hey, just bought this car (see my post in the new members forum), its a 95 90s quattro with 56k and of course right after i give the money and sign the lady reveals to me the 1 problem she has had with the car...apparently she had to replace the ignition and starter more than once...she said that the ignition works funny sometimes, like you gotta wiggle the key and steering wheel or try multiple times to start the car....and as she put it 'the ignition burned out the starter'...the lady could not answer any of the questions i asked and i dont really know what she was talking about, all i got was that she had to replace each part more than once and the problem still exists. I havent seen anything funny yet but I would like to correct whatever is causing this before i gotta replace the starter myself and I wouldnt know what considering she's already replaced it and the ignition.

so my question is if anyone has seen, heard of, or had this problem in this year/model and if so if they know the cause. I checked all recalls on it and there was nothing bout this.

clueless, thanks for any input

mike

 

Sounds more like a poorly grounded starter solenoid. I don't know enough about your car to know where the solenoid is at though. On a ford (only time I have ever heard of this problem) they put the solenoid away from the starter and if it gets ungrounded it will sometimes crank (regardless of your ignition switch) for as long as it can (battery dead or starter dead). If you know where your solenoid is (or what it is) check it, replace it if it is looking remotely old, and uh make sure it is in tight. Ignition switch getting stuck would do it too but if she got a new switch (you can feel it when you turn the key it should be crisp and spring back) it would stop doing it. And, if it wont stop cranking and you turn the key back to stop it, it is not the ignition switch, your ignition switch will cut the power everytime as long as you turn it back (ignition switch broken is a spring that does not return your key to the on position.) If your solenoid is on the starter it would have gotten replaced with the starter (common on newer cars). If not, that is totally your problem (well technically it could still be your problem, all you need is for it to get ungrounded.) If not the switch, and not the solenoid, good luck chasing an electrical ground prob. If you have it unstoppably cranking hit your solenoid it'll save your starter. Ask if you do not know what a solenoid is or where to look for it.

 

the switch does feel good, and yes you are probably right about a poor ground..i can get to my starter solenoid and make sure the ground is secure...and i can always pull out my dusty multimeter if it happens and its another wire. thanks for the suggestion i wasnt thinking of endless cranking by itself..cus the lady didnt say that. She probly thought it would make it sound worse, so how she put it was poof the starter just dies. but what you said makes sense and its the only reason it would keep happening after they repair it. her mechanic probly loved her.

thanks
mike

 

No prob, good luck. And yeah you gotta run a starter for a while to break it.

 

did you check with the dealer if the safety recall on the ignition switch was already done ?

 

no, i did check with the seller tho the night after i had bought the car and had a chance to look up all safety recalls. She said they were all taken care of and i dont see any reason she'd have to lie. I suppose it couldnt hurt to go check with the dealer tho.

mike