Xmas tree lights on my dash!

[56Doc]

Hi Y’all,

ok, this is a new one on me: 

my rear wiper started playing up, so assuming it’s the usual issue caused by the design fault of the washer tube corroding inside the motor, I ordered a new one. (Yet to arrive).

driving back from town yesterday, the rear wiper came on permanently by itself, then stopped after a few minutes (not parked, just stopped), I assumed the fuse had blown as the window was dry.

silly boy! Almost immediately, the dash lit up like a Xmas tree with a succession of system faults. Biggest issue was the sudden loss of power steering.

i wrestled the car home and looked up fuses for the rear wiper, thinking that perhaps the fuse hadn’t blown and the motor being full of water had caused a volt drop in the system, causing multiple warnings. Only found 1 fuse marked ‘wiper motor’!

so, today, removed the tailgate trim panel and disconnected the motor, hoping that would fix things. Nope!

so the car is still undrivable.😔

Having disconnected the motor, do I now need to perform a full re-set of all electronic systems, if so HOW please?

Anyone got any other ideas?

somewhat hacked off as only had the cam chains replaced, oil leak repaired and the standard water leak in the ‘V’ done along with a major service, gearbox oil change etc back in November. That wasn’t cheap, so feeling a tadge low with the car unusable again!

Hoping someone’s come across this before! Please😁

 

Cheers Folks

[Magnet]

Hello Dave,

With any ‘Christmas tree dashboard lights’ get the battery efficiency checked before doing anything - Halfords stores should be able to do that. Always carryout cheapest option first! 
Although it shouldn’t yet be an issue on a 9 year old car, it would be worth checking the wiring in the flexible harness section leading into the tailgate. 
However, I wouldn’t bother to do this until the battery is checked and confirmed to be serviceable. 
Perhaps you could let us know how you get on Dave.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 
p.s. If the battery tests as sub standard, it would probably be worth letting us know before buying one.

[56Doc]

Tailgate wiring all looks good and I’ve not had any electrical issues until now, and drove back from Leeds Wednesday, so wouldn’t expect the battery to be at fault.

also, can’t drive it! No power steering, the 1 mile back from where it when pear shaped was done at 10-15mph due to the number of bends & corners! It was a real wrestle.

However, I will check the voltage tomorrow and report back here.

my local Audi specialist is closed this week (think they’ve probably gone to Poland to see family). So I’m stuck!

[Magnet]

Ok. You can only confirm the battery is serviceable by getting it comprehensively tested - a simple voltage check with a multi- meter is virtually meaningless - it needs testing under load. Halfords shops can do this. 
A sub standard battery is a substandard battery, and any amount of charging is unlikely to revive it. 
Getting the battery to Halfords? No doubt you have someone you can call on to help you out. 
It may not be the battery, but well worth eliminating. 
There’s another thread going about water ingress - worth a read. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[56Doc]

A voltage check is good start, both static and with engine running, doing a full load & discharge test (if it starts the car ok, it’s probably ok), is a lengthy process as a spot check of load current is meaningless without testing how long it can sustain that load.

(before I retired I was an electrical/electronics and systems engineer, so I’ve had experience of high power wet batteries (U.K. Subs use quite large ones!)

if the off-load/on-load voltage check seems ok and no-one has any other ideas, then I can call the RAC or wait until I can talk to the Audi specialist, I’m not ripping the battery out for a check at Halfords, too much hassle digging out radio codes etc.

does anyone know how to do a re-set of all vehicle electronics? Suspect that might work.

[Magnet]

Thanks Dave. 
If you consider the battery is fine, Clifford has pointed out that the clusters can give rise to issues, and this advice recently proved useful to another poster. Cliff had a repair contact. 
There are also some other threads going on the adverse affects of water ingress. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[56Doc]

Sorry, what clusters? Lights? I have had condensation in the drivers side headlamp unit for a while, it’s clean, so not water ingress, haven’t found any dodgy seals there yet (I’ve looked 2 or 3 times over the summer)

another thought is that the 2 faults (Xmas tree & rear wiper leaking washer fluid) are NOT connected, just a coincidence, we drove through some very heavy weather for 7 hours on Wednesday (yup, 7hrs for a 230 mile trip, not the worst one I’ve done but it’s in the top 5).

so I’m also wondering if something in the engine bay got soaked/wet/flooded but it then took a day or so to soak into something critical.

Thoughts guys?

engine starts & runs ok, gearbox & brakes work ok, all lights are good, infotainment is all fine

haven’t checked windows, sunroof, climate control, seats etc (I will tomorrow) but stuff like ASC, TPMS, PWR steering and air suspension are all showing faults.

Oh, there are zero fault codes in the ECU. Checked 3 times since it happened, absolutely nothing.

Any other thoughts

[Magnet]

For ‘cluster’ read ‘instrument cluster’. 

[56Doc]

👍

[56Doc]

Been throwing it down all day, so I’ll try tomorrow.

but someone else has said they had the same symptoms x caused by a defective relay.

anyone else come across that?