Phil-E

Hey folks. Just came across this thread again and thought I would update with some sad news I'm afraid. I think you all know what's coming... If nothing else it helps me to process it and try to come to terms with it. Overall he was fairly healthy and didn't seem to suffer from the usual breathing problems frenchies often have. He had the usual allergy problmes that were helped with tablets/regular injections. Then about 3 years ago we started noticing little bumps on his skin. We had them checked out and they took a biopsy which confirmed them as little grade 3/5 tumours (spreadable but not agressive) so we had them removed. The next year another couple and then finally 3 more in January. He was then making a nice recovery and everything healing nicely when we were out for a walk when he suddenly collapsed and started fitting. Following an emergency visit to the vets we started with some epilepsy medication and things settled for a few days. He then started to suffer the odd fit and after some researching around we got him on some other tablets. This really helped and the fits basically stopped. We then had another scare a couple of weeks later when he suddenly fell ill and vomited 20 times in one day and stopped eating a drinking. Back to the vets where they did some tests and put him on a drip for a few hours. He had pancreatitis. After some anti biotics he perked back up again. Then things went downhill again some some other smaller fits but finally where we were waking up to him being really wobbly, dizzy and not being able to hold his bladder. Changed the medication but no improvement. We took the decision to start sleeping downstairs with him as he was struggling with stairs etc. Then one night he got up at 3am and was clearly in pain. He was also very restless and wandering around, staring into corners, pressing his head against walls, shaking etc. We took the decision just over 4 weeks ago to go to a clinic nearby that can do MRI scans as we feared something on the brain. They did the scan and sadly confirmed our fears diagnosing a massive brain tumour and basically gave us to the option to either not let him wake up or to take him home and have him put down the next day at our vets. We chose the latter since he was dozed up from the anesthetic anyway and they would give us other medication to keep him calm. So we enjoyed a last evening with him where he cuddled with us and slept really well and in the morning enjoyed several breakfasts of pate, potatoes, carrots, biscuits, peanut butter etc. To say im heartbroken is an understatement. I feel so lost and empty right now. I have a tornadoe of emotions in me and can't do anything to make it feel better. Just have to try and focus on all the lovely memories we have of him. Sorry for anyone else that's been through this. I wouldn't with this on my worst enimy. Also sorry for any spelling mistakes. I'm finding it harder and harder to write in english these days as I do it so infrequently.

1.7l is the gearbox. The mechatronics takes much less (1l).

It's more like 1 or 1.1 litres. I changed mine a couple of years ago. Was very dark. Still didn't prevent the body of the mechatronics from cracking and it needing to be replaced and the mechatronics being rebuilt 🫣

To be honest I'm just gonna let the garage deal with it. As much as I love to do work myself and the savings I've had some work getting an Audi TT back on the road. And also currently in the process of renovating our house and fitting a new kitchen next week. So don't have the time/energy for it unfortunately.

Ours is Just on 145,000km now and is booked in at the Garage next week. We have an annoying rattle/raspy sound that sounds like a failed pulley bearing or similar. Could be coming from the water pump but it's hard to tell. Can hear at idle, gets worse from 1,200rpm and dissapears after 2000rpm. The water pump also "whistles" at idle when the engine is fully warmed up. Will see what they find.

Over here private plates don't really exists. Since the plate doesn't stay with the car then you basically get a new plate when you re-register the vehicle. You can choose your own for a fee of 10€ and can choose from a combination of 2 letters and either 2,3 or 4 numbers. Obviously the "PB" has to be on (for Paderborn where we live). Obviously you can then reserve the plate for a short time should you "un-register" the car (equivalent of SORN) or you just have to keep the car registered.

And she's finally registered and all road legal. Good fun to drive 😁👍

More good news! She's passed! Unfortunately had to stick the steel wheel/winter tyres on as they still weren't happy with the alloys. They're not on the log book after all. So either I stick them back on a risk the off chance of being pulled over and them checking or the steel wheels will be getting cleaned up and repainted (black). Haven't decided yet. Had a new center silencer fitted by the garage too.

Also just had some good news. My boss (the current legal owner till it passes its test since we can't re-register it without that) has found the "log-book" with the mods declared so we don't need the extended check as this can now just be carried over 😁

And took the chance to give her a quick wipe down with a spray wax and polished up the exhaust tip which was looking a bit sorry for itself (obviously not been done in years).

So a little update. She failed the TÜV but nothing major. The battery was loose so bought a new clamp, drilled out the old broken bolt and now the battery is sorted. Loose trims inside the engine bay. Clips and bolts etc replaced and all solid now. The middle silencer is rusting and there's bits falling off. They said it would be ok to just removed the outer rusting shell but it's booked for Tuesday for a new middle silencer fitting. The wheels/tyres and springs aren't original and since we don't have the "log book" where these things would normally be registered by TÜV they have to be checked against the vehicle to ensure they're fit for the vehicle. Costs extra of course but only a paper exercise. They're quite strict with this sort of thing here and any mods/aftermarket parts have to be EU marked and often extra listed on the "log book" that they're safe etc. Thankfully these don't have to be declared to the insurance. So yes the options of mods are more limited here than the UK but doesn't put insurance up! And lastly the headlights. They were cloudy which I obviously already knew but thought I might just scrape through this time and could sort them this summer. So I spent the day yesterday sanding from 800 up to 5000 grit sandpaper. Then a coat of clear coat. Looking good. Going this morning to the lock up to see how it's dried. Looking good already. Certainly an improvement.

Mine are configured so they only come on when the light switch is in the "Auto" position. And can confirm that there is no indicator light on the dash.

Hey folks. Got a little project on the go. We'd been shopping around for a second car as a runaround and was getting depressed at the sea of Ford Fiestas, Fiat Pandas and Smart Cars coming up in our budget. I remembered my boss still had an Audi TT in his lockup that he mentioned he wanted to sell. So here we are. It's an early 1998 non-quattro model. It's only had 2 owners from new and has spent most of it's life in a garage or under an enclosed car port so has less rust on it than my car! Suspension was replaced a couple of years back (think it's lowered slightly too) aswell as the brakes which all look like new still. The only gremlins it has is that the dash is constantly showing an oil temperature sensor warning (it doesn't have one) and the brake wear warning (also doesn't have this). It suffered from the common dash failure and he sourced a used one from a newer model. The driver's side window regulator makes interesting noises and needs replacing (motor is fine thankfully). And I've just replaced a rear ABS sensor as the light was on. Stuck a new battery in as the old one was a cheap one and dead anyway. So it's off to be MOT'd (TÜV) next week so fingers crossed. Hence why it has no plates as the plates get removed when it's not currently registered (equivelant of SORN in the UK).

I can unplug the inverter under bright sunshine and touch the pins. There is no power when it's not connected to a live socket. There's obviously some sort of smart sensing if there is voltage on the pins before the inverter kicks in.

Yeah it shuts off when it's not plugged into a live socket. So if there's a power cut it will also shut off etc. I also just found a tutorial that runs some little command over a terminal to boost the maximum output to 800w. See if it makes a difference now we're getting some good sunshine.

Here in Germany small solar arrays called "Balkonkraftwerke" (Balcony generators) are very popular. Basically usually 2 panels and an inverter that is allowed to have a maximum of 600w output and it just has a standard plug socket on the end. So literally plug and play. I recently bought one and have the panels on my pagoda in the garden. The beauty is I still have an old dial meter that turns backward when I'm not using power! So in effect acts as a battery since I win back some kWh. Producing between 3-4 kWh a day.

And finally we've collected her! Had a bit of back and forth with the dealer. They kept promising delivery dates that came and went. Eventually they offered us an alternative vehicle. I assume an order that someone cancelled. It was still a brand new and unregistered vehicle (6km on the clock) and was the same spec as we ordered apart from gas oven and halogen instead of LED daytime running lights. So we jumped at it and took it. Saved a few hundred anyway as we obviously didnt't have to pay for the missing options. Another nice suprise was we got a model year 2023. So it's got nicer upholstry and a couple of other little changes. The van itself was produced in February so very new. On the way home from picking it up we stopped at a local lake with a dam (Möhnesee- the dam busters dam in case anyone is interested) in order to try everything out etc. First impressions are very positive. She also drives very nice and has plenty of oomph for getting up hills and joining the motorway etc. And the first big trip is also booked. We're driving to the UK via Dunkirk/Dover in August and driving up to York/Bridlington area and back down again. Pleasently surpised by the cost of the ferry. Return for 2 adults and a dog €286. And a 16:00 and 12:00 crossing so no silly early hours or middle of the night crossings.

So the lights aren't actually lighting up at all? Where are you grounding them? You sure it's a proper grounding point on the body of the car you're using?

I've had zero errors with mine. So either they're not monitored (could well be since other interior lights aren't) or they draw enough power. Obviously the advantage of connecting them properly is you can set them to be on all the time (but dim) and control the brightness via Maxidot 😁👍

It's likely that the lights need re-calibrating after changing the sensors. They should move down, out to the sides, back to the middle and back up again on startup.

There are a couple of different types. This one looks like the one that has three different heating circuits all controlled by separate relays. There's also another one that gets connected to a (beefy) +12v feed and ground and connects to can-bus and is then "told" by the car to regulate the output.

Your car being an MY08 it should already have the required can gateway. When I upgraded my MY08 car to a Columbus the only way to get the parking sensor display back (and also the climate control without having to upgrade the unit) was with a Polar FIS+. It emulates the newer can-bus signals to the stereo and passes the right signals etc. Also adds some other nice Maxidot features.

I bought a kit for mine that came with LED lights. Plugged into the control module and works fine without any errors. https://www.ebay.de/itm/153496859670?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=707-127634-2357-0&ssspo=AR1FsE5EQp2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=D3NRqDbPRMy&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

So. The wait continues. They've now been able to give us a delivery "date" of "May". So basically it should be arriving in may some time all being well. I've been talking to a few people that have ordered them with the Fiat Ducato and an automatic gearbox and they've already been waiting 2 years. So I'm very glad we didn't go for the automatic (as much as we would have loved that). When you consider how much diesel, wine and beer you can get for the 7,500€ they wanted for it...

The signal for the amp is sent via CAN-BUS I believe. Is there anything in the settings on the stereo. My Android stereo has a hidden menu with loads of settings in it relating to CAN-BUS and I'm pretty sure I saw something about sound system in there.