Hey all,
I'm new to audiforums, and have only recently (Nov) become the owner of an 98 Audi A4 2.8 wagon. I really like it, and the AWD is awesome for the midwest winters. I've got a problem already though. . . . .About christmas time, the check engine light started to come on every couple times, and as of january, it has stayed on. Whenever I'm running errands, or basically whenever the car is warm and I've had it off for a little bit, it's hard to restart. I have to try 2-3 times to get it to start, pump the gas, and sometimes it stalls. This is ONLY when it's at running temp or close to it. When it's cold it's fine.
The error code (I don't remember this exaclty, left the printout at home on my desk, I'll edit this when I get home in an hour) is something like Enging Fuel Temp to high or something. The guy at advanced auto who got the error code for me told me that the fuel line might be running too close to something hot, and it's essentially vapor locking. Don't know. Any help on this would be appreciated. Is this common? btw, I've just hit 100k.

 

if you get the code printout, it will be more helpful.

maybe it is just a sensor problem or something but yeah post the code number when you get home

 

Let me guess, when you do get it to start, black smoke comes out the back and you run rich a while... when you hit the gas in that condition, motor stalls and once again, you can't start....

I had the exact same problem, and believe you me, it keeps getting worse. If my guess is correct, your CEL should be from the ECT sensor (Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor)... the ECT reads the temp wrong, feeds ECU wrong info so your car runs rich as hell... sometimes when you're running so rich, when you hit the gas, you flood the car with fuel so it stalls....
This will happen more and more often, and it will become more and more difficult to start.... So get it fixed ASAP...
OH, if it does happen again, and you can't get it to start, let the car sit for about 5-10mins (so it cools down) and try again.
If you can't fix it soon and need to deal with it for a while, I can't tell you hints on how to cope with it.

Hope this is helpful

 

Thanks! That sounds pretty dead-on to my problem. The worst days, I have to wait for a little while after a stall cause it seems flooded. I haven't noticed the black smoke, but I haven't looked for it really. Also, the error code was P0118 - Engine Coolant Temp Circuit High Input.

So am I going to have to replace this sensor? Expensive? DIY? I've installed new radiators and some stuff like that on my honda, but I haven't worked on this car yet.

I appreciate the reply. Thanks again!

 

bump

 

The sensor is like 5 bucks. Easy to replace, just do a search on it here. Simply plugs into the end of an exposed coolant hose behind the engine block.