Britcheflee

Hi,

I am posting this on behalf of my brother in law who has recently purchased an audi quattro 1992 station wagon - he got it for a good price and it is in very nice condition however has two problems:

1. Will not go into park - key will not come out of lock - after doing some google searching I have obtained some information that this might be caused by the solenoid in the shifter mechanism - can you give advice about this - ways to troubleshoot and how to fix.

2. Battery will drain after car sits for extended time - PO said he thought it was caused by short in window switch from main control panel at drivers door - rear passenger window will not work intermittantly - any thoughts on this? Could it be linked to the fact that the key will not turn off or cannot be removed? Current fix is to disconnect battery.

This is apparently one imported from Germany with battery under rear seat if that is of any use.

Thank you

Lee

fjasper

Check in the owner's manual, it should be possible to disable the shift lock solenoid fairly easily. If disabling it solves the problem, you're set.

I had a 97 that I took the solenoid out of and drove it that way for years, no problems. If the problem continues, you can unplug the window switch and see if that keeps the battery from draining.

It kind of seems more like the car doesn't know it's in park. There's probably a switch in the gearshift mechanism that tells the car that it's in park, so the key can be released, and if it failed, that would prevent the key from releasing, just like when you switch it off when it's in drive. Try jiggling the gear shift to see if that helps. Or take the shifter cover thing off and see if there's a switch that can be cleaned and/or checked.

On the battery drain problem, be wary of any aftermarket stuff, radio, etc.

The_Hamster

For the stuck in gear issue I don't know anything about that, could look into the interlock solenoid, should be info in search.

For a battery drain my advice is the same on this car as on any other. Put an amp-meter in line with the ground terminal from the battery. To do this, disconnect the ground terminal and put a digital multimeter set to 10A between the cars ground cable and the ground terminal on the battery. Observe the current dray (ensure all things are turned off in the vehicle including interior lights before doing this). Now begin removing fuses until the current draw drops very low. Once you find the fuse you know which circuit is causing the issue, and can troubleshoot from there.

audiqv8

In order to remove the key you need to have the car in Park. If you can not get it into park, but can shift into other gears; then check to see if coins or something might have fallen into the shift mechanism. The solenoid is used to prevent you from shifting out of park if you don't have your foot on the brake.

As for the power drain, use an ammeter to see which circuit is draining the battery. Check the driver side door where the bundle of wire goes into the door. Opening and closing the door over time most likely cause the wires to break.

Britcheflee

Thank you - my brother in law is taking it to our local transmission guy who is great - sure would be nice if all it was was a coin stuck in there or a bit of candy or something!

I will let you know what he finds and meanwhile will look at the wiring going into the door.

Thank you,

Lee

audiqv8

BTW does your brake lights work?

In order for the solenoid to work your foot must be on the brake. The system monitor the brake light circuit to know if your foot is on the brake.