Last Thursday I thought I heard a random clicking noise from near the vents in the centre of the dashboard, and over the past few days it has been happening more often. It sounds like the flasher unit, and mainly happens after the indicators have been used, although it sometimes occurs without the indicators having been used.

It doesn't appear to make the indicators flash as it's happened a couple of times when I've been stood in traffic behind another vehicle and I've seen nothing in the reflection. Does the flasher unit simply need replacing or is it something more sinister? The car suffered from water ingress about 6 years ago, but was sorted out and there have been no problems since then.

You can start with that. The flasher relay is in emergency lights unit. For turn signals and emergency lights it's all in one relay.

It's not the flasher unit.

This is an age old VAG problem where the column mounted indicator switch is assembled without lubricant. It eventually fills up with copper frag from the contacts and develops enough leakage current between them to operate the flasher relay - but not the lamps.

Get an old towel and stuff it under the switch. Then take a can of Servisol Super 10 switch cleaner and lubricant and spray it into the switch whilst operating it. You may need to do this a few times.

Failing the above, change the switch. The steering wheel has to come off to do this - mind the airbag connections/clockspring.

rotodiesel.

Many thanks for the help and information - I'll give it a go at the weekend and fingers crossed it will do the trick.

What rotodiesel wrote. I had the problem myself.