Had the chk eng light come on the trans shifted to a lower gear and all the gear lights came on.

trans guy said trans is fine it's an elec problem.

elec guy said short is fuse #31, new fuse installed, it blew, same problem. his advice...

replace lights switch $41

replace trans swith $500 (cruise never worked.)

any thoughts?

Thanks

Markus
1998b a4 quattro 1.8 5 speed auto

 

What trans switch are you talking about that is $500? Find the short before swapping out parts. It's a lot cheaper to pick up a multi-meter and diagnose the car than to swap parts until it's right.

 

The mechanic said the three "switches" that hook into fuse #31 are the cruise control, the brake lights and a transmission electronic shifting switch. One of those three are causing the short to occur.

since the cruise never worked I figured skip it.

but he said the brake switch, or the trans switch could be changed out and the short then should be solved.

any of this sound right?

Thanks tweaked

 

If the car sits, overnight, will the you be able to shift through all your gears? My 98 a4 quatto with the 2.8L has the same problem. But overnight, I can start the car up and let it run for 30 seconds, shut off and restart, the problem goes away for a period of time.

 

Well, yes, but just swapping out all of the switches is poor diagnosis. Start with the brake light switch as they are the most common. Call Audi and see if your car still has the recall out on it... you might get it for free. It's also not difficult to diagnose these switches. He should be able to tell you which one just by using a multi-meter

 

check for continuity between the wires with a volt meter. Its pretty easy.