Ok so i just bought my A4 yesterday, got a killer deal on it, and i guess i am starting to see why.

I have litterally put 65 miles on the car, started and shut off the car multiple times yesterday. Today i get upo, go to work, leave it parked for 7 hours and go out to leave and now it won't start.

I checked all of the normal things, fuses inside the drivers door are all good, took a spark plug out, defienately getting gas, checked all the plugs for a good connection, but the spark plugs are not sparking.

Nothing happened to even hint at what it would be. I live in Minnesota so it was pretty chilly out today, but i cant see cold weather being a cause of this.


Is there a 2nd fuse box i should know about that i cannot find? is this a normal malfunction that happens? has anyone gone through this before? Is there some sort of vehicle antitheft security thing i dont know of?

Any help would be great, thanks in advance..


I doubt half of this information will help you, but here is all the information on the car that i know of:

1996 Audia A4
Non-Quattro
5 speed manual trans
2.8L motor
204,000 miles
speed control doesnt work
Some idiot put an aftermarket cd player in it that doesnt work
bad brakes
bad drivers side axel
ABS and air bag light are on
I think a lifter is going bad, there is a tick in the motor
definately needs an oil change

 

The ignition switch can crap out with no warning, as can the fuel pump. V6 coil packs don't seem to fail nearly as often as on the 1.8Ts. Also, the clutch switch (the one that closes when you push in the clutch) couldve broken or gotten whacked out of alignment.

Just throwing a few ideas out here to see if anything rings a bell.

 

i was thinking the clutch switch too, assuming it has one, i know i have owned a few manual cars that didnt. Does this one have one?

Seeing i have only owned teh car for a day, i dont know if it could always try and start without the clutch pushed in or not.

Curious, as i have never had to deal with it, and this maybe a dumb Q, so my appologies in advance, but where is the ignition switch? Or is that the technical term for the ignition where you stick the key in?

 

Every one that I've driven required the clutch to be pushed as I recall, including my 99, but it seems like a year or so ago a few members here said they didn't have to. Take a look at the pedal arm and see if there's a contact that closes with the pedal pushed in. If so, you could jumper around the switch with wiretaps and see if it starts - that'll tell you if the switch is bad.

The ignition switch, when you read about it on here, is the term for the electronics that get engaged by turning the key. It's a small white module on the ignition cylinder where the key goes, at the opposite end as the key slot. You'll have to remove the steering wheel and column trim to access it. I bought a new one from GermanAutoParts.com for about $26 shipped, and they're known to go bad.

 

Ok well i'm on my way to work where my car sits, so i will keep you guys informed of what i figure out, as i would like the next guy that has this problem to find a good answer for his issue also

 

Ok so after a long day, we scanned the car, it threw up several codes, crank sensor, cam sensor, ingnition module, o2 sensor, missfireing, etc etc etc.

So we cleared the codes, and attempted to s tart the car again, no luck. However it threw up a bunch of codes again.

Now seeing the car ran fine 1 minute and the next it doesnt, and throwing up numerous codes, i came to the conclusion it is probably the ECM. So tomorrow i am going to try and replace it to see if that fixes my problem.

If anyone has any other sugestions, feel free to give me your input.

 

So its not the computer. I am baffled, i am about to give up and just sell the car

 

What codes came back? Those are the ones that'll matter. Post 'em up and we'll take it from there.