Help me fix my boot sensor-(multimeter and resistor experts)

Help me fix my boot sensor-(multimeter and resistor experts)

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1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Thursday 24th May 2018
quotequote all
Wonder if any wise man (or woman) could shed any light on my boot issue.

I have a boot (surprise surprise) that is showing as OPEN on my dash, even when its closed. Checked everything to make sure no water damage, which it isn't.

I noticed under the bottom sill where the boot latch goes into, theres 2 small micro switches.

I have removed this part and have been testing it on a multimeter. So at the moment, with the boot OPEN the micro switch buttons are pressed in.

LEFT/RED MICROSWITCH is showing 000.1ohm (it beeps to indicate a circuit) and if i open the switch (so the button isn't pressed in) it shows 469.4ohm (it doesn't beep to indicate a circuit)

RIGHT/BLUE MICROSWITCH is showing 468.6ohm (it doesn't beep to indicate a circuit) and if i open the switch (so the button isn't pressed in) it shows 000.1ohm (it beeps to indicate a circuit)

So it looks like the readings are opposite each other. I am thinking the right/blue one is faulty? if so... Perhaps I could use a resistor to fool the system? or tape in the button so it always shows a closed connection?

I cannot work out which microswitch is faulty. And Im not sure what I could do to repair this? would a resistor work? if so what spec resistor? I just want the image on my dash to go away and show the boot as closed. I don't care what it shows when its actually open.

Edited by 1083 Feedbacks on Thursday 24th May 18:40

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
Ah you legends, good advice!.

@ penelope - thats the exact switches I have on my Q7 from that forum link.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
Penelope Stopit said:
No problem, glad to be of help
With those switches being on the CAN BUS there is a very good chance that they have built in resistors, and it makes sense that they are using 2 switches of opposite operation 1 x normally open and 1 x normally closed so as to be able to use one switch as a reference against the other and vice versa.......If one switch is showing on the CAN as closed the other should be showing as open......they should always be opposites to one another hence the on CAN control unit will recognise/see a faulty switch if it gets 2 open signals or 2 closed signals at the same time rather than opposites

The problems arise when both switches have failed
I see, so as mine is showing one open and one closed in the same positions, are you saying that is correct?

If so, Its back to the drawing board for me as to why my boot is saying its open still when its not.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
GreenV8S said:
If you confirm that the boot warning goes away when you operate both switches, the next step would be to connect a meter up and see whether the switches are actually switching when you close the boot. Typically in my experience these switches are positioned so that the boot has to be fully closed to operate them, and perhaps the boot latch position and/or switch positions need adjusting so that the boot operates the switches properly.
Just checked, Makes no difference.

The lock latch motor makes a lot of noise though. More than it used to.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
Just to add to all this. The tail lights randomly stop working too!. At the moment, they're working though.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
GreenV8S said:
Checked what?
The microswitches one by one to see if the boot open warning light goes away.

Makes no difference.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Friday 25th May 2018
quotequote all
Penelope Stopit said:
Have you downloaded and read these PDF files from the website I linked you to?

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/attachment.php?at...

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/attachment.php?at...

There seems to be a 4 year or 50,000 miles warranty on some of this work
I read those, but I don't get any error on the dash about the lights being malfunctioned.

The specific error code also isn't present in the mentioned modules.

I have VCDS and have various scans of the car today.

1083 Feedbacks

Original Poster:

499 posts

192 months

Sunday 3rd June 2018
quotequote all
I managed to fix it.

It was the motor that draws the boot into its locked position that was the problem.

£49 for the part and 10 minute job to replace it.