jangles
21-02-2015, 07:22 PM
For the past few months, I've noticed a clicking noise after I start my car from cold. The car's an A4 (B7) 2.0 TDI S Line multitronic, '06 plate, with about 142K miles on the clock now. Loved driving this car since I bought it in 2010. I'm the second owner.
The clicking is accompanied by the lights going dim. Meaning, all lighting: dashboard, centre console, courtesy lights, everything. If the head and tail lights are on, they dim simultaneously as well. The clicking is momentary, sort of like an on-off sequence. So it's about 1-2 seconds. In that sequence, the lights dim and then come back up to normal again in that 1-2 seconds time.
THe location of the clicking noise seems to come from somewhere behind the dash or in it. If I'm sitting in the driver's seat, it seems to be from behind the speedo area.
A bit of online searching for this turned up a thread in this forum that started in 2010: Clicking noise (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?88790-Clicking-noise&highlight=clicking+relay+b7)
I would have added this post to that thread, but it's marked as closed. It's a really useful discussion as it focused on some areas I would not have considered, eg, possibly related to the glow plugs although whenever I start the car, whether from cold or already warmed up, I always wait for the glow plug dash light to go out before turning the key to start the engine.
In this cold weather, what I tend to do is turn on the heated rear window (that also includes the heated door mirrors) and the defrost immediately after starting the engine, once all the usual dashboard warning lights have gone out. Now I'm thinking about all that extra load on the electrical system from the start. So tomorrow, when the car's stone cold, I will start the engine but not turn on anything else to see if that makes any difference (I'll update this post).
I'm now wondering whether replacing the battery with a brand new one might solve this. The battery in the car is the original from new. That means its 9 years old (according to the plate in the engine compartment, the car was built in Feb 2006). It has never been the source of any issues or problems. The car was in Reading Audi for a major service a few weeks ago, and the dealer also did one of those health checks that included checking the electrical system. Nothing untoward reported.
Do you think this is the route to a solution? Thanks for any insights and advice.
The clicking is accompanied by the lights going dim. Meaning, all lighting: dashboard, centre console, courtesy lights, everything. If the head and tail lights are on, they dim simultaneously as well. The clicking is momentary, sort of like an on-off sequence. So it's about 1-2 seconds. In that sequence, the lights dim and then come back up to normal again in that 1-2 seconds time.
THe location of the clicking noise seems to come from somewhere behind the dash or in it. If I'm sitting in the driver's seat, it seems to be from behind the speedo area.
A bit of online searching for this turned up a thread in this forum that started in 2010: Clicking noise (http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?88790-Clicking-noise&highlight=clicking+relay+b7)
I would have added this post to that thread, but it's marked as closed. It's a really useful discussion as it focused on some areas I would not have considered, eg, possibly related to the glow plugs although whenever I start the car, whether from cold or already warmed up, I always wait for the glow plug dash light to go out before turning the key to start the engine.
In this cold weather, what I tend to do is turn on the heated rear window (that also includes the heated door mirrors) and the defrost immediately after starting the engine, once all the usual dashboard warning lights have gone out. Now I'm thinking about all that extra load on the electrical system from the start. So tomorrow, when the car's stone cold, I will start the engine but not turn on anything else to see if that makes any difference (I'll update this post).
I'm now wondering whether replacing the battery with a brand new one might solve this. The battery in the car is the original from new. That means its 9 years old (according to the plate in the engine compartment, the car was built in Feb 2006). It has never been the source of any issues or problems. The car was in Reading Audi for a major service a few weeks ago, and the dealer also did one of those health checks that included checking the electrical system. Nothing untoward reported.
Do you think this is the route to a solution? Thanks for any insights and advice.