Indicator issues - procedure

Hi folks - haven't posted for a while, but I changed my indicator stalk recently and wanted to share the procedure.

The indicator played up in the past, working intermittently then alarmingly stopping completely. I came here for advice which helped enormously. I couldn't find the whole procedure written down, so here it is in one place for reference.


1. spray WD40 on indicator stalk base and give it a good wiggle. This fixed my problem first time round - for a while. It is cheap and easy so if you have similar issues, no harm in doing it yourself.

2. If that doesn't work, replace the indicator relay. This is part number 8Z0 941 509 B. Replacing it is fairly straightforward once you remove the ashtray, (though after the ashtray is out, be gentle with the relay retaining clips as they are easy to break!). Good instructions here: http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthrea...part-8Z0-941-509-B)&highlight=indicator+relay

3. If you've still got problems, replace the indicator stalk. Recently, my left indicator would only come on when I held the stalk down - a poor connection in the stalk was the root cause. I was quoted £60 for a new one from Audi, but they are £16 new from eBay. (See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Audi-A2-A3-A6-ALL-ROAD-TT-INDICATOR-STALK-Without-Cruise-NEW-/280794104005).

TO REPLACE INDICATOR STALK:

1. park the car with the wheels straight. Leave the key in the pre-ignition (i.e. warning lights on, engine off!) position.

2. SAFETY: go into the boot and disconnect the black -ve lead on the battery. Having the radio or similar on will help drain any residual current. You must do this to avoid the risk of the airbag going off in your face! (And a £500+ airbag replacement bill!)

3. ground yourself by touching exposed metalwork around the door and the ground simultaneously. It is now safe to remove the airbag.

4. undo two t30 torx screws on the back of the steering wheel.

5. Gently pull forward the horn/airbag assembly in the middle of the wheel. They are connected to the wheel by wires. Disconnect the wires and place the airbag somewhere out of the way.

6. using a 12-point spline bit (I didn't have one in my toolkit - bought this: http://toolstoday.co.uk/product/108...n-10mm-insert-bit-for-mechanics-bit-sets?cat=) unscrew the bolt in the centre of the steering wheel.

7. Now, remove the cowlings. (Pic: http://workshop-manuals.com/audi/a2/a2-9.png)
On the lower cowling surrounding the steering column, unscrew two philips screws on the front face.

8. On the lower cowling, unscrew the two philips screws holding the upper cowling in place (as these screws are recessed, you will need a long, thin shafted screwdriver - a normal bit set will not fit in the narrow gap).

9. On the lower cowling, locate a philips-headed screw next to the steering column release lever. Unscrew it.

10. The cowlings should come apart with a bit of effort. Take care for screws flying about the car...

11. There is a plastic slip ring on the steering angle sensor unit. (pic: http://workshop-manuals.com/volkswagen/golf-mk4/images/golf-mk4-95.png) Using masking tape, tape it down so it doesn't turn and unlike me, DON'T be tempted to spin the slip ring around like a 1970s telephone dial. All will become clear later...

12. To access the indicator stalk, gently unclip (three plastic clips) the steering angle sensor unit and disconnect the three wires.

13. Using a small hex-head bit, loosen the bolt holding the indicator and wiper stalks in place. Pull them off the steering column.

14. The wiper stalk can be detached from the indicator stalk by locating a small plastic clip visible from the central circle of the stalk assembly. With a screwdriver, push it towards the wiper stalk and ease the stalk forwards - it should come away from the indicator stalk fairly easily.

15. Clip the wiper stalk onto your new indicator stalk, and slide the stalk assembly back onto the steering column. A handy spline at the top of the assembly means it shouldn't be possible to replace it squint.

16. Replace the steering angle sensor unit. Remove the masking tape. IMPORTANT: the slip ring on the sensor must still be aligned (Pic: http://workshop-manuals.com/audi/a2/a2-13.png) or you will get ABS warning lights when you restart the car.

17. Replace the cowling. Make sure they are tightly screwed down, especially on the front face. You don't want the cowling rubbing against the back of the steering wheel.

18. Replace the steering wheel. There is a mark on the spline. It should line up with a similar mark on the steering wheel.

19. Replace the horn/airbag unit.

20. Reconnect the battery.

21. You might find the radio no longer works - you need to re-enter a 4-digit code for your radio. Instructions on how to do this and your unique code are with the original car manual. If you don't have that, you'll have to contact Audi direct to get the code. (Fortunately, my radio synchs to the chassis.)

Now, you may do all that... and get ABS warning lights. I did. I knew nothing had changed in the braking system, so maybe replacing the battery had caused something to trip? I'd read here about VAG-COM so bought a cheap interface (http://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VAGUSB.html) and downloaded VCDS-Lite, http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds-lite/download/. (Uwe Ross of Ross-Tech was very helpful when I asked a dumb question - it is worth reading the manual first if you use VCDS-Lite to avoid bothering them with support queries on what is a free product!)

After setting the software up, I clicked on 03-Brakes and ran a scan, recieving Error: 00778 Steering Angle Sensor.

I clicked to reset the DTC code. Error gone. But it returned when I started the engine again. However the software was able to diagnose the error (thanks to Sarge on http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthrea...se-fault-codes&highlight=00778+steering+angle for showing the way). Clicking 03-Brakes, 08-Measuring blocks, and updating a Group to 004, I was immediately able to see what the problem was. The steering angle sensor should be between -1.5 and +1.5 ° - it was showing 362 °. I had spun the tempting, telephone-dial like slip ring of the steering angle sensor through 360 degrees and it had got confused - I dialled it back, and all has been fine since, the warning lights resolved themselves without needing to reset any codes. But the moral of the story is, use masking tape to tape the slip ring down and avoid the problem in the first place!