1995 A4 1.8 Strting problem?

[mickscrill]

Hi there,
have been having problems starting for a few months, have had it in two garages with no joy was sent to someone who had a diagnostic reader charged me £30 and gave me a load of bull and a piece of paper with a load of codes on it ??? I'm in the wrong trade!!
if any one can suggest something it would be much appreciated
The prob is when i start engine it fires up for a second them dies, this may happen twice or at one time it took about 15 attempts, although up to now it has always started, but it cant be doing the battery or the starter any good.
Thank you for any help.

[a8 tech]

Hello mickscrill.Does the immobilizer light flash when the nome start occurs.Do you no if the holding pressure of the fuel system is ok.Do you have more than one key,if so try to establish if the fault is to one key or all.Suspect the fault codes may relate to key signal to small.The data cable from the slip ring (ignition barrel) becomes dislodged/squashed around the steering column housing and moving the key around in the barrel(15 times)can jolt the connection back in.Also the immobiliser on this model isnt part of the dash it seperate unit and i have replaced a good few for this and also the transponders in the key become defective over the years.

[mickscrill]

Hi, Thanks for reply .
tried your suggestions (different keys and waggling them about) no joy, not sure what you mean by ( holding pressure) and is the immobiliser light a black outline of a car on a yellow background if yes then yes it come on when start fails but then so do all the other lights

[a8 tech]

You have fuel holding pressure to allow the car to start faster without the delay of the pump having th pump fuel up to the injectors.The symbol of the car is the key/immobiliser light and if a fault occurs it will flash.If you then try to start again and you are succesfull the ligfht will automatically go out.Do you have the print out from the garage.

[mickscrill]

Hi ,
We ended up with a massive list, but the guy said if he a does something ( can't remember what ) it will clear old faults that have probably been corrected and then try again to see if any fault codes have remained, and I'm not sure but i think these are the codes that remained : C214 Supply volt Fault / 465A followed by I think it says KL30 volt too low /4074 / 4547
Thanks again for your time your very kind.

[a8 tech]

I dont know what those codes are.I would just like to mention that i can only give advise on what you tell me so it may help if you try to get the memory rechecked and the codes should look like this if immobiliser is the cause.
Key
Signal too lowt Fault in reading coil or wiring (contact resistance/loose contact)– Check (visually inspect) reading coil/wiring and connector and replace reading coil if necessary No or defective electronics in ignition key (transponder)– Replace ignition key, re-match all ignition keys and check function fault code→01176
The immobilser may have nothing to do with your fault if the warning light isnt flashing and it may be something else but the codes stored may eliminate alot.The ideal situation is to have the fault occur whilst the diagnostic equipment is connected and communciation between the immob and the engine control unit can be checked.Its a bit awkward but will try to help you out.Regards Jon

[mickscrill]

Hi ,
Thanks again , i will mention your suggestions to the mechanic.

[a8 tech]

Good luck and let me know what codes you get.

[rapier]

Originally Posted by mickscrill

Hi there,
have been having problems starting for a few months, have had it in two garages with no joy was sent to someone who had a diagnostic reader charged me £30 and gave me a load of bull and a piece of paper with a load of codes on it ??? I'm in the wrong trade!!
if any one can suggest something it would be much appreciated
The prob is when i start engine it fires up for a second them dies, this may happen twice or at one time it took about 15 attempts, although up to now it has always started, but it cant be doing the battery or the starter any good.
Thank you for any help.

i'm having the exact same problem on the same model of car. If you do find any solutions or helps please post them back on here cos like you i've spent too much money and time on this really annoying fault. With mine however the car will idle but sometimes lose some power and then it will come back... almost like finding the biting point on the clutch, then pushing the pedal in again. Thank you for any help you can give.

[mickscrill]

Hi
my mechanic kindly done some fishing about for meand found out that it is possibly 2 things one was to strip down the ignition system and clean contacts and check for any trapped wiring which he did and afterwards cleared the memory, and he was told by an Audi tech that if that didnt work it would have to be put into Audi to get some unit replaced in the ignition which would probibly cost about £250 without labour so i was delighted to find that it started first time every time after he had worked on it but it only lasted about 2 months and now it's back the way it was, it always starts eventually but is a pain in the butt so will have to decide wether to pay out or scrap it