Driver door electronics don't work and 01331 code

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

So I got back to my car last night and none of the electronics in the driver side door work. The door won’t lock when I use the lock button on the key, the lights for the switches are all off, the windows won’t roll down, and I can’t control the mirrors. I also noticed that none of the windows work when using their respective switch in each door nor do they work with the key. All of the window switches in every other door are lit up and the sunroof still works. When I scanned the car with VCDS I got this:

01331 - Door control module - driver side (J386)
49-00 No communication

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160705/f16ff19e3fef6e498115d5309ed36ce3.jpg

Do I need to pull the door card? Is there a fuse I can check for this? Does this mean I need to order a new window switch? I ran through the list on the fuse panel and didn’t see anything that seemed related. Thanks in advance for any help.

#2

Not uncommon for the wires that go thru the rubber accordion at the hinge to work-harden from opening and closing over the years, and enough strands to break in one of the wires that the wire is effectively broken. I’d be tempted to push back that rubber accordion, and see if any look suspect (i.e. cracked insulation, etc.). Most common on driver’s doors and avant hatches.

#3

Thanks iduff. Opened up the accordion and there 4 severed wires.

Found a good write up to replace this too.

http://www.audiworld.com/forums/a4-b6-platform-discussion-34/driver-door-wiring-harness-replacement-write-up-lots-pics-2379267/

#4

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160705/2ced0965f8658356bbd243af6aad0401.jpg

Here’s the culprit. I was able to just repair the harness by reconnecting the wires with some butt connectors. To anybody that runs into this issue and stumbles upon this thread, here are my tips. After you get the door card off, remove the speaker and disconnect the plastic clips holding the wire to the door. I’m thinking this will give you enough give to pull the plug out of the door far enough that you can make your connections. To release the clip from the car, use a flat head to push the purple clip towards the front of the car and then push this part circled red and pull on it.

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20160705/354882658bfcce67498dbcb60487d800.jpg

You may notice my purple clip is slightly broken and it’s because I kept pushing. You just need to push it forward until it clicks. It doesn’t take much. I forgot to take a picture of my finished work but it’s fairly basic stuff.

#5

Almost forgot, +karma for you iduff.

#6

Thanks, glad it was that easy to diagnose.

Hopefully you don’t have the butt connectors in the accordion boot. That flexes a lot, and is quite likely to break the wires at each end of the butt connector.

You might want to run stranded core wire from the body to inside the door, with butt connectors inside the body, and inside the door. This will give you stranded core wire sustaining all the flexing from opening and closing the door, with the butt connectors relatively stationary, and the wires not being subjected to bending right at the ends of the butt connectors.

You can get tinned stranded wire at most marine chandleries, Ancor is a common manufacturer. I’ve used this with great results in the hatch wiring of my C4 S6 Avant.

In any case, best of luck!

#7

I did just do the connectors where they severed rather than running extra wire to get them in the door. I also really tightly wrapped the entire group of wires in electrical tape so they won’t necessarily bend right at the end of the connectors. If I have to redo the work so be it. It only took an hour. I may just buy another harness too, I found a place in Moscow that sells them for $100 which isn’t bad considering the dealership near me wanted $350. It’s working now and probably will be for a while so I’ve got some time at least.

#8

Sounds good to me, glad you took the extra time to reduce the likelihood of the problem returning.