cliffcoggin

Neal. Gareth's theory is a good one, in which case repair could cost much more than £400 if the pistons and rods are damaged. Your mention of plastic stuffed into the oil filler pipe sounds like somebody tried to stop excess crankcase pressure blowing oil out, which is exactly what one would expect from a blown engine. Forget about ECU, warning lights and diagnostics until you have established whether the engine is sound.

Are you really telling us there is zero compression on every cylinder? That would be more than a head gasket leak. Even worn rings and bores would give a little compression. If the valve timing is completely wrong I would still expect a little compression on one cylinder or some valves hitting the head. Are you sure there any pistons at all in the engine? Take the spark plugs out and use a long thin wire to feel the different heights of the pistons. Remove the wire and spin the engine. You should hear and feel the air being blown in and out of the holes.

Whether you use the door or not, the wiring in the passenger door is the same age as that in the driver's door, and prone to the same embrittlement as a result of age. As a zero cost check I suggest it is worth having a look.

Maris. It's a common problem with the driver's door lock and is usually caused by a damaged wire in the rubber bellows that connects the door to the pillar. Before buying another lock it would be worth checking the wires to the passenger door first.

I bet it will.

As far as I know the security code can only be found in the handbook that came with the car. Maybe Audi or some sort of specialist can help find a lost code. Perhaps another forum will chip in to advise on that point.

The instrument cluster interacts with the rest of the car's electronics so it's likely to be the cause of some lights staying on. There is no certainty to that, but I suggest the first step is to get the instrument panel fixed. Don't expect logic from damaged electronics; consequent faults will often be random. Similarly a defective battery can generate random and apparently unrelated faults such as loss of air-con, de-tuned radio, loss of cruise control and so on, even though the battery can start the engine perfectly well.

Thomas. Such failure of the instrument cluster is a common fault on A3s. Look online to find companies which will repair it for about £280.

Virginia. A wet air filter suggests water may have been sucked into the engine, so it is very possible it has been damaged and will need to be replaced. It is equally possible parts of the electrical system have been soaked and no longer work as they should. Water and electricity do not mix. Your first course of action should be to get the car diagnosed on a decent tester to get an idea of what is wrong, and hence how much it will cost to put right. A new engine would cost a few thousand pounds and would probably be unjustified on a 12 year old car. A secondhand engine would be more viable if you are keen to keep the car. Wet electronics may be cheap or expensive depending on precisely what has to be replaced. Whatever the problems are, get a diagnosis before deciding what to do.

I am even more confused. Are we now discussing a leak into the boot rather than a light fitting? For the sake of clarity the lights on a car comprise two headlights at the front, four sidelights (two front, two rear,) four indicator lights (two front, two rear,) two brake or stop lights at the rear, and one or two reversing lights at the rear. Please remember we can not see what you are talking about so it's important to use the right words to describe the problem.

Headlight? You mentioned rear light earlier. Which one do you mean?

As I see the matter the marked solution is the only sensible response from forum staff to the question, even if it is not what Matt wanted to hear. We can not condone any illegal modification. That is not to say the thread should be closed for legal reasons. People have a right to express their opinions in a civilised manner, no matter how foolish they may be. However if the thread descends into abuse that would be good grounds for closing it, and I will have no hesitation in doing so if necessary. Should anybody really wish to advise Matt on how to achieve his aim it would be better done privately rather than publicly on this forum.

Being equally lazy I would take the easy way and have a new hood fitted professionally... and give the bill to person responsible for the damage.

Thanks for letting us know the outcome Deborah, even if it isn't the one you wanted. Happy New Year.

Rain is undoubtedly getting into the boot, and until that leak is found and cured no amount of new locks will resolve the recurring alarm problem. Finding the leak is not going to be easy and I am not familiar enough with the cabriolet to know of specific weak points, so all I can do is give general pointers. Look at: -boot lid seal, -side/stop light seals, -holes in the boot floor (rain can be thrown up from the wheels).

It must be all those fire breathing dragons Gareth. Audis can't take the heat. Happy Christmas. Cliff.

That confirms it is the fob that is at fault, not the receiver in the car nor the electric mechanism in the door. It doesn't get you any closer to a solution but at least you know the door card does not need to be removed or the wiring examined as is often the case with faulty lock mechanisms.

Grant. You said you changed the battery in "one" fob, implying that you have a second fob which works. Is that true?

Like Gareth, I am uneasy about ignoring a time limit. It is known that rubber (any rubber) degrades over time, so even if the car does zero miles the rubber will eventually lose its strength and flexibility over time. Consequently I would change the belt at about 70000 miles assuming a typical usage. That limit is admittedly rather arbitrary, but failure of the belt is unpredictable and will happen without warning so a line has to be drawn somewhere.

It's unfortunate the problem has not been solved by a new battery Deborah. However the money was not wasted because old defective batteries are a well known cause of electronic problems. At nine years old yours has lasted far longer than most.

That's usually a sign of a bad earth at one of the light fittings. Remove all the bulbs and clean their contacts. Do the same for the contacts within the fittings. Ensure any earth leads from the fittings are unbroken and securely attached to the chassis.

Please do. While there, see if the garage will assess the condition of the other bolts. I have my suspicions about what happened but it is too early to speculate without more evidence.

I am not surprised the garage is confused. I am too as I have never heard of a cap bolt snapping. I see little signs of wear on the bearing shell. What is the condition of the other main bearings and big end bearings? The rubbing you mentioned against the oil pump is also strange. Something must have shifted out of alignment to cause that rubbing. Had any work been done on the lower part of the engine in the past? Was the earlier oil leak truly a leak that dripped down the outside of the engine, or was it just a reduction in oil level as the oil was burned inside the engine? How many miles had the engine done?

I see lots of pipes in the pictures but none of them appear to be broken. Which one do you mean? Is it rigid or flexible? Where does it run to and from?

Jordan. That is not normal behaviour for a cold engine. In other words you need to get it diagnosed and repaired. The possible causes are too numerous to list here.