8 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHIgnition Switch
Leading reported evidence
Disconnect probably a good idea
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed
And because the battery is disconnected ,probably a good idea to research "Initialization" depending on your model year.
Leading evidence: 'Disconnect probably a good idea' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'good idea' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Disconnect battery' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Suspected cause
And because the battery is disconnected ,probably a good idea to research "Initialization" depending on your model year.
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Suggestion · Original poster
Do I need to disconnect the battery before doing the change?
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Suggestion
Walter - which part in the selection linked do you recommend please?
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Suggestion
Once you do the repair, doing it again is much easier.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
8 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
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Generation: 20261026T124918Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
About to replace my ignition switch under the dash and thought I would check in here. Do I need to disconnect the battery before doing the change? The electrical switch change looks fairly straight forward or there anything else I should look for?
Thanks
If you mean the little end part of the ignition switch that it was caused most issues, then no, I replaced it twice now and left the battery connected both times.
If it IS that part, hopefully you got the $30 version and not the $8 version. $8 version fails again very quickly (months), $30 version seems as good as OEM (12-14 year lifespan which is good enough vs the WHOLE assembly for $200 or whatever it is).
Walter - which part in the selection linked do you recommend please?
? part # 4A0 905 849 B
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/..._pg2.htm#item6
http://store.rndeuroparts.com/catalo...ition%20switch
There is no need to disconnect the battery. Stated differently, I have replaced that switch at least once in two different M96-powered cars, and neither death nor fire resulted from any such operation.
The Pelican one for $26 marked "OEM supplier". The prices seem to have come down from last year which is nice to see. It's actually an Audi part lifted from the A4. If I had to order from RND I'd choose the more expensive one there, it says OEM but I think that there is a brand out there that is called "OEM" which confuses people so doesn't always mean what you think. The Pelican site is clearer in that regard. NAPA also carries the part number but only has the cheap (failure-prone) one.
Warehouse33 has it too and offers a discount to site members, that's where I got mine. He knows which one is the better one.
Holding the various pieces in my hand there is no real discernible quality difference.
I now have 4 (original, first cheapo that failed, the one that's much better and in the car now and another cheapo that lives in the car in case it fails again and I'm far from home. I had planned to do a dissection to see the difference between the original and the cheapo failure but never got around to it (yet).
At least it's a part with a slow deterioration cycle, not sudden, so if it starts failing again you have some notice. Once you do the repair, doing it again is much easier. Hardest part was jamming my fat head between the pedals and the lower dash and then realizing I forgot my flashlight...
