Hello all,

First post, and I've picked a hell of a day for it. I drive a '94 Audi 80 2.0E, generally a good car imho, but it has just developed a serious problem. Any assistance or advice (or even a definitive answer!) would be greatly appreciated. I really need my car working for this weekend.

On the drive home from work this evening, a lot of the electrical systems on my car suddenly failed.

This is a list of what has stopped working:

Turn signals
Fog light
Rear-window heater element
Wipers
Washers
Heater/blower fan
Electric windows
Radiator fan (I bypassed the temp switch to test this)

This is a list of what's is still working:

Headlights
Rear lights
Reverse lights
Hazard lights
Cabin courtesy light
Radio
The engine (!)
ABS
Power steering

The stalk controls still seem to have some function - when the keys are out of the ignition, leaving a turn signal in a left/right position will normally activate the appropriate left/right sidelight and sound the warning buzzer whilst the drivers' door is still open, and that still works. I've checked the relevant fuses, and they seem fine. So, in short, I am mystified.

Again, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

Have you checked your fuses? Im not familure with the B4 series but some fuses do control more than one function. I know that on my B3 series the wipers, radiator fan, ac, and turn signals are all shared to one fuse. So if you havent checked your fuses that would be a good place to start

 

Sorry, I didnt see that you had already checked the fuses until after I had posted a response.

 

A small revision to my list of "what has stopped working"

The headlamps do not work as I had previously claimed, but the sidelights do.

It seems to be everything that would normally work then the ignition is switched on that is failing.

 

I think I might have an answer...

I've removed the panel/map-shelf from under the dashboard which enabled me to access to the ignition switch wiring.

I removed the "multi-plug" from the back of the ignition switch, and shorted the appropriate contacts to "simulate" the ignition switch being in the "on" position. This restored power to the turn signals etc

So, I'm now reasonably confident that my problem lies with a faulty ignition switch.

Does anyone out there agree/disagree? I'm always keen to get a 2nd or 3rd opinion before I go shopping for replacement parts.

Thanks again.

 

The ignition switch does have a relay that opens the circuit to the electricals you mention; it may have failed, so you may be right.

 

Relay, ignition switch or the wiring. How does the switch look? Use a meter or a test light to check the switch by itself. It could be either worn or dirty. Getting to the switch might be a problem as most cars have some sort of security bolts.

 

The car is 10 years old with 160,000 miles on the clock, so I would agree that the switch could be worn or dirty. Given that I need the car running again ASAP, I've ordered a replacement switch from my local Audi dealership in case I need it (cost 24GPB/44USD). If it turns out I don't need it, they've said I can return it for a refund, which is handy.

I'm actually hoping that it is just the switch that's faulty - it'll be a straightforward fix as opposed to having to hunt down some other mysterious electrical fault.

According to my Haynes manual, the ignition switch is held in place with a couple of painted-over grub screws, and removing it should be a relatively simple affair (once the steering wheel and dashboard is removed).

The switch arrives tomorrow, and I've got the day off work. I'll let you know how I get on.

 

After my panic, this has turned out to be remarkably easy to fix.

The Ignition Switch was surprising easy to remove - Haynes was right about the painted-over grub screws, and once I'd removed those the switch came away from the lock cylinder housing quite easily. A quick multimeter test revealed that the switch was definitely faulty.

Fitted the new switch, put it all back together, and everything works again. Yay!

Thanks for the advice/input, guys.

 

Glad to hear that you found the problem![sm=smiley20.gif]