Major Dramas with Audi A4

[richo]

Hi,
I'm writing on behalf of my brother Marty ('twinengtwinturbs' on these forums) who's stranded in Byron Bay at the moment. His 96 A4 1.8t fwd made it up from Orange last week without a hitch but now refuses to start. It kicks over but dies before settling to idle. Looks like something electrical at a guess, possibly related to all that wet weather? Does anyone live in the area, or know/recommend anyone who lives in the area, who has access to a vagcom checker or who knows their way around VW/Audi electrics? Any help would be much appreciated. Pls call Marty on 0439 498 410.
Thanks,
Rich

[RhysQ]

hey mate,

If he can't find anyone down that way he can try my mechanic on the Gold Coast (VW/Audi specialist - and he drives a '98 A4 1.8T fwd so knows them pretty well). As it's an hour's drive, he may not be able to get there if he is busy at work but it's definitely worth asking. If he can get down there, he may charge a bit for the time/travel, although he would still be cheaper than going into an actual Volkswagen dealer!

His name is Adam and his number is 0405 340 725. Maybe tell Marty to give him a ring in the morning if he's out of options.

Cheers,
Rhys

[h100vw]

i called but got his machine. message left. sounds immobiliser though.
Or a pipe off
Gavin

[Jmac]

Havent dropped your ign key or been changing a battery in the key??????? that transponder pill has a habit of falling out. Does sound like the Immob. Immob will let the car start for about 2-3 seconds and cut out.
Jmac

[Golf Loon]

Does sound like immobilizer, try turning the key over in the lock.

I have a mate Beau at Gold Coast Audi who can fix it for him if all else fails.

I`ll try and get him to ring Marty.

[richo]

Thanks for the posts guys, he's checked the MAF and all electrics for signs of water or dirtiness and it looks ok. He has managed to get it to run by disconnecting the battery and then re-connecting it and turning the ign key. However once you turn off the key it's back to square one as it stalls again when you try to re-start. ie. every time you want to start it you have to disconnect and re-connect the battery! Immobiliser problem? Dodgy ign key?

Thanks Rich

[Golf Loon]

Sounds like a dodgy pickup coil for the immobilizer.

[twin eng, twin turbs]

Thanks to everyone who posted up to help me out, we finally made it home from Byron Bay to Orange tonight. I have been unable to get on the forum till now. As my brother posted i have been disconnecting and reconnecting the battery every time i have stopped for fuel etc. I contacted a couple of audi service centres on our way but none were able to help really, but to say we can look at it soon and as people have commented it is probably the immobiliser as we tried both keys each way. I am going to strip down the steering column and check the immobiliser tomorrow in the faint hope that i can have a win and not pay $120 an hour for audi to do it...

[Jmac]

Hey mate, ill throw one in the mix, the fact that you are aving to disconnect and reconnect the battery is throwing me off the immobiliser slightly, my dad had a Saab 95 Aero doing the same thing as that and ended up being the MAF. Have you tried to disconnect the MAF and see how it behaves????? The description certainly points at immob as you mention it cuts out (straight away) A scan of the ecu in that case would pick up Immob reading Spool perhaps. Keep us in the loop bud, hope you get it fixed
Cheers
JMac

[Golf Loon]

The immobilizer coil readers are not expensive. Get me the part number and you can change it at home

[twin eng, twin turbs]

I like the sound of that loon! Ill keep you posted, i had to service a mates seat this morning so i havnt got to it yet, but ill start now.

[twin eng, twin turbs]

I pulled apart the ignition yesterday and tested as i dismantled it.

With the immobilizer coil disconnected i still had to disconnect and reconnect the battery each time to start the engine but this time the orange light in the instrument panel with a car symbol and key through it flashed off and on constantly.

The immobilizer coil reader was quite tricky to remove with an internal circlip retaining it in place on the ignition barrel.

PM sent loon with part numbers if you can source one cheers.

[Jmac]

Have you scanned for codes??? bearing in mind if you disconnect anything it will show on there, but would be fairly obvious what ones you had though. IMO if the spool was at fault you probably would get the Immob light on the dash., Anything compromising the immob would most likely bring that light on. I think its something else, thats why i stress about giving it a scan, engine included.
Cheers
Jmac

[twin eng, twin turbs]

I see your point Jmac and you have me worried about it... I dont have a scanner to check the fault codes but i really think i should purchase one asap. How much are they worth and where can i source one?

[Golf Loon]

You can buy the cheapo chinese scanners on ebay but they have limitations as a diagnostics tool.

Really you need VAG Com and a Laptop. I paid $800 for my licenced lead and software, but I have to have it for my business.

This allows more diagnosis and coding etc than a handheld.

If you have unplugged the reader coil and are now getting a warning light, it may well not be that.