stamina Posted May 18, 2007 Report Share Posted May 18, 2007 can anyone diagnose this please, i just bought 97 a8 sport 4.2 after much deliberation as i worried to hell about gearbox and now two weeks later it has messed up.i was driving it quite hard tonight at about 7pm and the thermostat symbol in red came on for about 1min then when i stopped at lights it went into limp mode and the cat light came on, i have left vehicle for some time and tried again but same thing limp mode cat light, i am going on holiday on monday and bought this big car to accomadate family and now it is buggered, shall i just take it to audi in morning or can you guys remedy it.thanks alot.justin wimbledon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickGUK Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Hi, is all the gearbox lights on the dash highlighted ? Does it change gear normally ? or is it stuck in 3rd? What you really need is vag-com to atleast tell what faults are there. Where abouts are you in the UK ? Maybe someone near you who has vag-com can interogate it for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 yes all lights on and yes stuck in 3rd! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 im in wimbledon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 you need to use VAGcom to pull some codes failing that have a quick look in the black box to see if theres any water ingress with all this rain we've been having and dry it out. disconnect the battery for about 15 mins and see what happens just as an off chance that it might be a gremlin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 thanks ska mate i will try now? only thing is i dont have vag software,just got back from audi wimbledon they said they could only book ir in next week,only problem is im going on holiday on monday,thats why i bought damn car.if theres anyone close to southfields wimbledon and they have vag i would give them a few quid to have a look?thanks.where is the box ska? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghemmings Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Hi stamina. Just thought I'd reply now as I am sure you are desperate to know before the experts like Ska reply. Just open the bonnet and the 'black box' is located on the right hand side as you are looking at it, just under the windscreen in the water channel (near-side of car). Undo all the screws and open the cover. The ecu is in there. Check it is not damp (or soaking wet). Let it dry out and clean your drain holes in the water channel. Did the gear changes seem smooth when you bought it? if they were/are then chances are the box mechanics are ok, but it is well worth getting the gearbox filter changed and an oil change. How many miles on it? Definately check with a VAG-COM before doing anything major. Correct me if I am wrong anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 yes just checked box and it was dry, disconnected bat for a bit but still the same, gear changes were fine tiptronic very smooth,gutted mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimS8 Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Sorry to hear of your problems. Something a bit similar happened to me a couple of years ago when I got my S8 just before going on holiday - weird noises from the gearbox - and we ended up using a different car to go away. At the time, the dealer I bought it from took it to Wimbledon Automatics in Hartfield Road, but I don't know whether they work on Saturdays. It might be worth giving them a ring to see if they can help you out. They did seem to have some sort of diagnostic equipment. If you are still trying to sort it out on Monday, you might try Mastertechs in Morden who I use and have always found very helpful (and their rates are cheaper than Audi). John there is a qualified A8 technician. http://www.mastertechs.co.uk/ Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 thanks mate will try. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 [ QUOTE ] Just thought I'd reply now as I am sure you are desperate to know before the experts like Ska reply. [/ QUOTE ] TBH there are a number of folk on here who got more knowledge on these cars than myself e.g. Botang, CraigyB, Cruiser and not forgetting the almighty Sven Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] Just thought I'd reply now as I am sure you are desperate to know before the experts like Ska reply. [/ QUOTE ] TBH there are a number of folk on here who got more knowledge on these cars than myself e.g. Botang, CraigyB, Cruiser and not forgetting the almighty Sven [/ QUOTE ] As if on cue............ Couldn't this be the old MAF problem, where it needs cleaning as the fault suggests that the gearbox goes to Limp Mode to protect it from the possible 'rogue' values it is getting and not understanding? After that, try resetting the throttle cable bit (engine off, but dash lite up, and press the throttle cable until it gets to the floor within 30 secs???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stamina Posted May 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 where is the maf cruiser, can i clean myself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiser647 Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 The MAF is in the top of the air box. Remove the clips and the air pipe to the engine, and take the air box lid off. Clean it with cotton buds and carb cleaner. LET IT DRY before putting it back and trying again. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Right on Q Cruiser What Cruiser is refering to is in that black box at the front left of the car i.e behind the drivers headlight (circled Yellow). Four scroews and the covers of; turn it over and you'll see a contraption that has a guass inside and a wire harness attached to it. There is a very small thermistor inside that, that can be removed (star tool to unscre it) and then cleaned with Meths or elecy contact cleaner or carb/injection cleaner BE VERY GENTLE AS IT IS DLICATE TO SAY THE LEAST USE COTTON BUDS OR SPRAY! The idea is that the signal from this is also used by the TCU for gear changes etc as well as telling the ECU how much air is entering the Throttle body. If nothing else you get better performance after clean so it can't hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Botang Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 Right before we go any further what are you meaning by limp mode? Do you mean its low on power and the cat light is on, or do you mean the all of the gearbox lights on the dashboard have come on together. The chaps above have assumed gearbox by I assume you mean the engine is in limp mode. If its the engine you should get the fault codes checked but if that is not possible before the holiday you may want to consider disconnecting the battery for an hour or so as I believe the ECU will forget the codes and you can start from scratch and hope the problem doesnt return. In the mean time you had the thermostat warning? Not 100% which one you mean but as a start make sure the levels (water, oil power steering fluid, etc) are all ok and keep a very close eye on the temperature guage. If you are very lucky it was a one off fault, if your not so lucky the engine should go back into limp mode before you cause any damage. Its unlikely that the maf would bring up a fault code due to the range of figures that are plausible for it. Just my 2p's worth, I'm not a mechanic by the way EDIT: Doh just read it is gearbox limp mode (all lights on) In which case I thin VAG-com may be the only way to go. You could try the user database to see if there is anybody nearby that may be able to pull the codes and reset the system, worth a try Vag-Com locator *note some entries are under UK as area code. (there is a user in Epsom listed, looks like your best bet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david1 Posted May 19, 2007 Report Share Posted May 19, 2007 I can verify that see my post pics on smooth running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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