Esquire6

Hey it has been a while and the forum sure has changed! I'm wondering if someone in the Northern Virginia area (I'm in Ashburn now) would be able to help me determine what's wrong with my car.

1. "Air Bag" light on
2. FAQ indicated Clock Spring/Canceling Ring probably bad
3. Purchased Clock Spring from eBay
4. Had part installed by VA Tire and Auto
5. "Air Bag" light now gone but now I have the following codes:
00788 steering angle sender (g85)
01044 control unit incorrectly coded
01426 operating unit steering wheel (e221) and of course the flashing "Brake" light and solid "ABS" and "ESP" lights (all which the mechanic swore were on when he received the car)
5. Since my turn signals where starting to go, I figured I'd have them replaced and have steering angle sensor codes cleared at the same time by Curry's Auto.
6. eBay signal levers installed but do not work and still unable to clear the steering angle sender et. al. codes, but Curry's would be happy to check out what's wrong by doing two scans at $125 each!(I'll see what the codes are tonight)

Aprreciate any help, ideas, scanning...

Need to update my profile pics, the Z has a new home

Jon

4Driver4

Clock spring is improperly installed.

Boston Driver

Jon, one thing you should check is the little plastic window of the clockspring. You should see a yellow dot in the window, or else the clockspring is not centered to begin with. For a used clockspring, unless the person removing it was careful and taped it in place, it probably moved. I'd check that first.

Here is the little plastic window (upper right of clockspring):



The other thing is that the steering angle calibration takes a few steps. You have to login to ESP first. Steps are listed on Ross-Tech's wiki website under the ABS links for the model platform. Hope this helps!!!

Esquire6

Much appreciated Henry. I need to chase down the codes via a real diagnostic tool. I'm also thinking about replacing the hazard/signal relay to address the turn signal issue. The problem is that I do not have anyone can trust to give me an honest answer about the proble without first dropping a couple of hundred on "diagnostics".

Esquire6

4Driver4,

Thanks for your response. But I just pulled my steering wheel and from all indications, little yellow flag is visible in the upper right corner view port, the clock spring appears to be installed correctly and I still have the three-light issue.

4Driver4

Did you calibrate it per Henry's advice? That would be the next step.

Esquire6

Thanks. And therein lies my conundrum, I need someone in my area with a VAG COM other than an Audi dealer for a calibration and it appears a response to my earlier requests is not forthcoming. I already tried the "turning the steering wheel all the way in both directions" thing to no avail.

Esquire6

With the help of a member of the Vortex forum's VAG COM the Codes are cleared.

In spite of their overtures of having an "Audi expert" on staff and recently purchasing a $100,000+ diagnostic machine for Audi's, the geniuses at the Virginia Tire & Auto in Ashburn, Virgina, DID NOT code the clock spring when they installed it thereby generating the ABS, ESP and Brake light codes!

Now off to take Audi of Chantilly to Small Claims Court for fraud! They claimed that they scanned my car and the codes (which they happened to forget to include with my invoice, and could not remember when asked) indicated that the ABS control module was bad in spite of my detailed instructions of the work I wanted performed.

Thanks to all who responded to my posts.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Well, Audi of Chantilly didn't scam you because you didn't let them. How much $$ loss have you suffered as a result of their poor service? You may have difficulty if you didn't let them do the unnecessary work...

You'd be far better off filing a BBB complaint after talking with the service manager. Most audi service managers are fairly astute and aren't really willing to lose their jobs for fraud. If there's a cagey technician or service writer involved, let the service manager and the dealer manager/owner know as well.

SloopJohnB@mac.com

Also, regarding VA Tire and Auto...you should go back to them and explain your situation...I doubt they're anxious to get a bad rating or a BBB complaint. You should formally ask for a partial refund on your bill because they didn't complete the job but charged you for it. A 'diagnostic fee' of perhaps $100 or equivalent to their 'diagnostic fee' would be fair.

If not, take THEM to small claims court, but again your issue is how much $$ loss you've suffered. Your time is worthless to the court, but wear and tear on your car to take it elsewhere at $.50/mile might be workable.