Can someone please offer some suggestions? I just bought a 2005 A6 3.2 Quattro. For some reason it just won't start. The engine turns coughs like its about to start but it won't start. My mechanic says it's getting plenty of fuel pressure. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. BTW it has 178K miles.

OJ

 

Just call the previous owner for best advice.

 

Now that is bad advice

What is the service history and have you checked codes?
What is your battery status?
Alternator?
Coil pack etc...

 

I have tried to check codes. I get an ECM error code the won't allow me to check codes.

 

The battery is definitely low. I've been hooking up a charger to it in order to get it cranking.

 

The low voltage is also the reason you cannot pull codes. Right before my battery died I got ECU errors as well and couldn't run diagnostics.

Since you know the battery is already possibly bad - get that checked. Have your alternator checked while you are at it. Check for codes again when that's squared away.

Once you got good power, good fuel - that leaves spark, air and timing/sensor related gizmos.

 

Thank I'm going to get right on it in the morning.

 

It's back to the drawing board. Battery all charged up and the car still won't start. Searched the "All Data" page and all they could provide was information on cars with the keyless start. My 2005 A6 doesn't have that. My car starts with a key. It cranks one time then stalls out. Any other suggestions?????

 

So let's back up a little - from your initial description it reads like you bought the car and pretty much the same day it didn't want to start anymore? Has the car ever started since you owned it? Has anything happened since it started and since it wont start anymore?

I'm asking because if you don't know the history of the car and it never started since you owned it anything could be the fault - even timing belt.

Also without error codes you would have to go through all the little devices involved in getting the car started. You checked for fuel, battery. Now you still need to check if you get proper spark, air, computer response (ECU), timing, crank sensor, etc.
Are you sure you cannot (with a freshly charged battery) check for stored codes? Not even the standard CEL codes?