Hello everyone,can you please help me fix my A3 starting problem?

[Cherry]

It's my first post on a car forum so please be gentle!

I bought a 2001 A3 1.8T at xmas, it has done 128,000 miles, and it has been a bit of a pain trying to sort out a few problems...but thanks to you guys, and the info and posts on this forum, my husband has managed to fix most of the problems but it is still difficult to start the car, it takes 2 or 3 tries before it starts. I would be very grateful for any help you can give me as my husband has run out of ideas.

He got Vag Com and so far he has replaced speed sensor,camshaft sensor,fuel pump,fuel pump relay,all plugs and coils,coolant temp sender,thermostat,filters

The problems are:
1. Bad starting from hot and cold,takes 2 or 3 tries, usually gets running with foot flat on floor and eventually starts
2. Temp gauge doesn't work, never moves but Vag Com log shows it stays around 90
3. Remote central locking doesn't work, we have tried lots of different techniques and none of them work, we only have 1 key

Vag Com Faults left are:
16725 - Camshaft Position Sensor (G40): Implausible Signal
P0341 - 35-00 - -
01366 - Opened Due to Crash Signal
35-00 - -

The cam sensor has been changed so don't understand why that is still there (could be a duff new sensor?) Would this cause the bad starting?
Does the Crash Signal cause any problems?

Please help if you can as I use the car for school run and it is very embarrassing trying to start it! I love the car and my husband likes it too (even though he is a Toyota fan) so I don't want to give up on it

Best wishes from Cherry

 

[Alex C]

has the cam belt been done recently (128k)? just wondering if the cam timing is out?

 

[Customboy]

Have u checked the starter motor? Has the car ever been modified by a previous owner? Sometimes disconnect the battery and let it reset itself might help

 

[jay1601]

cam sensor, broken wire, done a continuity test ?

have you tested the instrumental panel to see if the the gauge thats broken rather the sensor its self

when you say C/L doesn't work is that remote or key in the lock ?

 

[Customboy]

Failing that could be a bad or faulty maf or bad battery

 

[Cherry]

Thanks for all the quick replies

Don't know whether the cambelt has been changed recently,it was on my husbands list of 'things to do'
The Starter motor makes a lot of noise after it disengages, but seems to turn the engine over ok, the battery has been replaced (forgot to mention that) and my husband says he has disconnected it each time he fitted something new to the engine, no idea if it has been modified in the past but service history is very poor and lots of entries missing :-(
Will get hubby to check the wiring to the cam sensor, hopefully he wont do more damage!
The Vag log showed the temperature was steady around 90 ish so must be the instrument panel, can the gauge be fixed somehow?
The central locking works with the key in the door no problem, just the remote that doesn't work

Thanks very much for all your replies, hubby has a few jobs for tomorrow

Cherry

 

[L33h]

Id say the starting motors worth a look at. But as Jay said you should check the cam sensor wires.

If vag com says the cars running at 90 then id say its the gauge thats faulty.

 

[jay1601]

dead battery in the key? might just need to be re-programmed if its had a loss of power for a while


you can do a dial test with vag com to check the gauges for full movement and to test to make sure they work correctly
the gauge would depend if its broken on the PCB or the wiring from the sensor

common problem for the starter to stick

 

[Cherry]

Do the cam sensor wires all run from the sensor to the ECU? (Hubby is asking questions from his groove in the sofa!)

 

[jay1601]

should be a 3 pin connector.

1 wire will be the ground
1 will be a reference feed
the other will be the signal wire to the ECU

i haven't got a wiring diagram to hand to tell you which wire it will be

 

[Cherry]

Thanks Jay we will test the wires and let you know how it goes

Also forgot to mention that the car is a bit slow to accelerate from low revs but we assumed that was because of the cam sensor fault?

Will definately change the cam belt asap!

Thanks guys

 

[Sandra]

Welcome to ASN Cherry. Hope you enjoy the forum. The guys/girls are all really knowledgeable. Enjoy.

 

[L33h]

The cam belt wont change anything. Itll only cause a problem if it has been changed recently and the timings a tooth out (as Alex C said)

 

[Broken Byzan]

It will have had the cams out at some point, The cam to cam timing will be wrong i expect. It causes it to be harder to start and cough up this fault code. I bet the car has a VVT tensioner on it. WHat engine code is it?

 

[Cherry]

The engine code is AUM, thanks for the info that sounds most likely then, can't wait to get it sorted out