DIY: Eliminating the brake pad warning light - a more direct solution

[B6JoeS4]

This guide is for those of you that want a more permanent, issue-free way of eliminating the brake pad sensor light. The light can either be triggered by the installation of aftermarket brake pads that don't have wear sensors, or from worn brake pads tripping the light. The light comes on a little premature, so this can be seen as a way to get rid of the light without taking off the front wheels, cutting the wire, and connecting the leads together.

For me, the light would no go away no matter how good I soldered or crimped the wires. What this way does, is ground the wire inside the car, way farther down the line than up by the brakes. The wire we are grounding is actually the wire that goes into the cluster.

For those of you wondering, the light and/or waring sensor system can NOT be disabled on any 8E chassis car with VAGCOM. Believe me, I tried and failed.

Step 1: Removal of the driver's side kick panel
1a. remove the fuse access panel with either your flip key, or a flat head screwdriver. There is a little recess on the bottom side of it.
1b. remove the kick panel by first removing the 12x1" trim piece that sits between the a-pillar, and the kick panel. This is the one that directly to the left of the dash. The bottom clip on this little piece holds on the top of the kick panel, so it has to come off first.
1c. remove the kick panel by fist pulling it out.

Step 2: Locate this green plug and remove it. There are 2 clips on either side that need to be pried up at the same time. Don't pull on the wires!


Step 3: Look at the connector and locate the wire that we will be cutting and stripping. It is brown with a green stripe


Step 4: Fabricate a jumper wire like this. I used 8" of 18ga. wire, an eye terminal, and some heat shrink to make it purdy. Ignore the white cap


Step 5: Cut the green/brown wire somewhere near the connector. I cut way too close to the connector so I suggest butting about 3" away from it. Strip about 1/2" from both ends of the brown/green wire. Strip 1/2" from your jumper wire. insert the wires into the connector and crimp tightly. You can also solder it if you like, but I was nervous about doing that given how cramped it is, and that tiny wire will probably heat up and melt the insulation off of the nearby insulation.


Step 6: Now we need to connect the jumper wire to a nice solid ground. I chose to use one of the existing ground terminals on the car. This terminal is above the tip right corner of the wire junction. Remove the 10mm bolt, slide your terminal on, and put tighten the bolt nice and tight


Turn the car on, and the light should be gone!

[Black_Pearl_B6]

this is a great alternative to the "paper clip" mod or where you cut the wires from your pads and crimp them, mine have been exposed to the elements and the light has been coming on. this is a great diy I will be doing this in the morning

[BenSti]

Great work! Very useful for people who run pads without sensors! Thanks!

[SurferD]

Great write up but thats a lot of work involved.
I just cut the connector off the pads, shorted the wires, RTV'd it so it's protected and secured the wire with tie wraps.

If I ever want to go back to stock brake pads I just disconnect and go.

[Black3.2]

i just cut the wire, spliced them together wrapped it in electrical tape and off i go, took about 4 minutes total. I did look at the fuse box prior to doing what i did to try and figure it out that way. Now i know. Thanks for posting this.

[dparm]

My Ferodos don't have the sensor, so we just used the paper clip, then wrapped it in electrical tape and put the heat-shrink tubing over that. No problems in over a year.

Still, this is a good write-up.

[Audibob]

I found this post as I've been trying to sort out my own brake wear idiot light, I've tried all the usual methods. .solder, twist, crimp etc so I'm trying this method just one problem my harness (see pic) has different colours from the original pic at the top. I'm hoping that someone will help me identify the brake pad wear sensor wire so I can ground it like in the original instructions on this post. And hopefully it will help anyone else who has wiring like mine. I have a 2000 Audi A4. Cheers

[MacFady]

I know this is an old thread, but Audibob, you removed the wrong kick panel, you want the one by the dead pedal.

[JimmyBones]

He is from the UK and that looks like the hood/bonnet release so I am guessing that the car is RHD.

[Fritz_S4]

He is from the UK and that looks like the hood/bonnet release so I am guessing that the car is RHD.

Right on the money JimmyBones, Also he has a B5 A4 and the wiring is different. Reason why his fuse panel is different. Audibob should check the B5 forum for answers to this question or alternatively find a wiring diagram.

[Schrubbe8210]

just did this. I have a B6 S4 cabrio. my light wasnt on right now, but goes on when it rains outside. the connector was the same, and had the exact same wiring setup. because I have a cabrio, there were a lot less plugs, but overall, it appeared to be the same. Just adding to the info pool here. Ill keep yall posted if I have the light come on. Thanks OP for the info!

[Schrubbe8210]

I also used one of those quick splice connectors so I didnt have to cut the wire. makes it easily reversible, to an extent.

[delauren667]

What is the green connector called? I removed the kick panel from a 2001 Audi A6 2.7t and did not see a green 'cube' connector? Anybody did this mode for a C5 Audi A6?

[Andrew149]

Just did this mod and it worked great!!!! SWEET

[audi1.8tFTW]

Really good tips !! thx for getting rid of my damn light :P

[IndoReef]

Just finished this Mod, Works perfectly. Thanks!!!!

[jmcS4]

Curious but is this such an issue for people that this mod is necessary?

[FulhamFTW]

For people with pads that don't have sensors, ie. BBK's, yes, it is. I did this mod and it's worked like a charm for the last 30k or so.

[sitting proper]

I did this today, and I didn't splice any wires. Just use a clip connector that cuts through the wire coatings. It'll still make the current go through both wires to the ground. Less work, and it's fully reversible.

[iamsokrates]

i just cut the wire, spliced them together wrapped it in electrical tape and off i go, took about 4 minutes total. I did look at the fuse box prior to doing what i did to try and figure it out that way. Now i know. Thanks for posting this.

Which wire exactly did you cut? If so I'm doing this right away. This beeping is killing me!!! Also with the led lights I put in the extra beeping is not pleasant. Anything to help!

[iamsokrates]

I did this today, and I didn't splice any wires. Just use a clip connector that cuts through the wire coatings. It'll still make the current go through both wires to the ground. Less work, and it's fully reversible.

Where can I get a hold of one of these clip connectors? And to be clear, in putting this into the brown and white wire?

[sitting proper]

You can buy them at any auto parts store or even hardware stores. Green and Brown wire is the one you're tapping into.

[iamsokrates]

Thanks! Going to run through it today

[boy412]

Necro bump. I did this today and was happy to find this thread. After 10+ years of running aftermarket pads I decided this was worthwhile. I had the warning indicator lit and no amount of cleaning the connectors made it go away. This mod was pretty straightforward. Hardest part was getting that kickpanel out (which I had never taken off in 13+ years of ownership).

The wires coming off the plug are 22AWG so if you DO decide to use a wire tap (which I did, so I could easily reverse this mod if desired) then be sure to get a tap that will work with that gauge. The ring terminal connector you will need is a 1/4" ring terminal. Here is a pic of the hardware I used:

[ventovr6qc]

what happens if you don't connect the other wire? (not the wire connected to the connector, the other one)

[Mr.Squeelerz]

I'm about to perform this mod but because of the op's dead images it's a half blind attempt. I'm planning to use the tap, but before I proceed on any of this can you offer any details on your particular steps. The red connector, I can't quite make out what style and not sure where this would go. Maybe it's straight forward... Trying my luck here.

[Kylet21]

Just want to say thanks to everyone who posted on here. This was a very simple solution that saved me a major headache.


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[steve-sline-exe]

This warning light has been doing my head in looking for a way to turn it off. Will this work on my 2013 A5 sline rhd or will there be any differences. I REALLY need a fix for this for my own sanity.

[js47]

Another necrobump just to say that this has worked perfectly for my right hand drive B7 RS4 Avant. Note that the wiring is still on the left side of the car for RHD. Thanks Joe.