Satcomguy1

Greetings fellow Audi fans.

I am having issues with airflow out of the vents. Problem has been getting worse for last couple of months. Replaced blower motor 3 months ago but issue started before that. I get just a whisper of air out of most vents. Flow is best out of center defrost. I can hear the fan blowing its guts out but very little coming out. The fresh air intakes are open and it makes little difference if in recirc mode.

Does controller work via vacuum or electrical actuator? I assume one must disembowel the dash to get access to it. I pulled out glove box but no easy access from there I can see.

I read somewhere that they can possibly be reset with VAG but I don't have that or a Bentley manual either.

What does it take to remove dash cover? Can it be accessed through stereo hole or switch panel? Any pics available of dash removed?. I have found pics of A4's but none of A8's.

silverd2

All the flap actuators are electric ... a little motor for each flap and there are several of them, left and right.

Without at least VagCom, it'll be tough to trace the problem. VagCom may not be able to "reset" the problem, but will definitely tell you which flap(s) is the culprit.

...and the dash does not need to come off, just maybe glove box, console side panel(s) or kick panel at driver's knees, depending which flap is stuck or motor not working.

Satcomguy1

Thank you for info D2. Already have glove box out. Will have to pull off the console side covers to see about getting to the actuators. Since virtually all of the vents have little flow it seems to me that their must be a master actuator that is stuck or broken starving all of the outputs.

Satcomguy1

Took console side panel off and carpet on passenger side. I can see only 2 actuators so far. One is passenger floor and other is the side vent. Apparently the central actuator is on drivers side? I saw a few pics of actuators and some have arms and others just shaft coupling. I assume the units with couplings just push on to the butterfly shaft and are held in place by the mounting screws?
I also found a bit of dampness in carpet padding right at edge of console. Nothing major but pulled orange drain and had a few drips come out. Blew out orange line. We just had 2 days of rain and car was pointing uphill so my cowl was probably swallowing a bit of moisture.

Will be pulling off the drivers side console panel later this week when time permits. I also have lost my foot light and glove box light when box removed. They must be wired in series since footlight is not attached to glove box.

silverd2

Here's a link to an exploded view (parts catalog) of all the HVAC controls inside the cabin... it might help >>

fan Audi A8/S8 quattro (A8Q) 1998 year Audi USA 820010

Satcomguy1

Thanks again D2. I had downloaded a file from the net with a body parts breakdown and included with it was the same image albeit much smaller and lower resolution. I see that it shows 8 servomotors in the parts list but no specific locations for them. I am still recovering from the contortion act trying to reach 2 of them. I think I will pull out the seats for better access since I am larger than average being 6 ft 3 in and 320 lbs. Another oddity with this issue is the air flow is best just upon start up and gets worse as you drive. Its almost like the evaporator coil freezes up blocking flow. I could understand that in the summer but not in winter unless the A/C compressor is running all the time to support the defroster.