A2 TDI Instrument Cluster & Running Problems

S

SJHE

Member
Looking for some guidance if possible...

I got in my A2 this morning, turned the key and it fired up for about a second then stalled. Tried a few more times and exactly the same scenario... I then notice that even with the ignition turned off, the gauges on the dash are fluttering up and down erratically and the display is intermittent. The only way I can get this to stop is by disconnecting the battery which I have done as I was concerned it may cause further damage/problems if left.

All of our local garages are closed this weekend so was wondering if somebody may know of a quick fix? The car was working perfectly last night!

If not, is there a way of isolating the power to the instruments so that I can leave the battery connected and keep the locking and alarm etc functional until I can get it to a garage?

Thanks in advance.
 
SJHE said:
Looking for some guidance if possible...

I got in my A2 this morning, turned the key and it fired up for about a second then stalled. Tried a few more times and exactly the same scenario... I then notice that even with the ignition turned off, the gauges on the dash are fluttering up and down erratically and the display is intermittent. The only way I can get this to stop is by disconnecting the battery which I have done as I was concerned it may cause further damage/problems if left.

All of our local garages are closed this weekend so was wondering if somebody may know of a quick fix? The car was working perfectly last night!

If not, is there a way of isolating the power to the instruments so that I can leave the battery connected and keep the locking and alarm etc functional until I can get it to a garage?

Thanks in advance.
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I have never seen that particular problem before. When you reconnect the battery does it fix the problem, even temporarily?

It sounds like a dodgy connection, but if it is doing that with the ignition off then that is a surprise.

If I had to guess, I would say it could be a loose plug on the cluster, has any work been done on the cluster / dash at all (ever to your knowledge?)

Steve B
 
Birchall said:
Bluechip????? Is that in the "Silicone Valley"?
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I think it's somewhere between Rip-Off Central and Rude-borough. :p

SJHE, your car's problem is just the sort of thing I enjoy solving. Has any work been done that may hav required the instrument cluster to be removed? It's a possibilit that the problem lies in the ignition barrel, though I doubt it. Does your car have DIS? - the larger display in the instrument cluster that reads out fuel efficiency, range, etc?

Cheers,

Tom
 
Thanks for the replies. I'm based in Pembrokeshire in case there is anyone who can be of help locally...? Disconnecting the battery has no effect at all in terms of starting/run time. No work has been done to the car of late. It has had a couple of odd moments where I've locked it up and come back to it and one of the windows has been half way down but that is it. And that's not me being forgetful!

And yes, it has the larger square digital dial in the centre that gives fuel economy etc etc. One thing that I noticed was that the glow plug light is not illuminating with this problem. I've tried resetting both keys with no joy. Another thing is that when you turn the ignition off, the car sounds one beep every couple of minutes and the gauges jump at the same time - almost like it's trying to reset itself. One other thing is that there is no fuse where the manual says there should be for the instrument cluster which is odd!

Thanks
 
If my memory serves me right, the instrument cluster is on fuse number 1. Is that missing?
What year was your A2 built, please?

Edit: I see you have a 2004 TDI 90.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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That's it, 04 TDI. The manual says that it's fuse number one also but there is no fuse in that position! Actually, there are quite a few fuses that do not line up with the diagram in the manual. Did the fuse board layout get swapped at any point during production?

My guess so far is that this is some kind of immobiliser issue.
 
SJHE said:
That's it, 04 TDI. The manual says that it's fuse number one also but there is no fuse in that position! Actually, there are quite a few fuses that do not line up with the diagram in the manual. Did the fuse board layout get swapped at any point during production?

My guess so far is that this is some kind of immobiliser issue.
Click to expand...

HI,

Yes the fact that it starts for a second or two and then stops does indicate an immobiliser problem (you probably get the "key" symbol illuminated when this happens). But if the immobiliser was the problem you wouldn't get the other symptoms, so the immobiliser is probably being affected by the same problem as the rest of the cluster (My money is still on a bad contacts)

As for the fuses, the layout is very confusing but the diagram should be correct. Please use the diagram to help with the position or you might get the numbers mixed up (it takes a while to figure out the correct locations)

Steve B
 
The fuse board layout isn't wholly intuitive. If I remember correctly, fuse 1 is in the right-hand-side column. Without wishing to sound at all patronising, are you absolutely sure that fuse 1 is missing? Are there any electrical contacts visible in the vacant fuse positions? There are guaranteed to be some unoccupied positions unless your car has every conceivable optional extra.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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