garage door opener on my2001+

[skiwi]

similar to the procedure on paul's excellent site with the differences noted below:

1) the dash switches in the my2001+ cars are specific to their locations. there are 2 switch "sites", each capable of taking 3 switches, either side of the emergency switch. on my s8, 2 locations are blank, these are the 2 to the left of the parking aid switch location. the switches cannot be interchanged as they "butt" against each other - e.g. i could not take the rhs parking aid switch and re-locate it into the centre. on the older cars you can do this. as an aside, those willing to lose the parking aid switch, or able to re-locate it, can use the factory dash-nounted cup-holder which takes up a single 3-switch location.

2) the dash surround comes off (pull under the ash tray - with clenched teeth as you'll be sure you're going to rip the trim apart such is the force you need). this brings the dash switches with it - making the job much easier. you do not need to remove the radio unit.

3) use the rear blind switch (my2001+ version) which has a nice graphic of what looks like a garage door on it, and is a momentary switch as required. part number is: 4d0 959 903b

4) with the my 2001 upgrade, the audi switches changed so that the previous large connectors (as pictured on paul's web site) are gone, replaced by a much smaller "pc-style" connectors using connector blocks. for the dash switches, these are 6-pack connectors in 2 rows of 3, in a single ceramic. the connector spacing is the same as is used in pc circuit board connectors, so, rather than using the specified switch connector (be aware that only the "brown" connector will work with this switch, as there are specific key-outs for each of the dash switches - which are colour coded as well*), i found a couple of 4-pin pc connectors and using a sharp knife whittled down the 4th connector so that 3 were left. presto a nice tightly fitting connector with the correct guage wires already attached. if you are like me, you have any number of these lying around.

5) poles 4 and 6 are used for the switch itself, while 1 & 3 are used for the switch light. poles 2 and 5 are not used. i very carefully ran wires from poles 1 & 3 of the parking aid switch, splicing these from the back of the connector block. this supplied the switch light.

6) i dismantled the garage remote. i discarded the large 12v remote in favour of the smaller 6v one - using 2x cr2025 halide cells. i figure that replacing the battery once every few years won't be a big issue, and i liked the fact that i didn't need a 12v supply and the unit was much smaller. i had to split the remote casing, remove the circuit board and then carefully solder 2 small gauge wires to it across the poles of the switch etched on the board. no big deal. these wires then went to poles 4 & 6 on the blind switch.

7) after a couple of experiments with different siting options, including epozying a pole to the back of the blank centre switch hole, i settled for tucking the remote beside the symphony unit in a nice little cubby-hole i spotted. i wrapped the remote in tape (after losing one set of batteries and battery cover when the unit poped apart after 2 days running - due to vibration i guess), and velcroed the remote to the symphony for good measure.

presto a nice, integrated, elegant solution.

*the bosch connectors in the 6-pack are identical, but there is a colour-coded plastic cover which wraps around the connector. this cover then keys into the dash switch itself, so making it unique. a nice solution, but daunting to splice given that the connectors are 0.5mm (or 1mm) - i didn't measure.

[PaulW]