2002 Audi S3 BAM Engine Issues

[Ki3don]

Hi,
I am just looking for some information on here before I take it to a professional see if there is anything I am able to do to fix my problems.

The original problem with the car was it was overheating. I thought this could of been the head gasket...I left the car running up to temperature there was no bubbling in the water reseviour it looked normal, so this let me to believe it was perhaps the water pump or the temp sensor. When I bought the car orignally the guy said he had to change the temp sensor as it was showing the car to be overheating and when he changed the sensor it fixed the problem. If anybody else knows of any other trouble shooting tips to find the problem i would appreciate that.

The next problem, the car was running perfectly it had been stood for a couple weeks and the battery died. I jumped it off my van and it fired up first time no issues. I took the car down to my unit and instead of using the van to jump the car again i used a batter charger pack. When I attached the terminals to the battery and switched it on the lights on the car came on made a weird noise and I could smell a slight burning smell. i went back in to the car turned the key in the ignition there was no dash display at all no light nothing....the lights, heaters, windows all worked and the car will not start now. I think I have done something to the immobiliser maybe? again any info is appreciated as i'd like to try and fix the problems myself before paying somebody to do it.

Thanks!

 

[S3AMJ]

With the starting issue.... I’d check all fuses first, might have shorted something and blown one or two. The other thing is, if the battery is proper knackered then the car might not start or run properly which is something I found out recently.

As for the overheating issue, check the normal things like oily water, brown cream inside the rocker cover. Eliminating the head gasket possibility. Do you have VCDS available to check for any fault codes to see if something points to something obvious?


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[Ki3don]

My buddy has got a fault code reader I'm going to check that tomorrow see what it says. The water looked fine but what i did notice is that when it was ran up to temp the water didn't seem to be moving out of the resiviour? that's also what made me think water pump. I will try a new battery tomorrow see if that does anything. Do you think I could of fried my ECU ? there was a noticeable like burning smell when I was actually sat in the car.

thanks for your reply!

 

[S3AMJ]

I’d be very surprised if you fried the ECU. Unless you accidentally put the wrong poles on the battery when jumping it! Fuse/s are likely to go before that happens. The burning smell again could be the fuse/s or wires. Fingers crossed it’s just a fuse buddy.

Water pump is a possibility if the impellers have broken, or if the thermostat has failed and is stuck closed. If the fans still come on around 93-100 degree C then the temp sensor is working fine.


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[Ki3don]

That's a relief that it's likely not my ECU. I replaced the fuses on the top of the battery the 30A ones. Which other fuses the ones on the side near the door?
thanks

 

[S3AMJ]

The 30A fuses in the box above the battery I believe are for the ABS modules. Someone else can confirm this for me. It’ll more likely be the metal “strips” between the two nuts, but this will be visually obvious if these have gone! I think it’s the 3rd and 4th in from the left when the box is mounted onto the battery that controls starting the car.... the fuses on the drivers side panel by the door are secondary, could be instrument cluster but that wouldn’t stop the car from starting I don’t think.


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[S3AMJ]

Worth checking the earth cables as well


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[Ki3don]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fuse-Box...4I&fits=Car+Make:Audi|Model:A3|Cars+Year:2002

So you think maybe if i replace this whole unit it could fix the problem?

 

[S3AMJ]

As much as I like buying new stuff haha, I’d just go one step at a time to save wasting money. Check all fuses, ground cables, test the battery and replace it if it’s beyond charging. Run diagnostics and find out what codes it throws up and go from there. There’s rarely a quick fix for these things..... these cars are all about problem solving and elimination.


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[desertstorm]

Did you connect the battery pack to the car the wrong way around ?? Most modules have protection for this but not all. Was it a truck starter that does 24V??. Either way there is likely to be more damage than the fuse block. You really need to get it looked at by somebody who knows what they are doing.

 

[Stuart B]

the electrical burning smell is never a good sign (must have connected up the terminals wrong) - I would start from the fuses and wiring on top of the battery - you say you changed the fuses was this because they had blown?

 

[Ki3don]

I have found what has happened, the battery charger i used was plugged in to 24v so its blew something...do you think it could be the immobiliser? or what fuses should i be looking to replace?

 

[desertstorm]

If you have connected a 24v charger to the car there is liable to be more than the odd fuse blown. If you have checked all the fuses in the main fuse box and the fusible links in the fuse box on top of the battery then you need to start looking at possible ECU / cluster damage. Best thing is to get it to somebody who knows what they are doing.

 

[<tuffty/>]

Any fault codes?

<tuffty/>

 

[AGB-S3]

I have found what has happened, the battery charger i used was plugged in to 24v so its blew something...do you think it could be the immobiliser? or what fuses should i be looking to replace?

OMG , With a bit of luck, the battery would of acted like a large zener diode and kept most of the voltage off the car , however , if your finding replacement fuses are blowing with 12 v restored , time to start unplugging thing's , but, its going to be a long job , use a headlamp bulb in series with the battery to start with , then any short is limited to 5 amps by the bulb lighting up ....cold it wont drop much voltage ..

G,