MMI not working after water damage - 2006 A6 3.2
01-12-2016, 02:40 PM
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MMI not working after water damage - 2006 A6 3.2
I have a 2006 A6 3.2 Quattro with 92,000 miles. Absolutely love this car (or so I thought), and really want to get this fixed. I’ve experienced the notorious problems with water getting into the car, and now my MMI is completely dysfunctional (will not turn on, screen is completely blank).
This is my wife’s car. Last week she came home and said she could hear what sounded like water sloshing around inside the car and she also said her stereo would no longer work. I got in the car and heard and experienced the same thing. After some Internet research I’ve learned of all the similar problems with water flooding the car primarily due to clogged drains in the plenum/bulkhead area.
The water had completely saturated the driver’s side (U.S. car, so left side) floor and rear passenger (driver’s side) floor. I pulled up the carpet and was disgusted when I found a few inches of water. I suctioned it all out with a big syringe (about 2 gallons of water), and dried it out for two days with a fan and in a heated garage.
The ECU was sitting in water and I took that out of the black box and put it near a heater vent for a day and dried it out as best as I could. I’ve put everything back together and the car runs fine (it ran fine even when you could hear the water), but the issue is the MMI. I read horror stories about water getting on the Passenger side and affecting the Transmission Control Unit. I have not yet pulled up the carpet on the passenger side, but there is no evidence of any water on that side of car (totally dry). I’m still concerned that I don’t have the actual source of the water leak solved. All the videos and everything I read, show the main culprit being a drain under the battery box. My battery is in the trunk so that does not apply. I removed the bulkhead area cover and even removed my windshield wipers and the cowl at the bottom of the windshield. I vacuumed out and blew out with compressed air all the small leaves and debris that I could get to in the whole area. I could not find any clogged drains as seem so obvious for other older Audi’s.
My main question at this point, is how to troubleshoot the MMI issue. My first thought was that it shorted out a fuse but I can’t find a fuse that directly controls the MMI (I checked a few that seemed related, and all were good).
I did a hard “restart” on it (holding down the three buttons at same time), and that did nothing.
Is there another control box other than the ECU sitting in the floor somewhere that controls the MMI? Is there a way to troubleshoot if it is the MMI control unit (basically all the buttons and controls in the center console), or is it the actual display? I get no lights or power indicator on any of the buttons.
Does the ECU control the MMI, and do I have to replace the ECU? If the car is running fine, is it a different control module for the MMI (am I barking up the wrong tree thinking it may be the ECU just because it got wet)? I've watched some videos and understand aside from the ECU there are essentially three other components related to the MMI:
* The MMI control center (basically the center console with all the buttons).
* The display (the actual screen)
* MMI display interface box (behind the glove box)
A few months ago I bought a cheap Vag-com cable and small cd off eBay . I could never get the software to install properly (tried on multiple laptops, and also downloaded it with same failed results) so I’ve not been able to scan for any codes, but if that is my only logical next step, I’ll invest in the right hardware/software to do it, but just need a little direction on how to properly troubleshoot. Tonight I'm going to download Vag-Com Lite and try to get it to work with my cable.
Thanks in advance for any help.
This is my wife’s car. Last week she came home and said she could hear what sounded like water sloshing around inside the car and she also said her stereo would no longer work. I got in the car and heard and experienced the same thing. After some Internet research I’ve learned of all the similar problems with water flooding the car primarily due to clogged drains in the plenum/bulkhead area.
The water had completely saturated the driver’s side (U.S. car, so left side) floor and rear passenger (driver’s side) floor. I pulled up the carpet and was disgusted when I found a few inches of water. I suctioned it all out with a big syringe (about 2 gallons of water), and dried it out for two days with a fan and in a heated garage.
The ECU was sitting in water and I took that out of the black box and put it near a heater vent for a day and dried it out as best as I could. I’ve put everything back together and the car runs fine (it ran fine even when you could hear the water), but the issue is the MMI. I read horror stories about water getting on the Passenger side and affecting the Transmission Control Unit. I have not yet pulled up the carpet on the passenger side, but there is no evidence of any water on that side of car (totally dry). I’m still concerned that I don’t have the actual source of the water leak solved. All the videos and everything I read, show the main culprit being a drain under the battery box. My battery is in the trunk so that does not apply. I removed the bulkhead area cover and even removed my windshield wipers and the cowl at the bottom of the windshield. I vacuumed out and blew out with compressed air all the small leaves and debris that I could get to in the whole area. I could not find any clogged drains as seem so obvious for other older Audi’s.
My main question at this point, is how to troubleshoot the MMI issue. My first thought was that it shorted out a fuse but I can’t find a fuse that directly controls the MMI (I checked a few that seemed related, and all were good).
I did a hard “restart” on it (holding down the three buttons at same time), and that did nothing.
Is there another control box other than the ECU sitting in the floor somewhere that controls the MMI? Is there a way to troubleshoot if it is the MMI control unit (basically all the buttons and controls in the center console), or is it the actual display? I get no lights or power indicator on any of the buttons.
Does the ECU control the MMI, and do I have to replace the ECU? If the car is running fine, is it a different control module for the MMI (am I barking up the wrong tree thinking it may be the ECU just because it got wet)? I've watched some videos and understand aside from the ECU there are essentially three other components related to the MMI:
* The MMI control center (basically the center console with all the buttons).
* The display (the actual screen)
* MMI display interface box (behind the glove box)
A few months ago I bought a cheap Vag-com cable and small cd off eBay . I could never get the software to install properly (tried on multiple laptops, and also downloaded it with same failed results) so I’ve not been able to scan for any codes, but if that is my only logical next step, I’ll invest in the right hardware/software to do it, but just need a little direction on how to properly troubleshoot. Tonight I'm going to download Vag-Com Lite and try to get it to work with my cable.
Thanks in advance for any help.
01-12-2016, 10:03 PM
#2
I have a 2006 A6 3.2 Quattro with 92,000 miles. Absolutely love this car (or so I thought), and really want to get this fixed. I’ve experienced the notorious problems with water getting into the car, and now my MMI is completely dysfunctional (will not turn on, screen is completely blank).
This is my wife’s car. Last week she came home and said she could hear what sounded like water sloshing around inside the car and she also said her stereo would no longer work. I got in the car and heard and experienced the same thing. After some Internet research I’ve learned of all the similar problems with water flooding the car primarily due to clogged drains in the plenum/bulkhead area.
The water had completely saturated the driver’s side (U.S. car, so left side) floor and rear passenger (driver’s side) floor. I pulled up the carpet and was disgusted when I found a few inches of water. I suctioned it all out with a big syringe (about 2 gallons of water), and dried it out for two days with a fan and in a heated garage.
The ECU was sitting in water and I took that out of the black box and put it near a heater vent for a day and dried it out as best as I could. I’ve put everything back together and the car runs fine (it ran fine even when you could hear the water), but the issue is the MMI. I read horror stories about water getting on the Passenger side and affecting the Transmission Control Unit. I have not yet pulled up the carpet on the passenger side, but there is no evidence of any water on that side of car (totally dry). I’m still concerned that I don’t have the actual source of the water leak solved. All the videos and everything I read, show the main culprit being a drain under the battery box. My battery is in the trunk so that does not apply. I removed the bulkhead area cover and even removed my windshield wipers and the cowl at the bottom of the windshield. I vacuumed out and blew out with compressed air all the small leaves and debris that I could get to in the whole area. I could not find any clogged drains as seem so obvious for other older Audi’s.
My main question at this point, is how to troubleshoot the MMI issue. My first thought was that it shorted out a fuse but I can’t find a fuse that directly controls the MMI (I checked a few that seemed related, and all were good).
I did a hard “restart” on it (holding down the three buttons at same time), and that did nothing.
Is there another control box other than the ECU sitting in the floor somewhere that controls the MMI? Is there a way to troubleshoot if it is the MMI control unit (basically all the buttons and controls in the center console), or is it the actual display? I get no lights or power indicator on any of the buttons.
Does the ECU control the MMI, and do I have to replace the ECU? If the car is running fine, is it a different control module for the MMI (am I barking up the wrong tree thinking it may be the ECU just because it got wet)? I've watched some videos and understand aside from the ECU there are essentially three other components related to the MMI:
* The MMI control center (basically the center console with all the buttons).
* The display (the actual screen)
* MMI display interface box (behind the glove box)
A few months ago I bought a cheap Vag-com cable and small cd off eBay . I could never get the software to install properly (tried on multiple laptops, and also downloaded it with same failed results) so I’ve not been able to scan for any codes, but if that is my only logical next step, I’ll invest in the right hardware/software to do it, but just need a little direction on how to properly troubleshoot. Tonight I'm going to download Vag-Com Lite and try to get it to work with my cable.
Thanks in advance for any help.
This is my wife’s car. Last week she came home and said she could hear what sounded like water sloshing around inside the car and she also said her stereo would no longer work. I got in the car and heard and experienced the same thing. After some Internet research I’ve learned of all the similar problems with water flooding the car primarily due to clogged drains in the plenum/bulkhead area.
The water had completely saturated the driver’s side (U.S. car, so left side) floor and rear passenger (driver’s side) floor. I pulled up the carpet and was disgusted when I found a few inches of water. I suctioned it all out with a big syringe (about 2 gallons of water), and dried it out for two days with a fan and in a heated garage.
The ECU was sitting in water and I took that out of the black box and put it near a heater vent for a day and dried it out as best as I could. I’ve put everything back together and the car runs fine (it ran fine even when you could hear the water), but the issue is the MMI. I read horror stories about water getting on the Passenger side and affecting the Transmission Control Unit. I have not yet pulled up the carpet on the passenger side, but there is no evidence of any water on that side of car (totally dry). I’m still concerned that I don’t have the actual source of the water leak solved. All the videos and everything I read, show the main culprit being a drain under the battery box. My battery is in the trunk so that does not apply. I removed the bulkhead area cover and even removed my windshield wipers and the cowl at the bottom of the windshield. I vacuumed out and blew out with compressed air all the small leaves and debris that I could get to in the whole area. I could not find any clogged drains as seem so obvious for other older Audi’s.
My main question at this point, is how to troubleshoot the MMI issue. My first thought was that it shorted out a fuse but I can’t find a fuse that directly controls the MMI (I checked a few that seemed related, and all were good).
I did a hard “restart” on it (holding down the three buttons at same time), and that did nothing.
Is there another control box other than the ECU sitting in the floor somewhere that controls the MMI? Is there a way to troubleshoot if it is the MMI control unit (basically all the buttons and controls in the center console), or is it the actual display? I get no lights or power indicator on any of the buttons.
Does the ECU control the MMI, and do I have to replace the ECU? If the car is running fine, is it a different control module for the MMI (am I barking up the wrong tree thinking it may be the ECU just because it got wet)? I've watched some videos and understand aside from the ECU there are essentially three other components related to the MMI:
* The MMI control center (basically the center console with all the buttons).
* The display (the actual screen)
* MMI display interface box (behind the glove box)
A few months ago I bought a cheap Vag-com cable and small cd off eBay . I could never get the software to install properly (tried on multiple laptops, and also downloaded it with same failed results) so I’ve not been able to scan for any codes, but if that is my only logical next step, I’ll invest in the right hardware/software to do it, but just need a little direction on how to properly troubleshoot. Tonight I'm going to download Vag-Com Lite and try to get it to work with my cable.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Do a search on the forum and you'll find PLENTY of details related to this specific issue and how to resolve it.
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...blems-2891302/
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...-seat-2870484/
Good luck and let us know how you make out. As for the fake vag-com cables, I've found them all to be pretty crappy and hence why I just bought an actual authentic cable.
01-13-2016, 06:38 AM
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Thank you raj99! I don't know how I missed those other threads on the same topic. I've been reading and searching until I'm blue in the face. I had found a lot of other very useful info, but did not know anything about this Bluetooth Module under the drivers seat.
I ordered up the bypass cable and once it arrives, I'll tackle the job of removing the seat and drying it out and attempting the bypass and then report back in case this can help others in the future as well.
I'm really crossing fingers this is it.
I ordered up the bypass cable and once it arrives, I'll tackle the job of removing the seat and drying it out and attempting the bypass and then report back in case this can help others in the future as well.
I'm really crossing fingers this is it.
02-10-2016, 06:24 AM
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Big thanks for the help and direction on this issue. I finally got around to installing the Bluetooth bypass cable last night and it worked perfectly. I would have never known about this without this forum. Thank you for the help.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
02-10-2016, 08:44 AM
#5
Big thanks for the help and direction on this issue. I finally got around to installing the Bluetooth bypass cable last night and it worked perfectly. I would have never known about this without this forum. Thank you for the help.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
04-24-2019, 03:16 AM
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Same problem
Hello! Can you run me a step by step for the easy fix you mentioned below with the bypass Bluetooth!? I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you!
Big thanks for the help and direction on this issue. I finally got around to installing the Bluetooth bypass cable last night and it worked perfectly. I would have never known about this without this forum. Thank you for the help.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
For anyone else with this same problem, it's a quick easy fix and literally saved me thousands.
04-24-2019, 09:48 AM
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https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...blems-2891302/
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a6-...-seat-2870484/
Trending Topics
04-26-2019, 02:48 PM
#8
AudiWorld Super User
When my 05 A6 got wet, same issue as you, a bad BT module.
BUT, I just fixed it myself. I pushed each piece of the fibre cable into a small tube so the ends touched, then used heat shrink to seal it up so it didn’t move.
...worked like a charm and it was free.
BUT, I just fixed it myself. I pushed each piece of the fibre cable into a small tube so the ends touched, then used heat shrink to seal it up so it didn’t move.
...worked like a charm and it was free.
11-24-2019, 08:58 PM
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You have reference the Bluetooth (BT) module. Sorry to sound ignorant but is this applicable only to Audi A6 that has Bluetooth? I just have this issue with my 2008 Audi A6 Quattro 3.2 S-Line where there was water in the driver footwell and the MMI screen went black. So back to my question, is this fix only applicable if the car comes with Bluetooth?
