Greybeast

Hi all, I have no dash lights within the brushed aluminum strip on the dash along with no ashtray lighting, armrest etc, etc. I had a blown fuse, so I took the armrests apart and the wiring was not pinched nor frayed so I put it back together(what a PITA) and popped another fuse in. The fuse immediately blew.
Where else might there be a common problem area in that system? What else should I check? Thanks in advance,
Mike

Jack88

Anything liquid spilled into anything recently?

Greybeast

None, and there is no evidence anything was spilled by the prior owner either. All lights and buttons on the MMI controller work fine without being sticky or lazy. Electrical issues are not my thing. I feel competent to do minor troubleshooting with the multi-meter, but being unfamiliar with these systems makes me a a lil' nervous. I read a thread where someone 'back fed' the line trying to isolate the fault. How was that accomplished and where was the starting point and with what tools were used? An electrical schematic diagram would be of use too I'm sure. Is there a link to one for my car out there somewhere? If pointed in the right direction and with a lil' help I can prolly track down the short in the circuit.
Mike

Mister Bally

There is a complete wiring diagram in the Bentley service manual. I would use that.

My Bentley is on an old laptop (with my VCDS) that has old Windows without a snipping tool or screen capture. Besides, the wiring diagram is spread across several pages. It really should be accessed properly to benefit from its information.

Greybeast

Thanks for the reply. I did a google search, contacted Ross, and they no longer sell Bentley manuals. Is there another outlet that you know of that carries them? If there is a link somewhere in this message board to wiring that would help immensely.

Mister Bally

Bentley Publishers Home - Bentley Publishers - Repair Manuals and Automotive Books

heed all of the contents in post#1 in this thread:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/a8-...-read-2877219/

Greybeast

I appreciate the link Mr. Bally. I'm new here. There's a steep learning curve with the Audi and I'm willing to put in the effort and $$ to be educated on how to fix these cars myself. That link states that eBahn will operate with the Win Vista OS. Have you heard of anyone using Win Vista with less than desirable results? A Ross VCDS HEX-CAN is on my short list.
So, until my manual gets here, how do I troubleshoot that short from the fuse box on....
Thanks in advance,
Mike

JohnnyJ A6Q

Mike,

Check your PM inbox and call me before 11 PM tonight, or after 7 AM tomorrow.

Greybeast

Thanks johnnyJ. PM sent.
Mike

Greybeast

After talking with JohnnyJ this morning, I dove back into the car's rear A\C cavity which houses the connectors for the arm rest lights. I unplugged one at a time, re-fused that tiny 1 ampere fuse and VOILA! the drivers armrest wiring, although appearing unharmed, must be crushed/shorted internally. I left the passenger side plugged in and now have the remaining dashboard lighting and passenger side armrest. I'm calling it a day. I can really care less if the driver's side armrest illuminates or not. The rest work and that's all I care about right now. Thanks again JohnnyJ....