Audi S8 D2 Indicators stopped working

H24k · #1 12th January 2014, 01:37 AM

Ive owned my S8 d2 40v for a few years now and apart from oil change and brake pads its been very reliable, I do have an electrical drain somewhere which is as of yet undiagnosed, I ended up buying a battery cut off switch which solved the problem for the mean time!

More recently I noticed that the passenger side carpet gets soaking wet (right hand drive car) probably due to the usual drain hole problem which I need some decent weather to address, and I went out the other day and noticed that my indicators have stopped working, the Hazards work fine but no indicators!

I noticed that the wooden panel under the glove box was wet and the water runs down onto the carpet and am wondering if any of those relays have anything to do with the indicators, ive heard that the indicator relay is under the steering wheel however are there any other relays on passenger side that could of got wet hence indicators stopped working?

Any advice is Greatly appreciated.

mannyo · #2 12th January 2014, 06:18 AM

Beneath that wooden board are a lot of important relays and electrics. If water is getting in there, then that could be the cause of both your indicators playing up and the battery drain since there is a major always on 12V supply beneath. You really need to get to work on fixing the leak and drying out the electrics before they become too coroded and you need to start replacing wiring and connections.

B@fink · #3 12th January 2014, 08:16 AM

^ what he said! ^ the water getting in needs sorting ASAP, that box of elastictrickery really needs to be dry and clean otherwise you will end up with a collection of electrical gremlins.

HPsauce · #4 12th January 2014, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H24k

More recently I noticed that the passenger side carpet gets soaking wet (right hand drive car) probably due to the usual drain hole problem which I need some decent weather to address

It will depend which drain is blocked. There are several.

Get a torch out and have a peer down into the scuttle. On the passenger side between the cover of the ECU box and the central air intake there's a gap with various pipes and the auxiliary water pump that you can see past. Or on the drivers side unclip the cover on the wiper motor area and look down under the air intake. If water is pooling there it's a right pain to resolve and overflows into the cabin. This CAN be the source of huge amounts of water.

The commonest problem is the aircon drains inside the cabin, which "seem" to overflow more on the passenger side, though they're symmetrical in theory.
The passenger side one is easier to clear as there's less to remove so start there.

But first take the front mats and carpet out (both sides) and start mopping up, then remove the "plank" and dry that out too - it may or may not be screwed down depending if it has been taken out before. The carpets soak up massive amounts of water as you'll soon discover.
Old towels come in handy.

mannyo · #5 12th January 2014, 08:44 AM

Just hope its not the "Botangs Hole" letting water in, to fix that you need to remove the ECU box which is not very straight forward.

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/showthread.php?t=3281

Oli18 · #6 12th January 2014, 11:44 AM

Hey - agree with the others on clearing the water currently in the car and investigating the source of the leak as that's likely to continue.

http://youtu.be/STMCwA96VfI

This video might help just to show how the bulk head drains can clog and how it clears when you unblock it. A simple water jug/hose test underneath the scuttle will tell you if they are clear or clogged...water should be free flowing from the gearbox area under the car.

Hope you get it sorted soon!

Oli

HPsauce · #7 12th January 2014, 11:57 AM

Just don't pour too much water into the scuttle!

I'd look first, it should be dry with no standing water.
If it's blocked it will almost all end up inside the car (as mine did!) adding to your woes.

notorious · #8 12th January 2014, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by H24k

I noticed that the passenger side carpet gets soaking wet (right hand drive car) probably due to the usual drain hole problem which I need some decent weather to address, and I went out the other day and noticed that my indicators have stopped working, the Hazards work fine but no indicators!

I noticed that the wooden panel under the glove box was wet and the water runs down onto the carpet and am wondering if any of those relays have anything to do with the indicators, ive heard that the indicator relay is under the steering wheel however are there any other relays on passenger side that could of got wet hence indicators stopped working?

Any advice is Greatly appreciated.

Most probably it's Botang's hole.

In this particular case water will not get into the box with wooden cover, but it'll be dripping right into indicator relay. That relay is located **above** the box with wood cover. Just get on your knees and look under glovebox above passenger's footrest (no need to remove glovebox). There is an additional relay panel a bit to the right and above the passenger footrest. Relays in that panel are located a bit upside down, so if water is dripping on them it will effectively stay in casings damaging relays completely.

So, just remove all relays one by one from that panel (no need to remove anything from car -- the panel is directly accessible with bare hands). With a couple of knives/screwdrivers open case of each relay and if you find water just swap relay with a new one.

Of course, fix the Botang's hole before putting new relay in:

There's is a piece of sticky paper under a layer of mastic/paint above a hole that peels off eventually and allows water into passenger footwell area. On RHD car access is restricted by electric box. It is possible to fix the hole without removing the box, you will need long tweezers, heat gun or hairdryer, methylated spirit or industrial adhesion promoter and high quality silicone or any industrial grade glue (Soudaflex is good stuff) in a cylindric cartridge, extra long nozzle for the cartridge, and a silicone applicator gun.

Pictures of the hole on LHD car. Same on RHD car, but with more difficult access because of the electric box.

Piece of paper is hiding under paint/mastic:

Partially removed:

Fully removed:

Incredible, piece of paper.

Dezzy · #9 13th January 2014, 06:46 AM

The damp / wet on the passenger side does make strange things happen, indicators fail, electric windows have a mind of their own and sunroof won't do as it's told. I found most times if you turn off the at the key and back on it would sort it's self, apart from the windows forget their calibration and need to go to the bottom and top before the auto would work again.

The_Laird · #10 13th January 2014, 09:08 AM

First things first! Why not start with the drain in the wheel arch? It takes seconds to reach up and give that a squeeze, so you don't have to wait for good weather. If that's the problem, all you have to worry about is getting the car dried out. The passenger side one is the most common of all the drains to get blocked on my car for some reason.