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Audi Q5 electrical fire

Hi, Members,

Need help with an Audi Q5 2017 S Line with electrical fire damage.
Bought vehicle from salvage yard online.
Looked like just a simple starter motor cable and wiring loom from drivers footwell to headlight, horn, fog lamp and sensor on drivers front hub. Easy enough to repair those but now seen wires under engine and harness leading to Auto Gearbox.
Now this has me worried as I’m hoping the ECU’s are not damaged.

Anyone on the forum an Audi electrical wiz?

Rakesh I used to be pretty competent dealing with Audi's, retired tech,still fine with mechanical side of these machines but the data/electronics have gone so far forward in the last
5 - 10 years. that I can't suggest I'm right up to date.
There are others on this site who seem to have a good handle on the latest tech so hopefully they'll chime in and we'll see if we can get you on the road.You'll give us a cut of the profits right !
If you're prepared to research and learn and enjoy this stuff you're in for a treat.Step One buy a Vagcom cable/software from Ross-Tech you'll need this absolutely. Modern day equivalent of a screwdriver !

Hi MurrayA4,
I already have the genuine VCDS so all good there. I need to fix all the damaged wiring looms before I get to that stage. Will keep updating progress.
so far, i’ve almost Identified the damaged harness.
Main one is the starter motor and altinator loom and the other is loom which runs under drivers wing going to headlight.
Unfortunately, the one I believe to be the starter motor and altinator harness runs from under the engine/gearbox and into the positive terminal in engine bay skuttle panel are ones which have fought on fire. This has also damaged the loom going to the DSG box.
Fixing these wires is going to take a while.
Dont suppose there is a program out there for the wiring schematics?

There are the Audi online manuals. Go to your Audi site and search for "erWin". In the US we can get a 24 hour access for $35. Download all the manuals as PDF files at once and you will be set. There are wiring harness manuals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DennisMitchell (Post 25096886)

Hi Dennis,Thanks for the info. Just downloading a copy of Elsa win. Think it’s the same thing. Hope it has the diagrams for a 2017 audi

Rakesh where you are located are there any scrap/recycling yards large enough to have scrapped Audi s perhaps the one you bought the car from ? It may well be more cost effective to buy the complete looms from another vehicle, keeping in mind trim level, options etc.

What Murray A4 says is the way to go, that way it will all look factory and no one can see any spliced harness etc. In the long run to have intact, non spliced looms are the ONLY way! otherwise the car could become an electrical nightmare!

Quote:

Originally Posted by MurrayA4 (Post 25097151)

Hi,Unfortunately, every yard I have called for the wiring looms have either sold or scrapped the looms. The model I have is a S Line + with standard options found on most S Line Q5’sNow I have downloaded Elsawin 6, I should be able to go down a few years and check if older vehicles or different models have same loom. I have the part numbers from Audi main dealer for the engine wiring loom and the starter motor/ altinator loom. I found the starter motor loom on eBay and have ordered it. Other looms seem to be under the vehicle look like battery terminal looms. Haven’t identified them yet unless they are part of the altinator loom. The big heavy gauge wires are ones which have burnt to a crisp and damaged the transmition loom. And slightly damaged part of engine loom. The loom leading to headlight will have to be spliced or I could replace individual wires to the connectors and back under the dash where they connect into the main interior wiring harness. This goes all around the car so some will have to be spliced. Have read up on methods of joining automotive looms and harnesses. Best solution seems to be butt crimped and soldered then heatshrink. ELSAWIN recommends but crimping with genuine loom repair kit and using yellow repair wire sets for identification so you know the wires have been repaired.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevereddy (Post 25097187)

I am worried about these wiring looms latching on fire in the first place, so already an electrical nightmare!I also need to get to the cause of the fire in the first place so as not to have the same problem again. Have contacted DVLA with regards to the contact details of the previous owner, but that looks like it’s going to be difficult. I will need to find out what the cause of the fire was and why it was salvaged. I have sent for the registration to be transferred to me, then hopefully I would be able to contact Audi and get the engineers report on the vehicle.with it being under 12 months old before the vehicle was auctioned in the salvage yard, it must have gone back to Audi at some point. Can’t see it being the entire decision of the insurance company. Will have to find out the ins and outs of how vehicles are dealt with when under warranty. Soo much to do here!!!

Rakesh-
I don't know what venue you are in, but in the US, yes, it would be the insurance company's sole decision to total a car and sell it off for salvage. How practical it is or isn't to take a car with a salvage title and get it back on the road, or re-insured, varies in each state. Typically the insurer will look at the book value of the car, adjusted for mileage and local market, then look at the price of repairs. If there was a fire that affected the main harness, perhaps several computer units, perhaps the transmission mechanical and electrical parts, any rubber seals, etc. under the car, any smoke damage to the interior. If the damage is 50% of the car's value, it gets totalled out and sold for salvage. The exact value may vary, and the owner may or may not be given the chance to buy the car at the salvage price. In some cases the insurer would rather sell it to the owner and not pay for the title transfer and not do paperwork. Others will insist on the formal salvage title and scrapping it.

So, with main wiring looms going for $1000-2000 each, plus shop labor, plus computers and other parts? Sometimes you can make out well with a salvage car, sometimes, not so well. If there was any paint damage, the insurer would be figuring the perhaps substantial price of a repaint, too. Possibly all new tires, not wanting to risk heat damage to them either.