mdettling

Hello all -

My name is Mike, 35 from Oregon.

I run a PC service/auto electrics diagnostics business in a small town.

Tough financial times led me to kick around at a dealer's back lot.

Came across a 90 Quattro V8. The 3.6 sounds very good.

First off, at present it has a bad master cylinder, so I could not take it on the highway. Remanned one on order for $135.

There are a few electrical glitches that I hope to figure out in a timely manner as I have a business to run.

Sunroof quits working at random. Sticky relay perhaps?

Both back windows do not work.

Speedo/odo works sometimes. Is it a common fault in the electronic cluster?

All transmission gear indicators are lit up. Limp mode? I hope that's not a major project.

Needs a wheel bearing. Is this a big job?

Finally, it has a brand new battery. It starts using a booster pack, alternator is putting out, but the battery isn't charging. What are the common areas to check and clean?

This will be absolutely the MOST sophisticated car, out of the other 32 vehicles owned since 15.

Thank you for reading, and for any tips/advice you have to offer.

Mike

toml99

Hey Mike, welcome to the tribe. Before you spend any money on the car, you should diagnose the limp mode to verify that it's something electrical(totally possible with your charging issue), or it's a dead/dying tranny. I got my Lago car from my ex's dad after it went into limp mode 1 yr out of warranty after they'd already replaced tranny, and he put it into deep storage. I threw a new battery in it years later, and in the end, determined that the low battery voltage caused limp mode, and it's never been back in 13 yrs. Is there 14.5V or so at battery when charging? Alternator brush's/voltage regulator are single unit and cheap if they're worn. Check all obvious grounds on motor.
I'd verify you're charging/got proper voltage before doing any tranny troubleshooting, then verify tranny issue....then the rest of the stuff.
SJMAutotechnik's site has troubleshooting guide on how to blink out codes for motor and tranny, along with a ton of other info... Tranny came "filled for life" and as such, they didn't supply dipstick and many got neglected(3 of the parts cars I've bought possibly had the original fluid in them and were gonners).
Instrument cluster is a universal issue(bad solder joints/cracking/corrosion) and my lago car had it's replaced under warranty yrs ago, and both that and my 5-speed have issues. I just live with the squaking about brakes/fluid etc, and on Lago, if I lightly tap dash, speedo always works. I'll get around to it eventually, but there's always something more pressing to deal with.
If rear lighter has no voltage(along with both window switches), it's on same circuit as both rear windows, and could be simply the fuse, but 9/10, there's a cracked wire in drivers door jamb under boot. If you've got voltage at the rear switches, window motors are just frozen and can usually get taken apart and lubed up(just did 2 of 4 on Lago after it sat for 3 yrs in the wet PNW and all 4 quit). Good luck, Tom

V8BOB

Welcome to the fold. How many miles are on the car? If tough financial times are afoot then a V8 is not a car that will help you out of that situation. I think I would service the transmission first. The trany IS in limp mode. I would get a new filter and O-ring drop the pan, which means you have to remove exhaust X/H pipe. clean the pan and tell us what you see as far as debris in there. Refill with 4 quarts of synthetic ATF. There is a fill tube but most likely no dip stick. If you drain the pan the proper refill amount is 4 qts. If the trans is junk then most will say this is a parts car unless there is some social redeeming value to it that we don't know about.

Good luck, Bob

mdettling

Toml99,

Thanks for the PM.

The car will start using a jump pack & still run all accessories w/o jump pack connected.

After almost 45 minutes running, battery showed no signs of charging.
(rapid clicking in start position)

Battery is a brand new properly sized one.

The wiring under the rear seat seemed to need a bit of attention.

Lets start with the battery issue, maybe the TCM isn't getting the power it needs?

Thanks for this pointer, Toml99. My 89 Lincoln is having the same issue every now and then, turned out to be terminal ends at the battery.

V8Bob,

Thank you for your reply, I will know a little more after I sort out the no-charge issue.

The odo shows 152k, but has worked on and off for a while. I'm handy with a soldering iron & DMM though.

I will see about doing a trans pan drop, and be there to see what comes out of there.

Whats the first sign to look for to walk away from this, quickly?

Thanks for your time and input guys.



Mike

Pushbutton_auto

first sign ?

you got it, the transmission. If its totalled then abandon all hope, unless you got plenty of time, space and money.

mdettling

Thanks all for your replies, I have decided to walk away from the deal.
I really liked that car though. The lot owner said it himself that it's a POS lol.

The search continues.....