15 years too late my first a2, cheap and i need advice

J

jorrituk

Member
Hi everybody,

I did it, bought an a2, 2003 , tdi , SIT, double DIN radio, 183000 miles, sketchy service history. first fell in love 2002 but bought a (cheap) e-class instead but now i finally got one.
first impressions:
for a vehicle bought of ebay: looks good, I am impressed by Audi quality.
A hoot to drive, love it:p
initial problems:
-offset to the right on the steering wheel
-radio doesn't work properly for first 2-4 minutes( battery needs replacing?)
-service flap doesn't open, what is the oil level?
-water in the rim of the space saver spare wheel?????

-medium term: bought leather seats with heating but need to install cables etc.
-long term:cruise control, rear parking sensors

overall I like it certainly got the a2 bug. here are the pics:
btw any advice and local ( lincoln) contacts would be appreciated.
one more: I am dutch and a 3-lingual mech engineer, NL-D-GB , so if you are stuck with dodgy manuals let me know.

IMG_1568[1].jpgIMG_1569[1].jpgIMG_1570[1].jpgIMG_1571[1].jpg
 
Welcome aboard. Sounds like you got the bug like me. Test drive a new one years ago, but bought a house instead! Still, managed to buy one like you years later, and love it. Good luck with bringing up to scratch.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
 
Welcome to A2 ownership, it's a good place to be :)

offset to the right on the steering wheel

I'd check tyre pressures first, then get it tracked and then if that's ok it may just be the steering wheel is out of line. Easy enough job to re-centre it.

-radio doesn't work properly for first 2-4 minutes( battery needs replacing?)

Strange one, I haven't heard of that one before.

-service flap doesn't open, what is the oil level?

Happened to me a few times. The catch on the inside may need adjusting or just some Wd40. Try to get someone else to pull the release button while you pull the flap to the left and forward.

-water in the rim of the space saver spare wheel?????

There are vents behind the back bumper that fail and let water into the boot.
 
Hi,
And welcome to A2OC, I would agree with A2Steve above on your problems, lots of help and and advice on here.
Happy A2 motoring
 
-water in the rim of the space saver spare wheel?????

The vents beneath the rear bumper are a frequent culprit for water in the rear battery well but 'in the space saver wheel' ? If the spare is sitting on the lower boot floor it seems unlikely to be from the vents, could it be from the rear screen?

Clean looking car from the pics by the way, well done and good luck with all the ventures you will undoubtedly undertake with it.

Geoff
 
Greetings and welcome to the A2 family.

Wishing you many years of happy A2ing.

Kindest Regards
Joe
 
Quick update: changed the wiperblade, opened the service flap and ordered the dipstick which had a broken tip and some heated mirrors. I thought that changing the battery would solve the radio problem so I bought a new battery. Started changing it and found a piece of paper telling me how to fit the removable tow bar.Checked it and I have a tow bar + electrics, I have a tow bar!!
Replaced the battey and yes managed to lock myself out and use the emergency unlock boot thingy. Result better starting car but radio still the same. First 3-5 minutes almost no reception then it is fine. Also found an electric case in the boot, sat nav or a second cd changer?? It is empty though I wil take a picture next time!
 
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Good evening and welcome to an absolutely fantastic forum for everything A2.

I'm located in Coalville just outside Leicester but work in Lincoln week days so more than happy to meet up at some point to talk through your, no doubt new found hobby. These cars are so addictive.

Regarding your stereo, If it's just the reception which takes a while to receive it could be the aerial booster which I believe is somewhere in the boots. This could be damaged due to the ingress of water. I'm sure someone will be along shortly to give you better advice and hopefully be able to supply any parts required to solve the problem.

I might be able to assist with your possible missing magazine for the CD changer in the boots. I'll wait to see the pictures to confirm.

Again, welcome.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Hi Tom, yes that would be nice i could use some advice what to tackle/check first on the car first however I need to finish the bathroom which is in sorrier state then the car.
 
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Isn't that where the Sat nav box is kept or maybe the cd changer?

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk
 
jorrituk said:
View attachment 26790View attachment 26789
Some photos of the box in the boot. There are some electrical connection on the outside but nothing inside? Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Hi,

the small unit with the electrical connections is the "diversity antenna" switch box. It connects the two cables from the radio head unit to the 4 separate radio aerials on the tailgate glass. Cars with this unit have the plastic box to hold it in place. The box is also used to hold the satellite navigation unit in cars which have the BNS 4.0 navigation system. This unit, which is a similar size to a computer CD/DVD drive, fits inside the box. Those cars also have a small door in the boot floor to allow the navigation CD ROM disc to be changed without lifting the boot floor. The box however is fitted to cars which have either or both the diversity radio aerial and navigation system so you aren't missing anything by having an empty box.

regards

Andrew
 
Hi Andrew and all, thanks for your comments so could this be linked to my 5 minutes lag till the radio works??
jorrit
 
jorrituk said:
Hi Andrew and all, thanks for your comments so could this be linked to my 5 minutes lag till the radio works??
jorrit
Click to expand...

Hi,

there are 3 distinct components related to radio reception, the head unit, the diversity unit and the set of individual aerial amplifiers attached to each of the elements in the tailgate. One or more of these would be responsible for your problem. I would probably discount an electronic problem with (one of) the amplifiers as your problem is total lack of reception, if one of the units was faulty, the problem would only affect certain frequencies. It is possible that an earthing issue with the tailgate wiring can affect radio reception as the amplifiers use the same earth return for the power supply as the rear window heater element. This would however manifest as reception problems when the heater element is switched on and would be better when switched off. If it happens that you are using the window demist as soon as you get in the car on each trip then that may be the problem but its easy to test (turn the heater on and off and see what happens). If it isn't this I would suspect either the head unit or diversity box. I would try swapping the diversity unit first before the head unit.

regards

Andrew
 
ajsellors said:
Hi,

there are 3 distinct components related to radio reception, the head unit, the diversity unit and the set of individual aerial amplifiers attached to each of the elements in the tailgate. One or more of these would be responsible for your problem. I would probably discount an electronic problem with (one of) the amplifiers as your problem is total lack of reception, if one of the units was faulty, the problem would only affect certain frequencies. It is possible that an earthing issue with the tailgate wiring can affect radio reception as the amplifiers use the same earth return for the power supply as the rear window heater element. This would however manifest as reception problems when the heater element is switched on and would be better when switched off. If it happens that you are using the window demist as soon as you get in the car on each trip then that may be the problem but its easy to test (turn the heater on and off and see what happens). If it isn't this I would suspect either the head unit or diversity box. I would try swapping the diversity unit first before the head unit.

regards

Andrew
Click to expand...

Andrew,
My TDI has terribly radio reseption (almost none existent) when the rear screen demister is on, turn it off and the radio is perfect. I'm interested in the dodgy earth that you refer to, can be more specific about where the earth point is for the tail gate wiring, possibly a photo if possible.

Cheers,
 
depronman said:
Andrew,
My TDI has terribly radio reception (almost none existent) when the rear screen demister is on, turn it off and the radio is perfect. I'm interested in the dodgy earth that you refer to, can be more specific about where the earth point is for the tail gate wiring, possibly a photo if possible.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Hi,

The positive power supply to the aerial amplifiers in the tailgate are provided through the signal cable, but the negative (earth) of the supply is though the actual metal of the tailgate itself. The earth supply to the tailgate is shared between the amplifiers and the heater element so if there is a problem with this earth, when the heater element is turned on, the voltage across the radio amplifiers will drop causing them to stop working and the radio to loose signal.

Cars with the standard radio aerial have a single amplifier unit on the side of the tailgate window behind the trim on the window frame. This covers full FM and AM reception:

DSC04767.jpg

Cars with the "diversity" aerial have 4 amplifiers, one for each of the different aerial elements. There is one each side of the window on the frame and a further two below the window:

DSC04768.jpg

They all take their negative supply from the tailgate metal through the fixing screw.

The tailgate is earthed on the left side (when looking from the back of the car) behind the large trim panel on the part where the number plate is located:

DSC04769.jpg

The earth wire runs through the rubber bellows by the hinge and into the car at the rear corner of the roof.

There are two earth points, one at each of the rear corners of the roof, near to where the tailgate hinges are attached. These are behind the roof lining so that this must be dropped at the back to gain access. These connections provide the earth for the wiring on that side of the car to the rear (e.g. tail lights) and also on one side, the tailgate as well. I haven't traced the wiring but I believe the tailgate connects to the left - nearside earth point.

Roof earth point on left - nearside:

DSC04771.jpg

Roof earth point on right - offside:

DSC04770.jpg

There are 3 things which might be causing the earth connection issue:

1) The attachment of the wire to the tailgate. Access to this bolt will allow it to be removed and any corrosion cleaned off. This can also be used for diagnostics as if the problem remains, a jump lead (for example) can be used to provide a good earth to this point (e.g. from the battery) to verify that the problem is between the tailgate and the main body of the car.
The large trim on the tailgate would need to be unclipped to gain access. These clips are very strong and require a flat tool to remove them. A plastic trim removal tool is best but a flat screwdriver protected with tape can be used.

2) The earth point in the roof. To access this, the back of the headlining must be detached and dropped. The trim at the back is screwed on at each of the rear corners and behind the rear roof light. To gain access to the rear screws the "D" pillar trims must be removed as these cover the screws and the headlining itself.

3) Damage to the wiring between the tailgate and car body. If the earth points at both ends of the wire are OK, then the wire may have been damaged by the flexing of opening and closing the tailgate over time. This can be verified by bridging across both ends (e.g. with a jump lead). If this is the case, a new earth wire would need to be run through the rubber bellows from the tailgate to the car interior to replace the damaged one.

regards

Andrew
 
ajsellors said:
Hi,

The positive power supply to the aerial amplifiers in the tailgate are provided through the signal cable, but the negative (earth) of the supply is though the actual metal of the tailgate itself. The earth supply to the tailgate is shared between the amplifiers and the heater element so if there is a problem with this earth, when the heater element is turned on, the voltage across the radio amplifiers will drop causing them to stop working and the radio to loose signal.

Cars with the standard radio aerial have a single amplifier unit on the side of the tailgate window behind the trim on the window frame. This covers full FM and AM reception:

View attachment 26828

Cars with the "diversity" aerial have 4 amplifiers, one for each of the different aerial elements. There is one each side of the window on the frame and a further two below the window:

View attachment 26829

They all take their negative supply from the tailgate metal through the fixing screw.

The tailgate is earthed on the left side (when looking from the back of the car) behind the large trim panel on the part where the number plate is located:

View attachment 26830

The earth wire runs through the rubber bellows by the hinge and into the car at the rear corner of the roof.

There are two earth points, one at each of the rear corners of the roof, near to where the tailgate hinges are attached. These are behind the roof lining so that this must be dropped at the back to gain access. These connections provide the earth for the wiring on that side of the car to the rear (e.g. tail lights) and also on one side, the tailgate as well. I haven't traced the wiring but I believe the tailgate connects to the left - nearside earth point.

Roof earth point on left - nearside:

View attachment 26826

Roof earth point on right - offside:

View attachment 26827

There are 3 things which might be causing the earth connection issue:

1) The attachment of the wire to the tailgate. Access to this bolt will allow it to be removed and any corrosion cleaned off. This can also be used for diagnostics as if the problem remains, a jump lead (for example) can be used to provide a good earth to this point (e.g. from the battery) to verify that the problem is between the tailgate and the main body of the car.
The large trim on the tailgate would need to be unclipped to gain access. These clips are very strong and require a flat tool to remove them. A plastic trim removal tool is best but a flat screwdriver protected with tape can be used.

2) The earth point in the roof. To access this, the back of the headlining must be detached and dropped. The trim at the back is screwed on at each of the rear corners and behind the rear roof light. To gain access to the rear screws the "D" pillar trims must be removed as these cover the screws and the headlining itself.

3) Damage to the wiring between the tailgate and car body. If the earth points at both ends of the wire are OK, then the wire may have been damaged by the flexing of opening and closing the tailgate over time. This can be verified by bridging across both ends (e.g. with a jump lead). If this is the case, a new earth wire would need to be run through the rubber bellows from the tailgate to the car interior to replace the damaged one.

regards

Andrew
Click to expand...

Andrew,
Thank you so much for the detailed info, I will be checking this out over the weekend. Can I assume that if I provide an earth (via a jump lead to battery -Ve) to the radio aerial amplifier located on the side of the tail gate and then turn on the heated rear window, if the reception remains good then I have an earth problem, but if the reception goes bad then is it likely to be the aerial amplifier itself ?
 
sorry Andrew, you are giving do much good info but my wife is coming back from a visit to her native Brazil on the 16th and I had promissed her a finished bathroom and i am behind schedule so don't have time to investigate the radio. I played with the heated rear window and can't see any effect though. Now I am back to tiling!!
 
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