A4 Convertible Cabriolet B6 B7 3rd Centre Brake Light Intermittent Fault Repair

[VagPro]

Guide for repairing the dry solder joint on the centre brake light.

Are you tired of getting the annoying bleeping sound notifying you of the centre brake light being faulty?

You can either replace the light or simply open it up and repair the dry solder joint !

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE PROCEED SO AT YOUR OWN RISK, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE. BE GENTLE WITH THE CLIPS AND THE SEAL, ALSO YOU WILL NEED SOME SOLDERING SKILLS. DO NOT BRIDGE THE SOLDER CONTACTS.

1) Remove tailgate trim
Remove warning triangle if provided.
Remove bolts -6- (2x).
Detach bracket for warning triangle -9- if fitted.
Detach lock cover -5-.
Slacken off bolt -8- in handle -7-.
Unfasten rear lid trim -1- at clips -7- (12x).
Detach rear lid trim -1

2) Remove the light by removing the six torx screws, be gentle and take care not to stretch / break the seal

3) Dismantle the light by releasing the plastic tangs and removing the lens, be careful not to bend them too far as they can be brittle

4) Remove the circuit board from the light housing by releasing the plastic tabs

5) So now we have the board out, this is your culprit, dry solder joints on the connector pins.

6) Repair with a dab of solder, test, reassembly and job done !

Enjoy !

Regards

 

[GoneSouth]

Excellent guide.

I guess this is a common problem (?), but it's good to know that there's a diy fix.

You'd have thought the circuit board would have been updated to eliminate this sort of fault......but then again, it is an Audi. C'est la vie.
.

 

[Njinstallation]

Nice hopefully do this at weekend

 

[IPSGA]

Hi, managed to fix mine in about 2 minutes once the boot lid cover was off. No need to take everything apart, the female connection which the 2 short prongs fit give a poor connection, I used a thin piece of fuse wire cut in 2, one for each female receptacle, about 1 inch each, push into each hole, bent over similar to what looks like a Christmas tree bulb bending back on itself, pushed the male fitting in, nice n tight (ooom matron..) and not had a problem since, dead easy, hope it helps someone, cheers

 

[Arcer]

Hi all and thank you for this guide...i need the gasket of this piece..have you the part number?

 

[VagPro]

Gasket not sold seprately, maybe you can fix the old one with some silicone ?

 

[Arcer]

I'll try...are there some requirements for silicon i will use ??? Is there some material like gasket to cut and adapt to light?

 

[VagPro]

Any gasket maker that's suitable for sealing oil and water.

Loctite 5699

 

[IPSGA]

wont need gasket sealer, the original is tight on our 7 year old motor, no leaks

 

[Arcer]

Mine is broken

 

[Graham Duplock]

MOT test tomorrow. So have done both resoldered connections and user fuse wire as suggested.

Hope this will fix intermittant problem.

Thanks all for such an excellent, easy to follow solution.

Best wishes

 

[Marcustandy]

Do you think this could be the same issue on an internal centre brake light on an A4 B8 saloon?

I've got the light out; the solder joints 'look' sound but might they benefit from a fresh bit of solder?

This has been a frustrating fault & until now I haven't been able to find any kind of explanation!

 

[Jale Evsen]

so glad I found this posted. Even though, I ordered my center break part online ($44 + shipping) and did not have to solder; getting the trunk liner/cover off and finding all the screws was my main worry. This was very helpful.
I am a total layman and barely have any tools, but was able to replace my break-light in 1 hour.
If I can do it, anyone should be able to.
thank you so much!

 

[chrism123]

I had the same problem, intermitment centre brake light fault. I followed your solution re soldering the input terminals. It took me about 40 mins Everything is good now , thanks for your detailed help
Thanks ChrisM

 

[Adam Dunley]

Hi, I wanted to join this site so I could post and say thank you to the OP of this thread! I have had this issue for ages, so, based on this thread I went about this fix and it worked perfectly. I've saved £70 on a new unit and well chuffed.

Forums are an awesome place for info and this is a prime example! Cheers

 

[ally mackenzie]

Mine is broken

for anybody reading this fix although audi dont sell the gasget for the 3rd brake light i found on ebay a self adhesive gasket for a hella 370mm high level caravan brake light which was an almost perfect fit for only 4.99

 

[Canzee]

Guide for repairing the dry solder joint on the centre brake light.

Are you tired of getting the annoying bleeping sound notifying you of the centre brake light being faulty?

You can either replace the light or simply open it up and repair the dry solder joint !

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE PROCEED SO AT YOUR OWN RISK, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE. BE GENTLE WITH THE CLIPS AND THE SEAL, ALSO YOU WILL NEED SOME SOLDERING SKILLS. DO NOT BRIDGE THE SOLDER CONTACTS.

1) Remove tailgate trim
Remove warning triangle if provided.
Remove bolts -6- (2x).
Detach bracket for warning triangle -9- if fitted.
Detach lock cover -5-.
Slacken off bolt -8- in handle -7-.
Unfasten rear lid trim -1- at clips -7- (12x).
Detach rear lid trim -1
View attachment 42519

2) Remove the light by removing the six torx screws, be gentle and take care not to stretch / break the seal

View attachment 42520

3) Dismantle the light by releasing the plastic tangs and removing the lens, be careful not to bend them too far as they can be brittle

View attachment 42522 View attachment 42523 View attachment 42524

4) Remove the circuit board from the light housing by releasing the plastic tabs

View attachment 42525 View attachment 42526 View attachment 42527

5) So now we have the board out, this is your culprit, dry solder joints on the connector pins.

View attachment 42528

6) Repair with a dab of solder, test, reassembly and job done !

View attachment 42529 View attachment 42521


Enjoy !

Regards

All 4 solder points for the 2 connection pins were cracked around the solder base on my circuit board. All 4 re-soldered.... problem solved. Brilliant & thanks for the advice.

 

[andymcleary]

I will definitely be trying this fix over the next week. Thanks for posting!

 

[andymcleary]

Fixed it today. Literally took 15 mins including removal of the trim. Fingers crossed.

 

[Rich in Boston]

Excellent guide.

I guess this is a common problem (?), but it's good to know that there's a diy fix.

Guide for repairing the dry solder joint on the centre brake light.

Are you tired of getting the annoying bleeping sound notifying you of the centre brake light being faulty?

You can either replace the light or simply open it up and repair the dry solder joint !

DISCLAIMER: PLEASE PROCEED SO AT YOUR OWN RISK, I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGE. BE GENTLE WITH THE CLIPS AND THE SEAL, ALSO YOU WILL NEED SOME SOLDERING SKILLS. DO NOT BRIDGE THE SOLDER CONTACTS.

1) Remove tailgate trim
Remove warning triangle if provided.
Remove bolts -6- (2x).
Detach bracket for warning triangle -9- if fitted.
Detach lock cover -5-.
Slacken off bolt -8- in handle -7-.
Unfasten rear lid trim -1- at clips -7- (12x).
Detach rear lid trim -1
View attachment 42519

2) Remove the light by removing the six torx screws, be gentle and take care not to stretch / break the seal

View attachment 42520

3) Dismantle the light by releasing the plastic tangs and removing the lens, be careful not to bend them too far as they can be brittle

View attachment 42522 View attachment 42523 View attachment 42524

4) Remove the circuit board from the light housing by releasing the plastic tabs

View attachment 42525 View attachment 42526 View attachment 42527

5) So now we have the board out, this is your culprit, dry solder joints on the connector pins.

View attachment 42528

6) Repair with a dab of solder, test, reassembly and job done !

View attachment 42529 View attachment 42521


Enjoy !

Regards

Much thanks for posting this write up. I have a 2005 A4 Cabrio that was having the same issue. The guts of my trunk lid were a bit different, as the light couldn't be taken out by six screws, as it was behind another cover. And sure enough, it was those two solder joints indicated that were the problem; the posts that go into the electrical connector were very loose. Thank you again for saving me some hard earned cashola. A trip to the Audi dealer would have run $500 for sure.
You'd have thought the circuit board would have been updated to eliminate this sort of fault......but then again, it is an Audi. C'est la vie.
.

 

[Rich in Boston]

Much thanks for posting this write up. I have a 2005 A4 Cabrio that was having the same issue. The guts of my trunk lid were a bit different, as the light couldn't be taken out by six screws, as it was behind another cover. And sure enough, it was those two solder joints indicated that were the problem; the posts that go into the electrical connector were very loose. Thank you again for saving me some hard earned cashola. A trip to the Audi dealer would have run $500 for sure

 

[Hammerheads]

for anybody reading this fix although audi dont sell the gasget for the 3rd brake light i found on ebay a self adhesive gasket for a hella 370mm high level caravan brake light which was an almost perfect fit for only 4.99

Hi do you have a link to the gasket on eBay you mentioned please?