How I fixed my A6 C6 intermittent tail light brake light issue
04-07-2014, 11:20 AM
#1
How I fixed my A6 C6 intermittent tail light brake light issue
It seems to be a pretty common problem here. All of your bulbs are fine, but you'll suddenly get an "bulb out" warning on your dash and that bulb will not work again until you restart the car.
I tried cleaning the connector and that didn't make a difference.
Rather than replace the entire housing, one nearly free suggested fix was to add a new ground connection the ground bus bar inside of the housing.
Most people do this with a soldering iron but my iron decided to die when I went to make this fix. Instead, I drilled a small hole in the ground bus and then used a self-taping metal screw to affix a wire terminal to the bar.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/CsFiCUG.jpg">
You have to be careful where you add this, so that the back of the housing doesn't get in the way of your wire when you put the two halves back together.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zyn14I4.jpg">
Then simply get the wire back to the outside of the housing.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zFGfqTw.jpg">
And I put a quick disconnect end on it so changing bulbs in the future wouldn't be misery.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/nHrtg2o.jpg">
Now with another wire, make a hole in the wiring grommet and push your new ground wire through there into the interior compartment.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/lRMtEYi.jpg".
For this driver's side light, I found a nice ground right next to the navigation DVD assembly and added my wire to that.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Rd7xWOH.jpg">
Then put another quick disconnect on the exterior half of that wire and you're good to go. I've had no errors since this fix.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/vgwPPC2.jpg">
Time will tell! I hope this post helps someone in the future.
I tried cleaning the connector and that didn't make a difference.
Rather than replace the entire housing, one nearly free suggested fix was to add a new ground connection the ground bus bar inside of the housing.
Most people do this with a soldering iron but my iron decided to die when I went to make this fix. Instead, I drilled a small hole in the ground bus and then used a self-taping metal screw to affix a wire terminal to the bar.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/CsFiCUG.jpg">
You have to be careful where you add this, so that the back of the housing doesn't get in the way of your wire when you put the two halves back together.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zyn14I4.jpg">
Then simply get the wire back to the outside of the housing.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/zFGfqTw.jpg">
And I put a quick disconnect end on it so changing bulbs in the future wouldn't be misery.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/nHrtg2o.jpg">
Now with another wire, make a hole in the wiring grommet and push your new ground wire through there into the interior compartment.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/lRMtEYi.jpg".
For this driver's side light, I found a nice ground right next to the navigation DVD assembly and added my wire to that.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/Rd7xWOH.jpg">
Then put another quick disconnect on the exterior half of that wire and you're good to go. I've had no errors since this fix.
<img src="https://i.imgur.com/vgwPPC2.jpg">
Time will tell! I hope this post helps someone in the future.
04-09-2014, 08:42 PM
#3
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I had the same problem with my '06. Now I'm having the same intermittent trouble with my 2011. I haven't taken it apart yet, but I know it will be different with the taillight redesign in '09. What's with these taillights?!
04-10-2014, 05:18 AM
#4
I have a theory about why this usually happens on the left side only: the rear fog light.
If you're driving at night and have everything going: tail light, rear fog light and then tap the brakes that is probably the biggest draw on the assembly. The ground must be undersized for that, and you have issues.
FYI: I have not had any more warnings since I made this fix. It was ground issue for sure, and now it's fixed.
06-29-2014, 05:43 AM
#7
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I tried this fix this morning with no luck :/
Actually.. when I purchased the car, the seller told me that there was an intermittent tail light issue, and that he added a ground wire after reading on the forum about it (I assume that he came across a thread just like this).
Unsure whether he performed this fix properly, I decided to go ahead and take a look at it. His soldering could have been better.. but otherwise it looks like it should work. I went ahead and took it all apart and re-did the job anyways, mostly for piece of mind.
My grounds are good.. but no dice.
Anyone have any suggestions for alternative causes?
8 times out of 10, when I start the car, the warning light on the DIS comes on immediately.. both for rear brake light and turn signal (right side).
The other 2 times out of 10, it works perfectly fine.. at least for some time, until it goes out again.
Reverse light and rear fog seem unaffected.
Also may be worth mentioning that every so often this issue seems to happen on the left side, too.. but not nearly as often.
Any help is appreciated!
Actually.. when I purchased the car, the seller told me that there was an intermittent tail light issue, and that he added a ground wire after reading on the forum about it (I assume that he came across a thread just like this).
Unsure whether he performed this fix properly, I decided to go ahead and take a look at it. His soldering could have been better.. but otherwise it looks like it should work. I went ahead and took it all apart and re-did the job anyways, mostly for piece of mind.
My grounds are good.. but no dice.
Anyone have any suggestions for alternative causes?
8 times out of 10, when I start the car, the warning light on the DIS comes on immediately.. both for rear brake light and turn signal (right side).
The other 2 times out of 10, it works perfectly fine.. at least for some time, until it goes out again.
Reverse light and rear fog seem unaffected.
Also may be worth mentioning that every so often this issue seems to happen on the left side, too.. but not nearly as often.
Any help is appreciated!
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06-29-2014, 12:38 PM
#8
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A pretty common problem is ground connection. Try to change pin. I hope it helps. http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/Site...4505/ES470511/
06-30-2014, 05:42 AM
#9
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I tried this fix this morning with no luck :/
Actually.. when I purchased the car, the seller told me that there was an intermittent tail light issue, and that he added a ground wire after reading on the forum about it (I assume that he came across a thread just like this).
Unsure whether he performed this fix properly, I decided to go ahead and take a look at it. His soldering could have been better.. but otherwise it looks like it should work. I went ahead and took it all apart and re-did the job anyways, mostly for piece of mind.
My grounds are good.. but no dice.
Anyone have any suggestions for alternative causes?
8 times out of 10, when I start the car, the warning light on the DIS comes on immediately.. both for rear brake light and turn signal (right side).
The other 2 times out of 10, it works perfectly fine.. at least for some time, until it goes out again.
Reverse light and rear fog seem unaffected.
Also may be worth mentioning that every so often this issue seems to happen on the left side, too.. but not nearly as often.
Any help is appreciated!
Actually.. when I purchased the car, the seller told me that there was an intermittent tail light issue, and that he added a ground wire after reading on the forum about it (I assume that he came across a thread just like this).
Unsure whether he performed this fix properly, I decided to go ahead and take a look at it. His soldering could have been better.. but otherwise it looks like it should work. I went ahead and took it all apart and re-did the job anyways, mostly for piece of mind.
My grounds are good.. but no dice.
Anyone have any suggestions for alternative causes?
8 times out of 10, when I start the car, the warning light on the DIS comes on immediately.. both for rear brake light and turn signal (right side).
The other 2 times out of 10, it works perfectly fine.. at least for some time, until it goes out again.
Reverse light and rear fog seem unaffected.
Also may be worth mentioning that every so often this issue seems to happen on the left side, too.. but not nearly as often.
Any help is appreciated!
06-30-2014, 09:56 AM
#10
OP here! I'm back because... ...my fix did not work for the long-term.
$195 is a great price! I think I'm going to say "screw it" and buy a new housing. It sure feels like a waste of $200 though, when my lights works -most of the time-.
Audi
$195 is a great price! I think I'm going to say "screw it" and buy a new housing. It sure feels like a waste of $200 though, when my lights works -most of the time-.
Audi