Ok, I have a 2001 A6 2.8L. Just bought, haven't even made the first payment. The gas was low and hubby didn't stop to fill it up last night but we still had 20 miles to empty. So it says.

This morning I got in to start it and it turns over but that is it. I might be able to get it to run for a bit but the idle starts to drop and about 3 min later it stalls. I turn it again and I have to pump the gas to keep it going and it will for a bit but will start to die. I will start to rev the engine a bit to get gas flowing but then it will start to backfire. I had my kids go and look to see if any smoke comes out and yup a little did (their idea of a little, I couldn't tell) and along with this I can hear a popping or what sounds like backfiring coming from the engine area. This only happens when the idle gets back to normal and I am steadily pressing on the gas. Now after messing with it off an on all day, it won't even start. It turns but dies immediately. I put 2 gallons of gas because I thought perhaps it was too low and since it is Fuel Injection (which I added a bit of cleaner with my 2 gal) this might be an issue but even after that which now we have 65 to empty, nothing.

I have seen this question posted online with no answer but I haven't found it here. If you can direct me to the thread with the answer great or if anyone can help me with this one I would be eternally grateful.

Kelley

 

hey kelley, welcome to AF.
Idon't know exactly what your problem is but, some times if a car is run to low on gas the fuel pump can go out. Hopefully this is not your problem. If you added a cleaner to the fuel you should only put a very small amount. The cleaners are made for a full tank of gas not two gallons. Try putting more gas, the pump might have trouble priming if it was ran to low. Call a mechanic and run it by him see what he says.

 

Unfortunately I believe your fuel lines are pretty empty right now. Your best bet to fill them is to fill the tank quite a bit more. That'll put more pressure on the pump so it can overcome the possible air lock and air pressure in the lines now. It does take quite a bit of work to overcome air in the fuel lines sometimes. I'd say another 5 gallons or so to get some reasonable pressure.

As was mentioned, the fuel pump can go bad from spinning freely without the fuel to lubricate the rubber. Its possible. The best way to tell is pull the supply line out of the pump. The bad thing is the amount of fuel that can spray (hopefully) when you do this.

At this point I would start with putting more fuel in and then turning it over without your foot on the gas in order to bleed the lines. This will take alot of cranking to get it to start and when it does it may run like crap for a while until all the air is gone.

 

Try turning the ignition key on, but not to start. You should hear the fuel pump running for about one second at the rear of the car. You must have much more than two gallons in the tank when you do this. You also may have a dirty fuel filter, which is so plugged up that the engine won't start or run. After a fuelfilter is changed, the ignition key may be turned on and off for as many times as necessary to get the air out of the fuel system.

 

Thank you everyone for such great replies. They made tons of sense.

My husband is concerned about the fuel pump though because he thinks he is hearing the fuel pump kicking on for about 5 seconds when it we are driving. Is this normal?Where is the fuel pump located? Is it behind the drivers seat (outside of course)?

Just to let you all know I did only put a small portion, maybe 1/4 of the fuel injection cleaner since I did not fill the tank up. Good news is that my husband came home and messed with and it didn't work. He left for about 2 hrs came back and it started right up and idled perfectly. I am wondering if we did get too low on the gas this time around. Still learning the vehicle.

Another question. The check engine light came on a few days ago for about a day or two and then turned off. Could this have been a hint of what was to come like today?

Thanks again for such wonderful and timely responses.

 

Always try to keep at least 1/4 of a tank to avoid sucking up old gas and stuff that has been sitting in the bottom of the tank.

 

Check engine light may be related but probably not. The most likely reason for non-start was the fuel. As for the Check Engine Light, you can go to Autozone to have them read the code for you, or buy a $30 code reader or buy a VAGcom connector and software if you have a laptop. It is invaluable if you plan to keep that A6 for awhile.

For your reference, these cars require attention and regular upkeep. Don't skimp out on maintenance and etc. If you take care of it, then it will be one of the most enjoyable car that you will ever own.

 

Id bet money that your coolant sensor is bad. When your car is cold the coolant sensor tells how much fuel to deliver to the car for it to start and "choke" and idle high for the first minute or so. If this isnt working properly, then the car gets the wrong amount of fuel. This is a very very common problem on A6's especially the 2.8 engines. If you can get it started, it will run like crap for about 2 minutes then seem to run like normal. Very cheap and easy fix, just go to autozone and have them scan your codes, i would bet that the code is for a faulty coolant sensor.