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Now sold 🙂

I still have them, but - if you read the thread - I can't tell if they are for an Audi 100 or an A6. When I bought them, I'm pretty sure the chap said they came off an Audi 100, but he also told me that they would fit either model. Having checked part numbers with Audi, they are not interchangeable, and I have no way of telling which car they will fit... Mike

Hi Patrick, I still have them, but - if you read the thread - I can't tell if they are for an Audi 100 or an A6. When I bought them, I'm pretty sure the chap said they came off an Audi 100, but he also told me that they would fit either model. Having checked part numbers with Audi, they are not interchangeable, and I have no way of telling which car they will fit... Mike

Precious few days that scream "Convertible" so far this summer. I took the old girl out the other day and the stumbling pick-up and misfire in cruise is back... 🤦‍♂️ So yesterday, on the recommendation of my mate at Norwich Audi, I dropped it off at CAT Automotive for a deep-dive diagnosis. They rang me this morning and told me that all the issues I am having comes down to the EGR valve that I replaced (with an aftermarket one). They recommend altering the map to effectively delete the EGR valve - the emission value it controls is not tested for in UK MoTs anyway. I've asked them to go ahead. Interestingly, the tech mentioned that they have come across aftermarket cams (like I had fitted) which are not designed to work with Diesel Particulate Filters, and told me to keep an eye on it. If I get a DPF light come up, I'll give the car an Italian tune-up on the A47 for five miles or so and then restart it... Looking forward to getting her back - standby for weeks of drizzle... 😆

So, to answer my own question, this would appear to be the part of the mechanism that ensures the seat returns to its original position once you've let someone into the back seat. The seat now just travels all the way back, instead of stopping at its original position. The reason I didn't spot this earlier is that I invariably have the passenger seat fully back, so it isn't an issue...

Thanks, Steve - I think you're probably right. Isn't it amazing how long it took manufacturers to come up with electric power steering? Seems the obvious, cheap and simple solution in hindsight… Mike 😎

Hi all, The power steering on my A4 B7 convertible seems a bit heavy. To be clear, it has always felt this way and I have sort of got used to it. The reservoir is at its top level, and it doesn't leak or make any noise, but it is significantly more difficult to turn at low speed than that of my other car, a 2014 Škoda Superb. Now, the Škoda has electrically-powered steering, and the convertible hydraulic, but I still wonder if this is normal. Tyre pressures are correct, and I'm struggling to come up with something that might cause this. Any ideas? Thanks, Mike 😎

Now sold 😎

I've PMed you, Tarmo. Mike 🙂

The sun was out - time to take the convertible out for its first trip of spring... I ended up driving my mate home with him in the backseat, and me looking like a !Removed! chauffeur... 😆 When I got home, I had a good look at the runners and saw something loose up in the left runner track. Using a natty little flexible extending magnet gizmo, it took me only 20 minutes to get it out. Because, of course, everything is made of steel there... 🤦‍♂️ Anyway - this is what I fished out: It's a tool-quality piece of metal, with broken plastic fittings... The plastic is held in place by a T shaped push pin with a small spring fitted to it. The weird thing is, that the seat now works exactly as designed. From the quality of the piece of metal, I'd guess it is part of a latching mechanism, the plastic locating parts now broken. But try as I might, I can't get the seat to move back or forward even slightly, or slightly asymmetrically, without using the lever or the tilt handle. So, I'm going to ignore it for now. If anyone has had one of these apart and can tell me what purpose it serves, that'd be great. Thanks, Mike

It is. Mike🙂

Hi Dave, 8K0 807 682C 01C Retail £42.66 Cheers, Mike

Hi David, Can you send me the car’s registration number (by private message if you want) please? Thanks, Mike

I'll ask a mate...

Is this warranty work on an approved used car? It doesn't look like any coherent pic is being transmitted - just a splash of light... 🤨 I have no experience of this HUD, but I have owned a few aftermarket ones (Hudway)...

It was the name for the women who sat by the guillotine, knitting the names of those being executed into scarves during the French Revolution...😆

Whilst I was fitting a new head unit and reversing camera into my 2006 A4 B7 convertible, I noticed these two modules in the boot lid: Which, on closer inspection... ...seem to be the 'hidden' radio antennae. The radio has always had bad reception. Since I almost never use it, this hasn't really been a problem. Except I'm half-German, and I can hear my Mother admonishing me from beyond the grave to get it tested and fixed... 😆 Does anyone know of a method of testing these units to try to track the problem down, please? Thanks, Mike😎

I bought an RS 4 look-a-like grille last summer and eventually got around to fitting it this afternoon... The job involves removing the front bumper, which we did by following a useful YouTube guide: It was then a matter of fitting the new grille onto the bumper, after fitting the chrome four-ring Audi badge from the old grille. Unfortunately (but not unexpectedly, given the age of the car), several of the clips broke when coming off. I'll be sourcing a new badge. Turned out rather well, I think. I've got some sticky pads to remount the number plate somewhere. The new badge will just clip into place when I get it. If anyone is interested, the grille I bought was this one: Click Cheers, Mike 😎

For Sale - alloy housing for the boot release and number plate lights, including boot-release grip - tip-top condition. I fitted this part, new, to my car a couple of years ago, after the original had corroded so badly that one of the number plate lights fell out(!). Although it's from a 2006 A4 B7 convertible, it also fits a number of other Audis - its part number is 8E0 827 576 3FZ Reason for sale - I have fitted an aftermarket part that includes a reversing camera. These seem to be listed for £130 plus on eBay - how does £65 including GB postage sound? Mike 😎

I recently converted my 2006 B7 convertible, which came with a single DIN head unit from the factory, to accept a double-DIN unit. After the work, I have a spare double-DIN frame, part number 8H0858005A, for sale. I wrote up a thread about doing the job - here It is not straightforward, but if you fancy doing a similar conversion, I'll let this go for what I paid for it: £45 including GB post Item is in central Norfolk. Mike 😎

By the way - if anyone IS daft enough to want to do this, I have a spare double-DIN frame in excellent condition. You can have it for what I paid - £45 including postage. Mike 😎

Okay - we're in the home straight now... 😆 The part that ATD sent me replaces this housing on the car. I had already replaced this a couple of years back with a new one, as the original was horribly corroded (it's made of alloy). Once we'd got this off the car (not very hard - all connectors have plugs into the main loom, so you can carry it away with the number plate lights and boot release microswitch still in place). We got it into the house and started transferring the parts onto the new (plastic) housing. The number plate lights fitted with a bit of brute force, but we were dismayed to see that the housing for the boot release microswitch was different from the original... 🤦‍♂️ Dave is not a person to give up (although I feel this project may have tested that virtue to an unreasonable degree 😆), so he trimmed the microswitch and made it fit into the gap provided, securing it with a self-tapping screw. We fitted it into the car - perfect! Then we came across a problem with the lock mechanism - nothing to do with this work. At some stage, someone had the lock apart and removed/lost what looks like a woodruff key, which lies along the lock barrel. The upshot of this was that you couldn't open the boot with the key. It is essential that you are able to do this, because if the solenoid fails, you have no way of accessing the boot... Dave once again came up with a workaround to rectify this. 👍 We took the power supply for the camera and mini transmitter from the back of the 12v socket on the right side of the boot. It is permanently live, but I can't help thinking that the current draw is so low when the camera is not in action, it shouldn't be an issue. If it proves to be one, we'll find a switched source. Time to test it...🤞 Ta-dah! 🤩 Great picture (much better than the one I fitted to my Škoda). It doesn't have any guidelines as you reverse - but I had already fitted some reversing sensors several years back. They are as simple as they come - powered by the reversing lamp circuit, they trigger a beeper hidden behind the boot trim - audible from the interior. So, would I recommend this project? Not really. Although I am delighted with the result, fitting the head unit (or - to be more correct - re-siting the Climate Control Panel [CCP]) was a real pain. We ended up solving the situation by cutting and sanding a couple of mm off each side of the CCP to get it to fit. Similarly, we ended up cutting and reusing the original centre console. Had we known these things going in, then it would have taken much less time and angst... The camera fit initially looked good - but the modifications to the microswitch to get it to fit were challenging (largely because it had to be in exactly the right spot - and stay there). Without Dave, I would have struggled to get a half decent job done. If you feel confident in your abilities to fettle things that don't fit - or know an excellent engineer like Dave, then the results are definitely worth it. The head unit and camera have dragged the convertible a little further forward into the 21st century 😆, but in such a way that the mods don't (I think) look out of place. So - if you want to do the same, you'll need: Double-DIN frame, part number 8H0858005A Head unit eBay link: Click Reversing camera panel: eBay link: Click And a lot of patience, although, if we'd decided to follow the route we were forced down from the start, it would have been much more straightforward. I hope this has been of some interest. Happy New Year, Mike 😎

So, a sneak peek at the new reversing camera setup... This arrived from ATD a couple of days ago. Dave and I will dodge some mince pies and venture into the garage later this week to fit it. As you can see, it is designed to replace the entire panel housing the boot release and number plate lights. So long as the fittings match, it should be a very straightforward job. I'll put a link in when I know for sure it's the right part. ATD are as great a vendor as ever - free return postage on the other part... 😎 Merry Christmas, Mike 🎅

Hi Steve, it's this one: eBay link: Click

Very pleased Steve - just fed up with the rigmarole we ended up having to go through to achieve the end😬😆. I have the same head unit (with a different mounting kit) in my Škoda, and it's just excellent - allows me to use Waze (my preferred GPS app) and access all my audiobooks etc. Anyone who uses Car Play for iPhone will be familiar with the system... Mike 🎅