Problems starting (quick reply required)

[Ardz83]

Hi guys.
I was at sainsburys just now and came out to start the car and it would start,it would fire but would just die,it wouldnt let me rev it at all to keep it going. It just died no matter what i done.

After about 7 attempts to start it,the car went back to normal with no problems,i did feel a little flat spot or hesitation under acceleration but seemed ok.

Im abit worried because MOT is on tuesday.

Can anyone shed any light on what might be causing this????

There are no mods bar a forge splitter and boost gauge.

Thanks in advance
Dan

 

[B5NUT]

Immobiliser is my guess, had the same fault on my car. I always wait for the the immobiliser light to go out before starting the car. What year is your A4?

 

[Ardz83]

Its a 1998 on a R plate. Thanks for the quick reply. I do leave it 10-15 seconds before i start it. wouldnt it not even fire if it was the imobilizer

 

[teo420]

if it was immo then it would simply not start
low on fuel maybe ?
maybe need a new fuel filter or u got a broken line somewhere
spark plugs id check all that

 

[Ardz83]

if it was immo then you would simply not start
low on fuel maybe ?
maybe need a new fuel filter or u got a broken line somewhere
spark plugs id check all that

The car had a service with new plugs and that 300 miles ago. Also got 100 miles in the tank.

 

[teo420]

what about that fuel filter

 

[Ardz83]

that was not changed.

 

[aragorn]

The immo allows the car to start, then shuts the engine down after about 1 second.

Given your symptoms, it sounds exactly like an immo problem. Could be a faulty reader coil or a dodgy transponder.

If it does it again, look at the dash and see if the key symbol is flashing.

 

[B5NUT]

Yes the car will start but then shutdown with the immo flashing, my A4 has the same fault, there is also a fault code on th engine "engine started by immobiliser"

if it was immo then it would simply not start
low on fuel maybe ?
maybe need a new fuel filter or u got a broken line somewhere
spark plugs id check all that

 

[Bradderz_1988]

+1 With Aragorn !

 

[Ardz83]

Yeah i think this is the problem guys. How can i stop it from doing it again?
Thank you all for you replies

 

[skinz]

im havin the same problem, thing is i can go shop not put my alarm on and when i get bk in it still does it, how could the immo kick in when i've not set the alarm

 

[B5NUT]

Immo is not linked to the alarm, the immo kicks in every time you start the car, checks to make sure it's your key starting the car. On older model a4 (immo 1 i think) there is a White box behind the upper foot well trim, clean up the contacts and that may fix your fault (did on my a4)

 

[jonpaul]

Got the same problem on my facelift where's the box for that ?

 

[B5NUT]

It's in the cluster & ecu. My guess is the pickup coil in the ignition barrel has failed, also had that fail on another a4. One new barrel later and a re-tumbel to fit the original key and it was fixed.