heres whats going on. i have a 99 a6 quattro and the car was running fine. a few days ago, my sister took my car and she turned the car off to go to the store. she came back and the car wouldnt start at all! she went to get a jump from a guy and the car started almost immediately. Then she took the car to autozone to get the battery checked and they said the battery was fine.( which makes sense because i replaced the battery less that a year ago). Then yesterday i was driving the car to my parents house and everything was fine. i tried to start the car again and it doesnt start. tried a jump start and it doesnt work. battery meter is where its supposed to be and all the accessories in the car work. please help because im stumped and i really need my car. im not sure if its the starter because i havent had any problems starting the car unless its really cold outside and its only like a 1 sec delay. im not sure if my car has a kill switch? please help. thanks guys

 

I had a similar problem, and it was my ignition switch. Here is a little writeup.

https://www.audiforums.com/forum/audi-a6-9/2001-a6-ignition-switch-diy-84504/

 

I agree - it sounds like the ignition switch.

 

Thanks guys. just found out today it was the starter. we charged the battery and we heard clicking coming from the starter when we turned the key. Im still stumped though. do starters just die without warning?? i've never had any problem at all starting the car. its so wierd. its costing me $200 with labor from a audi mechanic who has a side shop. i guess thats a good deal seeing as though its around $200 for the starter itself. its so wierd. thats the last thing i expected was it to be the starter. but i have an audi so it figures.

 

Starters can die numerous ways but it is usually the solenoid that goes out or there is a dead spot on the armature. In your case it sounds like a dead spot because the solenoid was clicking.

It works like this: Low amperage thru the ignition switch goes to the starter soleniod that forces the contacts on a high amperage circuit to supply power to the starter. If the ign sw is bad the solenoid dosen't get power to make the high amp contacts close. If the soleniod is bad the high power contacts don't close. Sometimes a hard thump on the solonoid will wake it up and it will close the contacts, but expect to have the problem again soon. If the high power contacts are bad, electricity dosen't get to the starter. If the starter is bad all the power in the world will not make it go roundy round. Sometimes only a portion of the starter is bad thus when it stops in the bad place it won't go roundy round. sometimes a thump will help it move just a little and it will work until it stops on the bad spot again.

In an Audi the probability of failure in one of the items needed for starting is directly proportional to the number of rain drops that are falling.

 

im having a similar problem

do i need a starter? i just recently got my battery checked and its good, and it just wont start

 

Get a remote start switch, hook it. If the car starts fine, it is the iginition switch. If not, try another battery first. Only after trying these two tests should you try to replace the starter.

Bob

 

The starter may intermitently fail, so that when you take the car in for service it functions normally. At the worst times it may fail only to work again a half hour latter.
However, these same symptoms may be caused by other components, such as the ignition switch or starter relay. So you need to get the wiring diagram for your car and find out how to attach a temporary wire (or remote starting switch) to the starter solenoid circuit at the starter relay. On my Audi the starter is located behind the alternator. The next time your starter fails, just take this wire and temporarly touch it on the positive battery terminal. If the starter starts, then it is not the starter. If the starter fails, then the starter solenoid or its wiring is bad.

 

i had a similar problem on my 1999 2.8 a4. my ignition switch was screwed up and i let me friend drive the car without warning him. well he started the and because the ignition switch was malfunctioning, he drove it with the started engaged. needless to say it only took a couple of miles to destroy the starter. i immediately replaced the starter and switch.

btw it can be quite difficult to get the starter out. for a while i thought it was impossible without undoing the motor mounts and lifting the engine. I had to fiddle with it for about an hour until i turned it at just the right angle and it literally fell out. of course that was my a4 but even in my a6 avant, it looks very tight.

 

Im having the same problem with a 99 a6 I placed a remote switch as stated and the car starts right up...Is it safe to say the ignition switch is bad?? Whats a price of an ignition switch ? and how hard or easy of a job is this??