Hello Audi people!
I have a friend who wants to buy Audi 5000 '87 - non-turbo model, AT.(California car) (Isn't t weird that on the back the badges say "Audi 5000 CS" and the car has no turbo, '87 CS = turbo isn't it, i'm confused)
The car has 150k miles and the price is $1200.

Well, i never had the chance to drive the car myself but i saw it a week ago and i could take a look under the hood. It looks clean but i know that the owner did some cleaning of the engine. Most of the belts and hoses look OK. I'm almost sure that the T-belt service was done. Radiator is new too but not attached properly.(missing bolts) The car does not overheat in traffic.
The car has a rebuilt AT /a year ago = 10k miles/.
Both left and right front axis are new with new CV joints and etc. The engine sounds "smooth", he runs it with 87 octane(that's bad isn't it) the AC doesn't cool the car but runs(the controls are working) One of the fans on the dash does not work.
On the outside, the car looks very good for 14 y/o car.
Brakes....good pads(the owner said) but i don't know about the brake lines. Are these expensive?

Here are the serious questions:
On the Auto check monitor the "brake warning" light is displayed all the time. Brakes are functionning proberly. I've heard that this is common problem on 5k Audis. How do we fix this, is it difficult, can i do it for my friend or he should pay big $$$ to a Audi mechanic???
Second thing.... RPMs, at idle the stay above 1k rpm. Never go down even when warm. They look constant but high. Any adjustment that can be done? What can be causing this? The most common cause and how much $$$ to fix at $70/hour labor if i can't do it for him?

That's all so far. Sorry for making this so long.
I'll look at the car deeper this weekend and i'll check for some hidden leaks and other problems. I'll drive it too.

Thanks for the help.
DanA100

 

broken electrical line from the pad to somewhere. Only the front inside pads have sensors (at least on a 97 A6). You can disconnect the pad connector and short out the pins in the connector on the engine side. That will tell you if it is the pads or wiring, i.e. if the brake warning stops lighting on the dash.

My brake job with new Rofren pads, Zimmerman slotted rotors, two liters of Pentosin, a power bleeder and other odds and ends ran about $400.

To answer the question, my brake warning light was on for three weeks or so, brakes worked fine like they should have. The pads were in need of replacment.

 

could be low fluid, or the bomb (hydralic pressure accumulator), but is most likely the brake booster (I had 2 5Ks, both were bad). Good news is you can get a rebuilt now, bad news is, if memory serves, it was close to $300. An easy way to tell if this is the source of the fault is to unplug the sensor, the light will go out (although a bomb will do the same). If it does pull the return line to the top of the fluid tank, which is right next to the booster, there should be no fluid coming out with the engine running and no foot on the brake, if there is the booster is bad. The sensor is right on the booster toward the center of the car, behind the master brake cylinder.

As far as the high idle look at the idle switch on the throttle plate.

The fan is likely worn brushes, major pain to change. Took me all day, you have to pull the big white heating box in the center of the dash under the hood. Also at that age the seals on the air conditioner lines are going to be gone, get the o-rings changed before you bother to recharge, or you will have to do it again.

Good luck with it.

 

So, there is no any other sensors/wires that may send false readings to the AutoCheck system??
I think i heard a long time ago someone talking about reseting this yellow brake light but i'm not sure.
I do remember that my dad had a company owned Audi 5k '85 with the same problem on the Auto Check system(always ON brake warning) and the light never went OFF even after two brake jobs(new pads) The bomb was OK and the car was stopping very well. I don't remember if they fixed the problem and how.
I thought that this problem is something very common....i guess i was wrong if no one here knows of it.

Is bad bomb/system pressure going to activate the auto-check system OR it will activate the RED light(hand brake light) ???
Are the Auto-check system and bomb/"brake pressure" connected at all?
Is it possible the sensor for the brake fluid level in the reservoir to malfunction? The level seemed OK.

Weird, isn't it?

DanA100

 

and the brake pad indicator has been on for weeks. That shows as a circle with a bracket on the left and right side (o) kind of like that.
The warning only applies to pad thickness.

I think Dave is talking about the work "BRAKE" being displayed. I have that too. That warning would indicate fluid level, etc.

Since my car is ten years differant in age the brake warnings may not be very applicable.

 

Pull the front wheels. Look for a dangling connector that's not connected to anything near the front caliper. If you see it, and it's not connected, then the previous owner used cheapie pads _without_ the sensor wire in them. Open circuit triggers the Autocheck.

Rule that out first, then move on to the expensive stuff.

-Steve Jensen
87 5kcstq
87 5kcstqw

 

I was thinking he meant the pad indicator symbol, but after re-reading I think you are right.

DanA100, do you see the word BRAKE in a red triangle (accompanied by three audible beeps), or the hieroglyphics symbol?

-Steve Jensen
87 5kcstq
87 5kcstqw

 

I'll check again this Friday. My friend will have the car for a test drive all day so i'll pay more attention to what exactly the light looks like.
I only remember that on the old 5k that i mentioned (my dad's) the light was YELLOW, no red (warning) light. I'll check this Audi 5k again just to make sure.
On my Audi 100 '89 when the fluid is low or if there is a pressure problem the light that goes ON is the RED one which is located UNDER the Auto-check display - this is the same light that goes ON when the hand brake is engaged. The Auto Check system light goes ON only when the pads are bad....(actually, once i had a leaking front caliper and then BOTH lights were ON, wow, confusing?!?!?)

Anyway, i'll check again and what really might be the problem is "the cheap brake pads". The cables are probabaly hanging there and sending signals to the system. I hope this is it or my buddy will have to pay $$$ to fix anything else.

Any OTHER ideas on the high RPM level?(i'll check the trotle switch) They stay always above 1200 rpm. Could it be clogged fuel injectors? Bad O2 sensor? Cat. converter? Can i try to adjust the RPM manually somehow to see what happens?

Thanks a lot for your responses. They are very helpful!

DanA100

 

Well, to add to the confusion, my (o) symbol appears if only one pad is worn.

 

Sounds like the Parking Brake sensor