BRAKE, Traction and ABS light are all on....what could be the problem?........

[absolutegtr]

Driving to school today, car was acting just fine, I am about to pull into the parking garage and all of a sudden I hear "beeeeeeeeeeeeep". At first I was like "damn, my tailight went out" (it has randomly been beeping....I need to change the bulb); but the I look down at the dash and I see the ABS light on and the Traction-control llight on....also the Brake light was flashing. It was only the "BRAKE" light that was flashing, the traction control symbol and "ABS" were solidly lit.

So I proceed to drive up the ramp to find a spot....car is acting great, there were no side effects at all: idle was great, shifting perfect...nothing unusual. So I park my car shut it off, and turn it back on.....the "ABS" light has gone away as well as the flashing "BRAKE" light, but the traction control light is still lit and cannot be turned off.

I am thinking dirty/malfunctioning MAF sensor......

Any ideas?

(I am at school right now, so in about 3 hours hopefully everything will be gone )

[ScaryGary]

would all that stuff come on for low fluid level? or fuse?

[lox1985]

Traction control will turn off by itself. Its audi....sh!t happens for no reason with our electrical systems. If everything comes back on....then we got a problem.

[3.0L AUDI A4]

check your brake fluid.. my BRAKE light flashed when the fluid was low and on a turn it would dip under the sensor and cause the light to pop on...

[absolutegtr]

check your brake fluid.. my BRAKE light flashed when the fluid was low and on a turn it would dip under the sensor and cause the light to pop on...

Oh I know about this. The very first day I bought my car, it would start to flash and I almost shit my pants thinking I bought a lemon, lol....it turned out my rear brakes were gone and after replacing that...no more light..until today...but now the ABS and Traction light were on.

ANYWAYS, just got back from school and sure enough the lights didnt reappear. I GUESS thats good, but my car has never done this before, and I am concerned what made it do that

I will try cleaning the MAF....any ideads anyone?

[quat]

its the brake light switch, about 8$

If you change it yourself don't depress the switch before you put it in or you'll ruin it.

[absolutegtr]

its the brake light switch, about 8$

If you change it yourself don't depress the switch before you put it in or you'll ruin it.

Thanks....where can I get it?

If it happens one more time, I will definetly change it...

[quat]

Dealer is your best bet. VW had a recall on the one they used in a lot of their vehicles. It's the same one that is in our cars. VW Part #1J0 945 511 D. Also I think its 8$ at a VW dealer but close to 15 at an Audi dealer.

Are you sure that its a bad bulb that needs replaced? All of your braking lights could be out because of this switch. Or they stay on all the time. Its one of the major symptoms of a bad switch, the other is a non-functioning cruise control.

The switch controls soooo many things on our cars. It's connected to all kinds of systems, ABS, Lighting, ESC, Cruise control, etc. Since you were pulling into the garage at the time im sure you were stepping on the brake pedal, thus activating the switch.

Clicky

That is the install on a VW, its basically the same on our cars. Just have to remove different paneling.

[absolutegtr]

Dealer is your best bet. VW had a recall on the one they used in a lot of their vehicles. It's the same one that is in our cars. VW Part #1J0 945 511 D. Also I think its 8$ at a VW dealer but close to 15 at an Audi dealer.

Are you sure that its a bad bulb that needs replaced? All of your braking lights could be out because of this switch. Or they stay on all the time. Its one of the major symptoms of a bad switch, the other is a non-functioning cruise control.

The switch controls soooo many things on our cars. It's connected to all kinds of systems, ABS, Lighting, ESC, Cruise control, etc. Since you were pulling into the garage at the time im sure you were stepping on the brake pedal, thus activating the switch.

Clicky

That is the install on a VW, its basically the same on our cars. Just have to remove different paneling.

Hey, thanks for all the info.

Today it happened again. I turned on teh car in the morning and all three lights came on (ABS, T/C, and flashing BRAKE light); so I turned the car off, and then just the T/C light remained on (Couldnt turn it off)...SO I turned off the car AGAIN and restarted it and then all 2 lights were all gone.

So it seems like it is going to do this every few day now....

Also, Although the part is cheap i dont like the idea of just "throwing" parts at the car to try and fix it....

Furthermore, my brake lights work fine (I can see the reflection of the third brake light against the tint) and I use my cruis control dailyt so that work too..

Any ideas? Or are you certain that it is the brake switch?

[quat]

I'm just going by what has happened to me in the past. Similar "ghosts" kept happening to me. T/C light, and the ABS light. I never had the flashing "BRAKE" light though.

I know that if your T/C light is on after a battery change or something like that all you have to do is drive around the corner and it should reset itself.

Keep in mind that this is just my .02

[102487thedude]

Check the fuse located on the driverside. When you open the driver side door, you will see on the side of the dashboard there is a plastic panel that comes of. then check the top level of fuses third row in from the left, the bottom or second to bottom fuse i think the fuse is a Number 10 orange it could be blown. if so just replace it and you will be good to go.

[102487thedude]

when you take off the plastic pannel it will show you what each fuse is. You are looking for the one that says electronic stability control.

[absolutegtr]

thanks man, i'll check the fuses

[diztek]

yeah my brake light swithc went bad. i was on my way to colorado, and while in cruise control, everything just shut down. turned off car and restarted and everything was fine. but brake light switch does do a lot.

[absolutegtr]

Checked the fuses all where seated properly but had backed out JUST A TINY BIT.

anyways, I pulled the appropriate fuse (forgot already, lol) and it turned on the ABS light and flashing BRAKE light as well... It didnt turn the T/C on though...

I guess I am just going to let it ride for now, lol.....next time it goes bad/flashes and whatnot...I will try to use my cruise control, to see if it did affect that and if it did I will replace the sensor. But as of now everything works tip-top

[102487thedude]

You where sopose to pull it and check if it poped and then put it back in while the car is off. all the lights should go off if they dont then you can have a real problem with your car. dont forget to put it back in. Dont leave it out.

[absolutegtr]

You where sopose to pull it and check if it poped and then put it back in while the car is off. all the lights should go off if they dont then you can have a real problem with your car. dont forget to put it back in. Dont leave it out.

haha, i know....i put it back in its place with the car OFF...

just drove back to school and everything was alright.

[monkey323i]

our B6 rear brake doesnt have worn-out sensor. Only front brakes have it.

So whether rear brakes are worn out or not, it wont trigger any warning light.


I have the same EXACTLY situation as you did. Solid ESP + Brake plus flashing E-brake light.

Once I turn off and restart again, only soild ESP stayed on.

wait a few min and restart again, all lights are gone.



My cause was that due to aftermarket HID system. They require large voltage draw at beginning and it confuses the on-board computer.

[absolutegtr]

our B6 rear brake doesnt have worn-out sensor. Only front brakes have it.

So whether rear brakes are worn out or not, it wont trigger any warning light.


I have the same EXACTLY situation as you did. Solid ESP + Brake plus flashing E-brake light.

Once I turn off and restart again, only soild ESP stayed on.

wait a few min and restart again, all lights are gone.



My cause was that due to aftermarket HID system. They require large voltage draw at beginning and it confuses the on-board computer.

Well I have OEM xenons. They have been on the car for over a year now with absolutely no problems. So that is definetly not it.

I am guessing it must be the brake switch.....

[dfaudi]

I had a similar problem...happened after a power wash OR during wet conditions...EPC, brake, and traction lights. Turned out to be a crack in the plastic ecu cover...leaked water in and would go off randomly...

The crack in the ecu plastic cover usually happens at the tabs where the cover is bolted down when the ecu is taken out and the window wiper assembly is not removed. its teh tab on the drivers side, way in the back. The one thats a pain to reach.

[absolutegtr]

well its been a couple months, since I started this thread and it has never happened again,,,,wierd

[gtimart]

Just a note: I just went to buy a brake light switch and the part has been superceded by this: 1K2 945 511
It's a new brake light switch that can now be reinstalled multiple times so I guess it won't break if misinstalled. It even comes with installation instructions!
Cost: 5$ at the local Audi dealer.

[absolutegtr]

Just a note: I just went to buy a brake light switch and the part has been superceded by this: 1K2 945 511
It's a new brake light switch that can now be reinstalled multiple times so I guess it won't break if misinstalled. It even comes with installation instructions!
Cost: 5$ at the local Audi dealer.

Thanks