canaudinut

Hi,
I bought a 1999 A6 about four month ago. Car is great, but one thing has me baffled.
When I start the car when it is cold outside, was -20 Centigrade, the temperature symbol comes on flashing and you get three warning beeps.
It stays on until the oil temperature is about 60C and the water temperature 85C. Car is also very sluggish during this period.
The manual doesn't say anything about this. According to the manual, the temp. symbol will come on flashing with the three beeps if the car is overheating or the coolant level is low (it's fine, I checked).
Does anyone know what this flashing temp symbol means?

Also, when the car is cold, the heater smells quite a bit, goes away after the car warms up.

Thanks, krs

QCRAZY

Add coolant...it's sensative.

Boulder

The same thing happens to me whenever the temp is below 20F. I always check the coolant level, but it is usually at Min where it should be when it's cold. The message clears itself after about 5 - 10 minutes of driving. Previous searches have revealed that the problem is likely the low coolant sensor at the bottom of the expansion tank.

Since this does not happen to me very often, I have not replaced the sensor. If it is cold where you live (Canada I think) and the sensor SCREAMS at you most mornings, you may want to consider replacing it. My recollection is that it is about $30 for the sensor in the US.

canaudinut

Thanks for the replies.

Do you recall if you have any drivability issues when the temp symbol is flashing?
The car is really sluggish until that temp. symbol goes out; almost seems as if the engine computer 'thinks' something is wrong and goes into a 'limp' mode.
Wonder if a bit of additional coolant might help as suggested.

Regards, krs

PS: Yes, I'm in Canada, Ontario near Toronto. Damn cold here, especially at night. And the Audi is sitting outside because the garage is full of junk.

Boulder

There does not appear to be any change in my car's performance when this warning message is displayed.

tgater

I had that and I believe it was the temp sensor.

canaudinut

After reading all of the comments and suggestions again, I decided to try the "zero" cost fix first.
Even though the coolant level was where it should be, I decided to add a cup (500ml) of water.

The problem seems to have gona away, I say 'seems' because over the last few days it hasn't been nearly as cold as when I had the problem. I was going to wait for a similar cold spell before I posted these comments here, but it doesn't look like we're getting one any time soon.
I also had the Audi at the dealer yesterday about the heater smell and asked about the coolant symbol coming on. His first reaction, 'add coolant'
So hopefully this solves the problem.

Heater smell apparently is caused by a small leak in the valve cover gasket. I'll post that under a separate heading.

Thanks again for the help.

krs