odd electrical gremlin help required
 

I got my project A8's insurance sorted thanks to all your thoughts and suggestions in my other thread+++

The next phase was to arrange the MOT. Not a problem all that was required was a quick 'phone call to sort that out. I nipped down to our local filling station and bought 40Litres of nice fresh petrol for the car and threw it into the tank.

Then came the problems, I'd taken the battery off the car to give it a top up charge, as the battery is new it didn't really need this but as the car has been sitting idle for a few weeks drying out the interior fitting new discs and pads ect I thought it wise to err on the side of caution. I re-fitted the battery and tightened everything down as you do, then came the start up. The engine fired up instantly BUT the battery charge light stayed on! Bugger thinks I. Turned the engine off checked out everything I'd just done just in case I'd done something wrong. No problems were found. So, I restarted the car, and that's when odd things started happening, firstly the sunroof fully opened itself, without me touching the switch! Then the steering wheel moved, again with no input from me, and then the charge light went out. Good news? No, not really because it now stays out and refuses to illuminate at all even after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery several times. Would this be an old fashioned bulb or are they LEDs on the 98 PF cluster? That remains the state of play at the moment, oh and the battery is now back on charge!

The alternator was replaced with a 'reconditioned' unit less than 800 miles before the car was laid up, not that that means a lot, I've known some cars get through half a dozen alternators in as many months. I'm just wondering if perhaps this could be some sort of relay or fuse fault or maybe an earthing issue. Vag Com can find no new fault codes. So, before I go ripping the car to bits (again) Any ideas that could point me in the right direction Ladies and Gents? I'll await your replies with interest, thanks for reading this, sorry I droned on a bit.

Paul.

The only advice I can give is NOT to stick your head out the sunroof if it opens again! The car seems possessed.

Now, once upon a time, I had a 'possessed' Granada Scorpio that did this sort of thing. To cut a very, very long story short, it was water ingress into the control box on the front scuttle. Now, as the '8s are known to suffer from floods in this area, and you've had the wet carpet syndrome, that's where I'd start. Easiest check is the rubber 'valves' that hang into the front wheel arches....then find the threads on the other drains.

On a serious note, the scuttle drains are certainly a good place to start asThe Laird suggests. The car has been stored outside for along time and if water has accumulated there, it will soon start to affect electrical stuff.

:ROFL: ^^^

The wife said more or less the same thing:D The sunroof and steering wheel trick has me thinking damp ingress.

Many years ago I bought a 'spooked' 100 Quattro saloon. The Wife, my Daughter and at least two of my friends neither of whom had touched a drop of booze all swore that they saw a grey haired man sat in the drivers seat of the car the very day I bought it. (In those days I didn't have grey hair, I do now:D) I scoffed and doubted their sanity, my come uppance came less than a week later on a country lane about half a mile from my then home at about 3am. the car simply stopped. I grabbed my trusty 'Ever Ready' torch, popped the bonnet had a look around for anything untoward, in the engine bay. The Wife pulled up behind my broken down Audi in her 200 Avant, Her Highness got out of her car and promptly let out a scream! I bashed my head on the bonnet of the 100 and was about to say something very rude, when without warning the car started itself up! To this day the Wife still swears that she saw the same grey haired man sat in the drivers seat. I didn't see a thing, the car never acted up again, and it's breakdown was never explained. For some strange reason no one would go out in it with me. It remained in use within the family up to 2002 without any further 'sightings' It retired to the scrapyard with just under 275,000 miles on the clock. It picked a fight with an Oak tree...And lost:D

Thanks for those suggestions.

All the scuttle drains have either been removed or cleaned out I removed the entire ECU box in my hunt for 'Botangs hole' Everything was surprisingly dry and corrosion free all things considered. I also removed and cleaned out the air con drains at the same time. The only major part I replaced in the ECU box was the cruise control module/ecuas some of the pins had minor corrosion. The car was running without any prooblems before I removed and charged the battery, it's got me beaten! In the morning I'll be testing alternator output (if there is any) The charge light is more of a concern to me. If I have to replace a bulb fair enough, but if it's a LED that's gone south that's uncharted territory for me:-(

Another odd thing that I forgot to mention earlier, the heater motor continued turning slowly with the ignition turned off and the key out of the car. Not right surely?

It might be normal if it has a solar sun roof. Also check under the car on the drivers side around the front wheel there is a connector box that splits the main power cable running from the boot, that can cause no charge.

Thanks for that tip Dezzy I checked the alternator output to the battery as expected there is no charge returning from the alternator. That's about a far as I got today as I had other things to attend to. I have put the dehumidifier back in the car and will see how much moisture it extracts in the morning.

The car is now up on the ramp awaiting further investigations. I gave it a short run (to get it on to the ramp) and it repeated its self opening sunroof trick! The sunroof is the standard metal type not the solar variety. Also that damn heater motor runs at a very slow speed the second the battery is connected, even if the ignition is turned off and the key is in my pocket.:mad: