give computer information on such things.

Kind regards,

Gareth,