2007 A3 goes completely dark and won't start
#1
10-11-2013, 09:38 AM
2007 A3 goes completely dark and won't start
Hi, all.
Yesterday morning I went to warm up my wife's 2007 A3 2.0T S-Line, the temperature was in the low 40's f. I unlocked with the remote, opened the door, the interior lights came on, I put the key in the ignition, turned it to start, briefly heard the "door open" or seatbelt chime (not sure which), got the start position and... the whole car went dark. No dash lights, no interior lights, no door chime. I turned it off and tried again, still dark. Did that a few more times to no effect. So I got out of the car and locked it with the remote. It beeped and flashed, so I unlocked it and got back in and this time it started. She drove around the rest of the day making multiple stops and had no problems.
So, I went to warm it up for her again today and the same thing happened, temperature in the low 50's. However, this time the remote would not lock/unlock the car. I tried the key in the drivers door and it did the trick. But I am now SERIOUSLY concerned it's going to leave stranded on the side of the road.
Has anyone seen or heard of any issues like this?
Some background on the car; earlier this summer when the temperature hovered around 100 f here in Denver, the car died on her while driving. The independent Audi mechanic I took it to wouldn't touch it because of the faults he found. I had it towed to the dealer and they performed a "wiring harness overlay" for something related to the throttle body. I picked up the car, took it home, and the next day while my wife was driving home it died again. I had it towed back to the dealer and they replaced the throttle body. There haven't been any problems since until yesterday.
Also, about a month ago the car turned over 75k miles and I had the timing belt and oil changed at the independent mechanic. Again, no issues until yesterday.
I would really appreciate any help anyone can provide. The idea of my wife getting stranded, again, by itself is terrible. But it happening in the car I talked her into and bought for her because it was safe and reliable and has already cost us one vacation and a week of heartache drives me crazy.
Yesterday morning I went to warm up my wife's 2007 A3 2.0T S-Line, the temperature was in the low 40's f. I unlocked with the remote, opened the door, the interior lights came on, I put the key in the ignition, turned it to start, briefly heard the "door open" or seatbelt chime (not sure which), got the start position and... the whole car went dark. No dash lights, no interior lights, no door chime. I turned it off and tried again, still dark. Did that a few more times to no effect. So I got out of the car and locked it with the remote. It beeped and flashed, so I unlocked it and got back in and this time it started. She drove around the rest of the day making multiple stops and had no problems.
So, I went to warm it up for her again today and the same thing happened, temperature in the low 50's. However, this time the remote would not lock/unlock the car. I tried the key in the drivers door and it did the trick. But I am now SERIOUSLY concerned it's going to leave stranded on the side of the road.
Has anyone seen or heard of any issues like this?
Some background on the car; earlier this summer when the temperature hovered around 100 f here in Denver, the car died on her while driving. The independent Audi mechanic I took it to wouldn't touch it because of the faults he found. I had it towed to the dealer and they performed a "wiring harness overlay" for something related to the throttle body. I picked up the car, took it home, and the next day while my wife was driving home it died again. I had it towed back to the dealer and they replaced the throttle body. There haven't been any problems since until yesterday.
Also, about a month ago the car turned over 75k miles and I had the timing belt and oil changed at the independent mechanic. Again, no issues until yesterday.
I would really appreciate any help anyone can provide. The idea of my wife getting stranded, again, by itself is terrible. But it happening in the car I talked her into and bought for her because it was safe and reliable and has already cost us one vacation and a week of heartache drives me crazy.
Last edited by SeanK; 10-11-2013 at 09:42 AM.
#2
10-11-2013, 12:55 PM
A good start might be to scan for error codes. This usually helps to pinpoint it better.
How old is your battery? Has it been checked out to make sure it provides the proper voltage/ampere?
The entire car turning dark and you hear absolutely nothing (no ticking, etc) when attempting to start usually means an electrical issue.
Once the battery is out of the way I would start looking at the clocks (instrument cluster).
If you need a vag-com to read some internal codes I can help out. I'm in the springs and also own an a3, 2.0t s-line - just pm me.
How old is your battery? Has it been checked out to make sure it provides the proper voltage/ampere?
The entire car turning dark and you hear absolutely nothing (no ticking, etc) when attempting to start usually means an electrical issue.
Once the battery is out of the way I would start looking at the clocks (instrument cluster).
If you need a vag-com to read some internal codes I can help out. I'm in the springs and also own an a3, 2.0t s-line - just pm me.
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