Graham Butcher

Garage just rang, and their system does indeed point to the N/S/R sensor, so they are replacing both the magnetic ring and the sensor tomorrow (they have to order them in) so we shall know further tomorrow.

Thank you for the reply and suggestions, I don't know if the ring is corroded or not, but I suspect not, I have tested the sensor loop for all the wheels pretty extensively by using the live data reports on my OBD2 dongle, and it reports all wheel speeds the same unless I'm on bend or a corner. I've pulled the N/S/R sensor, and it looks to be perfectly fine as well, no sign of anything rubbing on the end where it is running close to the magnetic ring and all connections are clean and making good contact. Wheel bearing felt just fine and has zero rumbling or grumbling noises when spinning the wheel, and no, the brakes have never got hot, its a low mileage car and its been with me since I collected it new from the dealer's in 2013, so I know its history well. All the time I had the sand dust on the car, I was getting this problem, since washing the car, not a thing, so I'm taking it into the specialist today, so lets see what their test equipment can detect. I'll post on here what their finding is, but at the moment it is behaving itself.

Since I washed my car the problem with regard to the dashboard lighting like a Christmas tree and giving an indication that the N/S/R wheel speed sensor was faulty, I have not any reoccurrence of that problem. Prior to that, it was covered with the sand dust that we experienced in the South, could that have been causing the problems? It is booked into my local VWAuditech centre in the morning for a diagnostic check over, the warnings have long gone, hopefully however, they might be held in the ECU's memory so that they can retrieve them. I have not cleared them this time.

OK, the speaker arrived, there are a few differences between the standard Superb speaker and the one from the L&K model. The cone is slightly different in appearance, the roll suspension on the L&K is both larger and more rubbery and the magnet is around 25 mm larger in dia, otherwise is the same. Fitted it the same way as the old was, with pop rivets and the difference in the quality between having a woofer and not, in a single door is staggering. I don't think the bass is quite as deep with the standard speaker, but I'll gladly make do with it as L&K model cars are extremely rare indeed on the road, out of 301 registered in 2013, 274 of those are still on the road. The 27 not on the road may just be stored in garages somewhere, not written off, but if I can get a proper replacement at a sensible price, I'll take it, so if anyone comes across one, I'd be grateful if they could let me know. The saving grace with bass is that it is not as directional as mid-range to high frequencies are, hence why some sound and cinema systems only have 1 subwoofer between 5 sound channels.

Oh hell yeah, I'll be checking that, but I'm not expecting any issues on that front as the speaker is all plug and play so to speak, and the plug will only fit one way.

I actually cut away the cone to get to the voice coil, and it failed due to the magnet air gap dimensioning on one side due to the magnet rusting up inside and swelling up so that it actually wedged the cone and voice coil tight against one side of the air gap, trapping it solid. I'm guessing that particular speaker might have missed out on the protection stage of assembly, who knows? Hopefully the replacement speaker arrives soon, fingers crossed it does and I get a fine day to fit it.

Update on this, I've decided to try out a 3T0035411A speaker instead with the option of a 2nd one for the drivers' door in case there is any actual difference in the sound / volume in the front.

Yeah, I also found that seller, the only one that claimed to have that part number as well, then I saw the shipping cost, then I thought about the possible import duty, then I also noticed that the seller also claims to have the 3T0035411A bass speaker but using the same photo for both, and I wondered if they actually had both or just hoping that no one would notice the difference between them? So I have found 2 of the 3T0035411A on eBay for less money that that one, so I have decided to go with them and see what if any noticeable difference in sound there is. Maybe by swapping both of the J's for the A's in the front, any differance in sound may not be noticed in the front?

I have added a couple of photos of the woofer I need.

Update on the woofer, removed the door card, thanks to the assistance of wokwan, and the wiring to the door and speakers is absolutely fine. The signals from the amp are reaching the woofer, just that the woofer is not responding. Checked the cone for movement, and it is locked solid. Measured the voice coil, and it is spot on at 2 ohms, so I can rule out amplifier allowing DC voltage to bleed into the speaker as it would have burnt out the voice coil, and it would smell burnt, there is no smell. So now I need a replacement speaker, which only seems to be available in Germany. Does anyone know where else I might locate a replacement, the standard Superb woofer is not suitable, they are 4ohms and designed for the standard stereo, mine has the Canton uprated stereo.

Wondering if any here has upgraded their stereo has one of the woofer speakers for the front doors (part number is 3T0035411J) this is made by Sonavox of China and is a 2ohm speaker, the normal Superb speaker is a 4ohm and the part number is the same but the J becomes A, that they would be prepared to sell? Mine has become completely stuck, its not shorted though, so its not been overloaded at all. I think it has not been working for about 5 years since the door it is had some bodywork repairs done and it's only just been noticed.

I stumbled across this interesting video which shows that sometimes you can catch a cold when you opt for what is perceived to be a premium replacement for a faulty sensor, I wonder how many times people fallen into this kind of trap?

Thank you.

Has anyone had problems with the speakers, in the N/S/F door of their Superb, or has anyone ever removed the door card on that door for any reason? My woofer on that door has stopped working, and I'd like to remove the door card and see what is wrong with it, but I'm not sure just to do this without causing any damage to the card. This is by far the best car I've ever had, and I want to leave the interior undamaged when I do it. I've tried searching previous posts but have not been able to find anything to do with the door card removal, is there a post that might help me?

No, that is a 3 wire sensor that uses 1 wire of the supply as the common for the Hall voltage second wire. This link actually shows the connection of a 2 wire sensor and the third part of the sensor circuitry is housed inside the ABS control module, which means if that part fails it will greatly increase the cost or repair as that unit will need replacing and hence why I have decided against a DIY repair because my live data testing shows the wheel sensor as working correctly, indicating that the fault more than likely exists with the control module itself 😟 https://www.tiepie-automotive.com/en/articles/abs-sensor-hall

Yes, the inductive one, page 16 is the one where a multimeter may be used to see if the coil is intact or has a broken connection and page 17 is a version of the active sensor (hall effect) but is in fact the older style with 3 wires. It also says that these active sensors are better because they can detect much slower wheel speeds and are therefore safer as they will react far quicker to speed variations, which could be the lifesaver in some circumstances.

Oh, thats useful information, thanks for the link 👍

To an extent it is to me and electronics is my hobby, I love to repair audio equipment and also test gear, but I have to confess that modern digital electronics leave me a little confused.😁

No, they take the incoming 12V supply and then via the internal chips superimpose a square wave signal whose frequency is dependent on the wheel speed, whereas the ones with a coil and a magnetic core are passive devices that actually do produce a weak AC voltage which is a sine wave and does not require a 12v supply, unlike active sensors.

I just had a scan through my online manual and here in lies the answer, these sensors are indeed active ones, even though they only have 2 connections, so that means that the ABS controller itself forms the load effect for them to operate?

I no longer have access to a sensor without ripping my wheel off again, and I'm not planning on that again anytime soon, I'm not as agile as I was once. Years ago popping wheels of a double-decker bus posed no problem for me, that was where I did my apprenticeship, with what was then the National Bus Company, as an Auto Electrical Engineer. Now 73 and way out of condition and to big for this game.

Thanks for the info, where did you get the wiring diagram from?

Yeah I thought there might be a diode, but what would be the purpose of that if there is just a coil and magnetic core within it. I'm not going to be replacing it, if it does get replaced, it will be the garage doing it, so I'll try to remember to ask them for the old sensor back in order to try and dissect it, if they do replace it. I'm intrigued to learn its secrets as well. Where are you reading the circuit diagram from? I have downloaded one, but I don't recall seeing the ABS system in it.

Yeah, I don't know if the first Superb is the same or not or indeed what other cars run with. This is the first time I have had to physically interact with a car for over 40 years as I have always had company cars in the past. Infact my current car was my company car which I purchased when I retired 6 years ago. So this is a steep learning curve for me.

Not when you have small croc clips that are directly onto the 2 flat pins which protrude from the sensor and then to prevent accidentally disconnecting a connection in the small sensor housing, you unplug the banana plugs from the meter and reverse them. The lead which plugs into the sensor has 2 recessed sockets that the 2 flat pins enter to make contact. Using the meter probe leads instead of the croc clips, reveals that there is no power to the sensor until the engine is actually running.