I think I have finally had it with my 2002 Audi A4 1.8t.

I get back from a long weekend and am greeted by my keyless entry not working. Battery is obviously dead. I manually unlock the car and there is about a half an inch of water on the floor mat. My buddy jumps it and gets it goingand all my exterior lights illuminate... and I mean all of them.Unfortunately none of my gauge lights or panel lightswork. It ran fine so I decided to make the short trip at 2 am to my house. As I drive home my windshield wipers come on like they are posessed.

I get to my house and turn the car off. Guess what... all of the exterior lights remain lit up. I disconnect the battery hopefully saving the charge for the morning with no success. I did some searching and see some possible causes. What I assume happened is that water from a rain storm found its way in and caused a short.

Am I screwed? What can I do to get the electronics back up and functioning correctly?

Thanks,

 

do some diagnosing, first where does it look the water cam in from.

 

Where your toes would sit while driving from where I could tell.

Thanks

 

My lights stay on permanently now... does anybody know the location of the headlight relay?

 

You may have a hole/leak in your firewall causing the water to short out your electrical system since it is dripping on your feet. You may need a little rewiring w/ a new box once you find your leak.
Good luck

 

Thanks David... Thats something I'm definately not capable of. Time for the shop.

 

Since water conducts electricity, you're going to continue having electrical problems until the water is completely evaporated.

I know this isn't really practical (particularly if the car is your daily ride) but the right thing to do is take the car out of service while you find and fix the leak. At the same time, remove the floor mat and get some air flowing through the vehicle to helpdry out the water. Once the water is completely gone you can find out what has been fried and fix it from there.

Trying to chase an electrical problem while there's still water present is an exercise in futility.

 

Thanks jg... I've finally got it solved. I found a steep road in my town with a cliff at the end. [>:]

 

Sorry to hear your solution. Be sure to bail out with enough room for your body to roll to a stop before the edge of the cliff. [8D]

 

It'll be on youtube for sure.