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This is my first post and I need your help with my Audi A8L 2005 wiring harness. Mine is brittle and almost all the spark plug connectors are damaged along with the MAF connector and I'm getting enough oddities that I bough a new wiring harness on ebay for $275 and am ready to change the old one out.
i can find no videos or threads on this challenge. So I took the wipers off, tried to take off the wiper water shield and cracked the windshield in two places before plugging the emerging cracks with windshield glue. Now I'm ready to yank out the old one and install the new one. I took out the ECU which reveals some hard to reach connectors. Since I don't care amount the old wiring harness. I'm breaking and cutting out the old harness. The problem is the penetration point at the engine firewall between the engine and the intermediate engine compartment where the wiper motor and shocks bolt up. How does that wiring penetration work? I can't see if it unbolts or if I must rip all this out and stuff in what I have.
anybody out there attempt this? Should I film this for future generations? Any tips from anyone who has done a complete factory wiring harness replacement before?
Welcome; please tell us you disconnected the battery and are taking some cell phone pics (for later reference) at least before this butchery!
This has got to be a huge job and yes the A8 will be worth it but you're scaring me... the cutting could short wires to some really sensitive components and that alone could FUBAR the whole project.
Please tell us (in your user profile) your location (it matters) and the exact specs of your car. You need to invest in a VCDS, too, if that's not already in the budget.
-Tom
Oh my. FWIW, I would try it differently. In fact I have... For starters, the MAF and plug coil connectors can be replaced individually. I have done those, as well as O2 connectors and some sensor ones. The dealer can get virtually any connector on the car and they are not too expensive. Once you do a few, you learn just to shatter the old connector with some pliers (assuming it is brittle from heat soak), get the terminals and wires out of it and stick them directly into the new connector. No soldering or splicing is needed as long as the individual conductors are not damaged.
THANK YOU. I just bought a terminal removal set and you've saved me hours of wasted time on the 'net researching how to use the ##&%@ thing.
So I see, Peri77, you're in Hungary? Anything interesting about your car - like is it a manual transmission? For some perverse reason, MT A8s fascinate me. Specifically their unobtainability in the US. (ponders resale value of a 2004 A8L with a stick shift - hell, it couldn't be much less than the resale value of a normal 2004 A8!)
Anybody found a source for the connector seals and commonly-used connectors besides the dealer? I've seen terminal repair kits on eBay with a thousand pcs which you'd never use and 20 you would for like $100... I want a bag of the little rubber grommets (if they're even replaceable without removing the metal end). The other thing I've been seeking (yes I am getting lazy now) is the die set for the Lisle/snap-on/eveerybody sells one crimp tool(s) I have that works best with VWAG wire ends.
Yes I live in Hungary. My car is a 2008 D3 S8 almost fully loaded (only options missing : steering wheel heating, lane departure warning). It has B&O sound system, ceramic brakes and audi exclusive full leather alabaster white interior.
The last A8 with stick was the D2 generation, it was not available in D3 anymore. All engine versions are mated with the 6 speed ZF transmission.
Why don't you want to buy connectors from the dealer?
LOL no kidding. A brave man we have here! (Remember it's a fine line between brave and stupid) But you came to the right place, Dante (OP).
Anybody found a source for the connector seals and commonly-used connectors besides the dealer? I've seen terminal repair kits on eBay with a thousand pcs which you'd never use and 20 you would for like $100... I want a bag of the little rubber grommets (if they're even replaceable without removing the metal end). The other thing I've been seeking (yes I am getting lazy now) is the die set for the Lisle/snap-on/eveerybody sells one crimp tool(s) I have that works best with VWAG wire ends.
Hello Tommy,
I found the site linked in my thread linked below that lists many connectors, terminals, and water tight grommets, also many of the pieces are available on EBay to purchase in a single kit, meaning as in this 2 pin connector pictured below you can get just 1 connector, 1 connector grommet, 2 pins, 2 pin grommets, and 1 pin locking clip, all for $4.89 + $3 for shipment, I on the other hand went to the Audi dealer to get the connectors and all the single pieces to make up said connectors for my Bentley engine wiring harness I am retrofitting, the dealer had all the pieces I needed in stock, at first the counterman looked at the connectors and was like "no way we will have these, I will have to order them, if they are even available" well when I gave him all the part numbers as is shown on each connector, along with all the part numbers from that chart for pin, grommets, and lockers, and them asked him to please check them now, he did, and he said "Oh damn, well I'll be &!@^#%&*@, we have them all in stock" and to top it off the dealer price was pretty much the same as EBay without the shipping, or better, plus I had them right then and went over to work on my engine instead of waiting on a shipment.... I was all
Also you can not replace the wire's grommet without first un-crimping it off of the wire/terminal, I want that tool you pictured, I was just using old school crimpers.....
This seems like an old post, so let's reactivate it! So, I am starting to have wiring issues on my 2005 A8, starting with the wiring harness inside the headlight assemblies, and also looks like the ABS harness. Reading between the lines here, it looks like the A8 is susceptible to wire insulation failure. I started in with re-wiring the right headlight assembly, the insulation was just falling off the wires. I am about to start troubleshooting the ABS harness and am expecting more of the same. So how common is this? Before I start chasing down individual wires, give me some background here- how many have replaced the engine bay harness, and would that be a better solution? The car came form New England, but I have had it in Texas for the last 8 years, so it has seen some heat. I have not seen wires deteriorate so quickly as on this car though. Who has dealt with this?
10-09-2017, 06:03 PM
A8L 2005 engine wiring harness
But you came to the right place, Dante (OP).
