DirtyPlunger

So, ive been having electrical issues since i bought this car over a year ago. The cooling fan wasnt working at first, so my cousin(my mechanic) looked at it, apparently it was missing fuses and relays. works now, but just in case, i have an override switch to turn on the fan as I please. The still existing problems now are this. Wipers dont work, blinkers dont work, radio doesnt work, interior lights dont work. More might now work, but i dont know. All fuses have been checked and are good. Any idea on what the problem is? Currently this car is impossible to drive in the rain because of this.


fyi, its a 95' Audi 90 Quattro Sport 2.8L V6.

grillage

Two things wreak electrical havoc on these cars:

Ignition switch
Trunk wiring harness

replace the ignition switch - super easy to see if it fixes the issues

Search here for "trunk wiring" and see what you get.
The gist of the trunk wiring issue is that when you open and close your trunk, there is a length of wire that goes from the trunk lid to the body of the car that flexes every time. The wires inside of it (7 or 8 iirc) tend to fray and become disconnected causing a host of weird things to happen.
In my old '93 90 the doors would all lock every time I opened or shut the trunk.

I also just found this searching for trunk wiring that shows a similar issue being caused by a bad fuse box... AudiWorld Forums - Search Results

DirtyPlunger

oh, thanks. That gives me a good place to start.

DirtyPlunger

autohausaz has my ignition switch on sale for $6.42 right now. not bad.

DirtyPlunger

new ignition switch came in today. I just replaced, went pretty easy. Got the how too from an old thread here. Also had my mechanic check my trunk wire bundle and it tested good. I have no idea what else to do here. I love this car, but this is a pretty major issue. Might just put everything on separate switches and avoid the computer system all together.

DirtyPlunger

i did find this though when doing more research, even though i did the fix, it didnt change anything for me. maybe i should call an audi dealership.

close RECALL Subject : VW/ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:IGNITION:SWITCH , 1 INVESTIGATION(S)
Report Receipt Date: JAN 29, 1996
NHTSA Campaign Number: 96V017000
Component(s): ELECTRICAL SYSTEM
All Products Associated with this Recall expand
Details close
1 Associated Document expand
Manufacturer: VOLKSWAGEN OF AMERICA,INC
SUMMARY:
DEFECTIVE IGNITION SWITCHES WERE IMPROPERLY MANUFACTURED AND CAN CAUSE SOME ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES TO MALFUNCTION.
CONSEQUENCE:
SOME ELECTRICAL ACCESSORIES, SUCH AS, TURN SIGNALS, WINDSHIELD WIPERS, LAMPS, POWER WIND0WS AND AIR CONDITIONERS CAN MALFUNCTION WHEN THE CAR IS STARTED.
REMEDY:
DEALERS WILL REPLACE THE IGNITION SWITCH.
NOTES:
SYSTEM: ELECTRICAL; IGNITION; SWITCH. VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER VEHICLES. NOTE: OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME, SHOULD CONTACT AUDI AT 1-800-822-2834. ALSO CONTACT THE NATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION'S AUTO SAFETY HOTLINE AT 1-800-424-9393.

1993audi90

When you push the 4-way flasher button do all four blinkers work? If so, I'd be looking at the turn signal switch. It's a two piece job, the steering wheel needs to come off. One side is for wipers, the other for lights. It may be as simple as something not plugged in. I had a switch fail but no high beams. Just remember to make sure to unplug the airbag first and make sure the wheel is straight. Two Torx for the airbag. As far as radio who knows how spliced and gutted the wiring is for however many radios were in there. If it's factory different issue. Do the power windows and sunroof work? How about power mirrors? These cars are electrical nightmares, you have to get an ohmmeter and start checking things. I'd start by pulling the fuses for the stuff not working and see if you have 12v there when the switches are on. Key on of course. The radio has 12v all the time but not the wipers.

egp320i

The switch you got for that price is URO, aftermarket junk that are not known to last very long.
When mine cracked I went with OEM, the real deal but I did not pay that price.
I bought from gowesty for $15.

These cars can have gremlins, I am still dealing with a funky fuel gauge which likes to flop around.

I've had the cluster apart and no sign of trace breakage. My temp gauges likes to work on and off as well.
Temp is annoying but fuel is serious, you really should know how much you actually have.