Help! Constant clicking from door locking mechanism

W

whaleywanderer

A2OC Donor
I would appreciate anybody's help. My cherished, 12 year old, owned from new, A2 1.4 TDI, has developed an unusual fault. When the car is locked there is a constant clicking, as though the car is trying to lock itself all the time, running the battery down (original battery and realise it probably needs replacing). The sound is the same sound that you get when you press the key fob.

It might be completely unrelated but the first problem started a couple of months ago when my interior lights would not go out until I had been driving for about 10 minutes (quite annoying in the dark!). Lights not on when car unattended, only when key in the ignition.

I am going to replace the battery but don't want to put a new battery on until I have solved the problem as presumably the new battery will just end up being drained. I realise that if I took the car to Audi, it would probably cost a fortune, so looking for a DIY solution .......... anybody??
 
It could be a faulty solenoid on one of the locks.
Could you scan the car. The fault should show and make it easy to identify the exact cause.
 
Hi Whaley Wanderer,

Are all the doors clicking, or it is just one? If it's just one, which one?
The fault will probably either be with the CCCU or with an individual door lock.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Yep most likely to be a failing Comfort Unit, be prepared to get a replacement or repair to it. However saying that, I know of at least two A2's flying around with the same problem, one of which has been doing it for over two years but still working fine.

If you lift the front passenger carpet and lift of the silver plate, you will be able to hear it even more and 'feel' it by placing your hand on the Comfort unit :)


Cheers
Sarge
 
Hi and thank you for your suggestions, in reply to Timmus's question, the clicking is just like the noise of the central locking going on or off, not from one particular door. I am hoping to arrange a scan to try to identify the exact cause of the fault.

I'll report back, hopefully when it is all ok again.:)

?? What does CCU stand for ??
 
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whaleywanderer said:
...the clicking is just like the noise of the central locking going on or off, not from one particular door.
Click to expand...

The noise you hear when the central locking goes on and off is from the doors! Nevertheless, it seems from your reply that it's not just one door lock providing issues, which does indicate that the locks themselves are not at fault and that the problem lies with the CCCU.

whaleywanderer said:
?? What does CCCU stand for ??
Click to expand...

CCCU = Central Cenvenience Control Unit

It's a black box under the passenger's feet that control all the comforts/conveniences of your car, from the electric windows, to the interior lights, to the central locking. They're a known problem with the A2; off the top of my head, 4 members are currently in the process of dealing with failed/failing CCCUs.

There's a chap in Germany (username Lau) who can repair a failed/faulty CCCU for £75, which is a lot, lot cheaper than you'll be charged by Audi for a new unit.

If you're willing to make the trip to Lancaster, I'll scan your car, identify the fault and advise from there...

Cheers,

Tom
 
could also be a failing door micro switch causing the "won't de safe" fault code - get a scan done to see what shows up.

CCU stands fro central convenience unit (or something with a similar spelling :eek:)

David
 
Look, If you sit inside, close the doors, remove key from ignition and hear clicking, then insert key into ignition barrel and turn to 'ignition position' (where your dash lights up but before you start the car), the clicking stops, it's the Comfort/Convenience Unit.

And to doubly prove it, like I said it takes less than 30 seconds to lift carpet up and remove aluminium cover and place hand on Comfort unit to feel the clicking, (must have doors closed at this point), which is a simple test and proves it immediately without going to further expense.

If above two is not the case then you need to look elsewhere.

Also like I said this may well leave the Comfort Unit working fine indefinitely, or if the clicking is annoying you then change it. Vag scan doesn't always tell you anything is wrong with Comfort Unit in this type of fault, and may just have 'usual and common' DTC's in the Comfort Unit


Cheers
Sarge
 
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I agree with Sarge, here. A scan may not give a clear picture of the fault in this case.
 
Ok, here's an update: Skipton1 kindly agreed to scan my car and this revealed a very faulty CCCU, we had two options; to get it repaired, which would have meant postage to Germany on top of the cost of the repair, or approaching Audi for a new replacement CCCU. We opted for the latter, we had the part number so ordered one. We now have everything working fine again but we are £305 ouch of pocket.:(

Many thanks to Skipton1 for all your help.:)
 
whaleywanderer said:
...ouch of pocket.
Click to expand...

Love it! :)

I'm glad this has been resolved. Mr Skipton to the rescue, as usual.
Postage to Germany is cheap and, at £75, Lau's repair service is a bargain, but there's the disadvantage of being without a CCCU for 2 weeks.

Tom
 
Ahh, but what Jennie hasn't said is that she's keeping the old CCCU for repair and to have as a spare for her other A2's.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Skipton01 said:
Ahh, but what Jennie hasn't said is that she's keeping the old CCCU for repair and to have as a spare for her other A2's.
Click to expand...

That's good news!

When I first met Mike, it was for him to replace my broken CCCU with a new unit from Audi. This was back in the day when Lau hadn't yet offered a repair service and I knew nothing about A2s.
The broken CCCU was repaired by Lau recently and is currently touring the UK as a temporary unit for people whilst Lau repairs theirs. The queue's got quite long, so having another kicking around can only help.

Team work. :)

Tom
 
just found this topic while looking for directions as my central locking started to give open/close sounds once when ignition is on, then one more time when engine started, other than that it locks and unlocks ok no other ghosts sounds...will scan it over weekend to see iff any errors logged...when there will take a note of unit number for future ref..
 
robskiA2tdi said:
just found this topic while looking for directions as my central locking started to give open/close sounds once when ignition is on, then one more time when engine started, other than that it locks and unlocks ok no other ghosts sounds...will scan it over weekend to see iff any errors logged...when there will take a note of unit number for future ref..
Click to expand...
These symptoms are more likely to be caused by faulty door electrics and/or locks than by a faulty CCCU.
Certain faults in just one door will cause the locks to cycle in all doors.

Cheers,

Tom
 
timmus said:
These symptoms are more likely to be caused by faulty door electrics and/or locks than by a faulty CCCU.
Certain faults in just one door will cause the locks to cycle in all doors.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...
thx Tom, will check what I can and take it from there, sounds like wrong topic as my issue isn't constant clicking.
 
i had a similar issue in my sportage a few weeks back, however it only played up during the super cold weather. fine all other times.

can the cold weather cause gremlins?
 
timmus said:
In the A2, yes. The cold causes fractured solder joints to contract, thus breaking a circuit and causing issues. This affects the locks in particular.

Cheers,

Tom
Click to expand...
thanks tom. ironically my old a2 was fine but the new kia not so much.
go figure!

drew
 
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