Glove Box Light

[aragorn65]

Actually the hinge is already broken. I'm just thinking of a way to fix it. When you pull the hinge down it seems as if the damper is too tight you need a lot of force to pull it down. Probably a tech in the garage forced it down too hard htat's why the hinge cracked. I hope I don't need to buy the whole glove box which the audi dealer is suggesting ti fix this..

[turboschwinn]

Originally Posted by aragorn65

Actually the hinge is already broken. I'm just thinking of a way to fix it. When you pull the hinge down it seems as if the damper is too tight you need a lot of force to pull it down. Probably a tech in the garage forced it down too hard htat's why the hinge cracked. I hope I don't need to buy the whole glove box which the audi dealer is suggesting ti fix this..

I'm having the same problem...Left hand drive...right hinge broken...I've fixed it by drilling two holes on either side of the hinge, gluing the hinge back on with superglue, then inserting zipties through the holes around the broken part to give it more support. This may or may not work for you depending on how your door broke. In other words, I had enough material on the hinge side to glue and then wrap the ties around but if it broke with no "wings" on the hinge side you may not be able to do what I have done. Anyway, since the ties are under the dash you can't really see the them (they are ugly) but it's better than paying the amount of cash for a whole new deal...from the dealer very expensive in my area.

I've tried to upload some pics...new to the deal here so don't know if it worked...moving on...

My real problem is that I've fixed this three or four times now and the damper is my main problem...it's so stiff that it breaks the glue and zipties after a short time...I've tried putting lube in the tube...even drilling holes in the end for more airflow I've also tried cutting a lot of the rubber off the seal of the damper on the inside of the tube...none works...temp solution is to leave the rubber boot off the damper and reassemble. Then have to be careful not to drop the door and break my glue and ties again...passengers won't be so careful...dealer says Audi has a new damper but costs $60 and I'm not sure they have solved the problem...may end up going that route looking for a solution...anyone?

[aragorn65]

Thanks a lot Turboschwinn :-) I'll try to do the same thing with my hinge.

[turboschwinn]

Today I called the dealer and asked about a fix for the stiff damper on the glove box...they said there was a new part number that the problem had been fixed with the new part...I'm sceptical but I ordered one anyway...$45.61 USD out the door tax and all...really high for a glove box, but I didn't want to spend more time and energy fixing the hinge again...pick up the part this Friday, will post how it goes...anyone help with a better fix?

[turboschwinn]

Been a while but I got the new part from the dealer and installed it...it looked almost identical to the old part save a different fastner for the rubber seal inside the damper...I'm guessing most people must have had the seal pop off the inside of the damper and then the glove box would just fall open and then things would break so the manufactuer's solution was to put a stronger fastner on the seal so it would pop off...this was not my problem. My problem was that the seal was so strong it would let the door down and finially the hinge piece just gave way and cracked befor the seal came off the damper. the result: I've a broken hinge and a new damper that is just as strong as the old one and it keeps breaking the repair I did on the hinge...I've been looking for a new glove box door but so far no luck...

All for now...

[aragorn65]

I made a temp solution to the broken hinge. I placed a screw into one side of the broken hinge parallel to the hinge. I left a portion of the head so that it protrudes to the other end of the broken hinge. The other end is hollowed so the protruding portion can be inserted in it. It keeps the glove box from falling when it opens. The hinge is still attached to the damper so when I open the glove box the light turns on. Luckily the light turns off when I close the glove box.

[daveb]

Hi, I had this problem some time back, replaced the pin only to find that within a day or two it had dropped out once more; replaced pin with small nut and bolt, don't overtghten the nut as this will restrict rotation as your lid opens. The damper also doubles up as the light switch, so if ones not working it's likely the ones ''duf''.
Good luck.
Dave