WTF? ESP light won't turn off??

[JMRQuattro]

So i searched the issue and i read through GtiRSmiley's thread he posted with the same issue. Now i'm having the same problem. When i start my car the ESP light won't turn off, i've tried pushing the button and nothing responds. I've tried turning the car on and off and nothing happens. I even let the car sit off for a good 4 hours and turned it back on and the light was still on.

Now i read in the thread that the MAF can effect this? How exactly does it effect the ESP? Because that would make sense as to why my light is on. Diagnosticator and I changed out the MAF harness connectors (rubber wiring boot had a tear in it and the plastic piece had a broken release tab). So we changed them out tonight. And since we finished, the ESP light won't turn off. What do you guys think it could be? It's not really bothering me if my ESP isn't working because i usually don't use it, but the light being on just annoys me.

On the plus side i changed the way my Simota intake is mounted, made it shorter, and cleaned my filter out, and now my intake is definitely noticeably louder and it seems like my DV is a little louder as well . Not sure why that would be, but i'm not complaining.

But anyway, what do you guys think about the ESP light?

[GO-GOTEKNO]

My rear brake pads were wearing pretty thin when mine started to come on randomly..

[JMRQuattro]

^^ i'll have to check that. You would think that the brake wear light would come on though before the ESP would be effected by that...

[GO-GOTEKNO]

^^ i'll have to check that. You would think that the brake wear light would come on though before the ESP would be effected by that...

Our cars do weird stuff like that,it could also be a bad sensor.

[JMRQuattro]

I'll check my brakes and my codes tomorrow and see what i'm getting. I've had a constant CEL from engine misfires so i haven't noticed if anything new has come up, i haven't bothered to check. It doesn't seem like my brakes are bad though, they still have bite to them and they don't even squeak even when it's cold or wet outside. I'll check them though. Hopefully this is nothing serious.

[rbj325]

I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure my ESP light stays on when my battery is almost dead or just died and is recharging. Just something simple you could check too.

[JMRQuattro]

^^ thanks for the idea . I want to check every possible option so i can figure this out. Does anyone else have any ideas as to what could cause this, if not the battery or brakes?

[JMRQuattro]

Also, to add to this, i read another thread that said it could be a faulty brake switch. However all the cars this occurred in seemed to have been tiptronic. They said it occurred when braking. Now i haven't tested this, but since i am a manual i always have my e-brake on while parked. I'm going to check tomorrow on a flat surface and start my car with the e-brake disengaged and see whether or not the ESP light comes on. If not and it does when i brake then i have found my problem. But i'm still looking for other causes just in case.

EDIT: So it seems the common causes are a bad brake sensor, MAF, battery, or a leak in the intake due to loose clamps that cause the MAF to read incorrectly. These were the only answers my search and this thread have yielded so far. So i'm going to check these first and rule them out before pursuing this any further. Hopefully it will be one of the above solutions. And i'm pretty sure i can rule out the last one since i made sure to tighten all of the clamps. Although i will check my codes tomorrow and i will let you know my findings.

[EUROaleksey]

my car did that for like half an hour after i changed my battery..... then it went back to normal.. go figure

[JMRQuattro]

^^ i hope it's not my battery. That seems to be the most costly of all the problems. But knowing my luck, it very well could be a bad battery

[gq9]

Rear brake light sensor going bad also will do that.

[Johnnada]

Most of the time it's the brake light sensor

[drivefour]

I had the same problem for 2 years. Brake Light sensor, replaced mine a couple weeks ago. Part was only $6.19 from Larson Audi in T-Town. (part #1K2-945-511-NAR) Replace anyway if you haven't takes only 10 mins, max.

[zz2h33]

^x2. when you first start your car, just push the brake and see if the light stays on after that. mine did it for a while until i replaced the brake light switch.

[CTUltrasport]

Mine was the infamous "Brake light switch" that took two seconds to replace- problem solved!

[onceover]

^^ i hope it's not my battery. That seems to be the most costly of all the problems. But knowing my luck, it very well could be a bad battery

i love having friends that work at audi. free batteries that dont pass CPO tests

[FromS60toB61.8t]

Well ive had my brakes grinding metal on metal before and didnt have this problem (long time ago XD)

mine is on because of my MAF sensor... i unplug it to run my BOV which throws a code and keeps the esp light on.

Once i plug it back in they both go away. Just something to look into

[Johnnada]

Where can I order the brake light switch? I don't really feel like making to trip to the dealer.

[old guy]

Where can I order the brake light switch? I don't really feel like making to trip to the dealer.

Clicky click

[Johnnada]

You da man

[Tomek6]

Mine did the same thing as you describe about a month ago. It was a bad MAF. Changed it. No problem since.

I didn't mind not having the ESC either but the light does get annoying.

[diagnosticator]

I think we need to swap the #2 and the #4 wires in the MAF connector. I tried to get the wiring diagram for the color codes, but I'm having a problem accessing erwin.audiusa docs.

[JMRQuattro]

Alright, just so you guys know, the problem is my MAF sensor. I'm not sure the exact problem with it yet since all the contacts are in the correct corresponding ports, and everything is fully connected.

But the code i got was P0102 MAF circuit low input (the computer actually read it as "mass or volume air flow" instead of MAF but you get the idea).

[old guy]

Sounds like you are on the right track.

[JMRQuattro]

^^ yep, hopefully i'll get that fixed in the next couple of days. If i don't i'm not too concerned, guys go MAF-less so i'm not completely worried about it. My main concern is fixing my coolant/heat issue which i think John and I have solved. Hopefully if this works i'll have an answer for the rest of the crowd with a phantom coolant leak. Just bought a new head gasket today, so i should be getting to installing it pretty soon.

[ApexIt]

I had the same problem for 2 years. Brake Light sensor, replaced mine a couple weeks ago. Part was only $6.19 from Larson Audi in T-Town. (part #1K2-945-511-NAR) Replace anyway if you haven't takes only 10 mins, max.

Where is the brake light switch located? I need to replace mine but am not sure how to go about changing it.

[turboquattro068]

^^ yep, hopefully i'll get that fixed in the next couple of days. If i don't i'm not too concerned, guys go MAF-less so i'm not completely worried about it. My main concern is fixing my coolant/heat issue which i think John and I have solved. Hopefully if this works i'll have an answer for the rest of the crowd with a phantom coolant leak. Just bought a new head gasket today, so i should be getting to installing it pretty soon.

the code you're getting i believe means that the MAF is not able to get a good reading of the amount of air going through it. did you take the plastic honeycomb screen off the MAF? that would cause that problem. also, you said you changed the mounting and shortened your intake...that could also be the problem.

[Sablea4]

I had my ecu replaced when i bought the car because mine was always on. now every time i get in the car unless its raining or snowing I turn it off.

[A4 Moda]

Battery: voltage too high or low will do that
MAF:
Sometimes brake pads
Brake light switch
Fuel cap not capped tightly enough

that's about all that comes to mind.
If you made any mods to the above following, I would start there.

Broadly speaking though, the ESP light should be linked to nonessential electrical components, namely sensors.

If not, it should go away after a few miles of driving.

GL

[ApexIt]

Does anyone know where the brake light switch is located????

[old guy]

Does anyone know where the brake light switch is located????

Here is a DIY for replacing the brake light switch. It's for a v-dub but it is similar the A4. Clicky click

[cbrodus]

All, just wanted to add my 2 cents. I had the ESP light come on when driving (no other check engine lights at the time). After turning off the car (IE: gassing up or quick stop over) the light would reset but then come on again. I read in other forums to check the brake light switch. FYI: My brake lights worked fine but for some reason, it tripped my ESP light. I changed the part ( ~ $5) and have not had the ESP light come on since. (knock on wood). Just wanted to share that. Peace!

[secnd2no1]

.......

[Lusticles]

have you been driving through a lot of water/rain?

mine did this once during a huge rain storm. i drove it, nothing wrong, then when i started the car back up the ESP light was on, and remained lit for about 2 days

also, bad fuse?
had it come and remain on because of that too

[JMRQuattro]

This thread was actually solved a while back. It ended up being my MAF sensor was reversed. I was unhappy with the way my intake was mounted so i removed an elbow and moved some stuff to try to make it a little more compact (since i have an aftermarket intake). And in the process i had reversed the pipe, which also made my MAF install in the reverse direction. I found out this was a problem because the MAF is directional, it has a notch on one side that air enters. If you reverse it, none of the air goes in the notch and it thinks the MAF is bad. Thus why my ESP light was on. So i just had to do some more rearranging and flip the MAF back to the proper direction.

[Khloro36]

[jdogg]

All, just wanted to add my 2 cents. I had the ESP light come on when driving (no other check engine lights at the time). After turning off the car (IE: gassing up or quick stop over) the light would reset but then come on again. I read in other forums to check the brake light switch. FYI: My brake lights worked fine but for some reason, it tripped my ESP light. I changed the part ( ~ $5) and have not had the ESP light come on since. (knock on wood). Just wanted to share that. Peace!

Even if the brake lights are working properly, you could still have a faulty switch. My esp light came on constantly for a year, cruise control still working. I then started to notice my brake lights staying on and i could feel the brakes grabbing so slightly. Thats when my cruise control wouldnt work.
I replaced my brake light switch in december and not a single light or issue since.

[Gails Woofel]

so weird last night, I was putting air in my tires came back and the abs light and the ESP light came on...abs light eventually went away but the dam ESP light is still on... i am going to give it a few couple days.....would something like this be covered under CPO

[Madrox]

I just installed an HID kit in my 03 A4 1.8T last night. At first I used the relay harness so that I could have constant power from the battery to the lights. When I turned the car and lights, I got a "Left/Right Headlight Dipped" indicator. Luckily I ordered the cancelers. So to use the cancelers, you must remove the relay harness and connect the cancelers between the bulb and the ballast. It did the trick as far as taking away the "Dipped Headlight" code. But now my ESP light is on. I didn't see this disscussed in the thread. Was wondering if anyone had the same problem as me. The HID kit is the only electircal mod I have made to my vehicle. Any insight would be great.
Also, I am going to try the brakelight switch thing too, but I doubt that's it since it happend right after the HID install.

[mikeyb35]

is it safe to say that it's my battery? I just got my car back from the body shop from getting some hail damage done. When i picked it up i noticed the the clock and date was reset and my garage door opener on my visor doen't work anymore. I've had it back for a day and ever since it's been slow to start. Just a moment ago I went to start it and it almost didn't start. We it did the ESP light came on and stays on. What's your guys take on it?