missfire help please on s3

swatchuk

swatchuk

Registered User
Joined
Nov 10, 2008
Messages
320
Reaction score
16
Points
18
Hi people. Recently upgraded from an 8L S3 to 8P. Love the car. Basically under load the car has a bit of a missfire/ hesatation. I changed the spark plugs on friday and the problem went completly. The old plugs were black at the electrode end which makes me think the car is running rich?? No fault codes have come up.
Ive done about 300 miles on the new plugs and the problem is coming back slowly. Im going to take the plugs out tomorrow to see what they look like.
The car has a Milltek cat back system on it but other than that is standard.
Any help/ ideas/ or advice would be much appreciated
Thanks, Mark
 
Did you change coil packs,, where are you based? I take my car to statllers in sheffield or amd in essex...
 
Last edited:
well coil packs were going to be my next step, but after i changed the plugs and the fault went away surely its to do with them. Or maybe a coil pack rising up off the plug slightly. Ive had that happen before.
Just slightly concerned about the colour of the old plugs. Looks like it might be overfueling? Any ideas why it would do that??
 
Get vcds on it and locate which cylinder is misfiring. Then swap coils over and see if the misfire moves.

That's what I would do first. If you don't have vcds, I'm sure someone in your area would be able to help you.
 
Swatch
If all the plugs are black i would doubt its all the coil packs. The miss fire is prob because the plugs are breaking down due to carbon build up. My first port of call would to be looking at the heat range of the plugs if they are all the same ( sooted) ? If it is a multiple misfire then it should log on VCDS especially if you run misfire blocks with it running :)..Is your air filter blocked ? are you using decent fuel ?
It could poss be the coil packs were yours not subject to recall/ free exchange ?..I would look at them last as its the most expensive.
 
I don;t mean to hijack this thread but I've got the same problem at the moment with my 2005 2.0T A3. It's gradually getting worse - the misfire/stuttering was only under full, hard acceleration but is now become more common even under gentle acceleration. I don't have any warning lights on though.

I haven't checked the spark plugs yet but they were replaced at the last major service at the end of November so I have assumed it is likely to be the coilpacks.

I'm pretty sure a guy at work has VCDS that I could borrow but I wouldn't know how to do the above having never used it...
 
Before changing the coil packs, ring audi and quote your chassis number to see if your car is due a call back reference the coil packs as this was done earlier in the year.

If not, then buy 4 new packs and change them yourself along with the spark plugs.

This happened to me but unfortuantely my intake manifold motor failed too and had to replace it - some job!
 
I took the plugs out again today and they're black again after 250 miles. I cleaned them up took the car out and the problem has gone. After this I went and had it checked on vcds and no faults or misfires showing. After a bit more digging we've found out that the car has got a crap remap on it with no tags so don't know who's done it.
So turns out it is over fueling to death. It's getting flashed back to a standard map on Wednesday so I'll let you know how I get on
Mark
 
Hope u get it sorted! My misfire was caused by a faulty injector. Let us know how u get on.
 
Well i had the car put back to standard today. I can definatly notice ive lost some torque. So far so good on the missfire but i'll wait and see after i do some miles again. If all is well after that and when my warrenty runs out straight back to a remap.
Fingers crossed

LEO I believe its your old car?? Hows the R32 treating you?? I had a MK4 R32 and i do miss the noise.
 
Satchuk - glad to hear yours is sorted for the time being. Get yourself a new map once you know the problem has gone for good!

Boydie - thanks for your post. I phoned Audi and my car is on the list as requiring replacement coil packs so hopefully that is the cause of my issue. I'm booked in for 7th Oct. Not sure why Audi haven't proactively contacted me though as my car has pretty always been serviced by them with the exception of one time at APS in Brackley.
 
audi upgrades
Hi mate,yes it was my old car - decided to pass it on after a year and a half of ownership,get something a tad cheaper as i'm getting a T5 camper van so thats why i got the R32 and loving the noise !!

So did the car have a re-map and how much of a difference is there to it on the road since having it put back to standard ? i thought it was standard S3 power and would be disappointed in it if it had a re-map ! I bought the car exactly as it was,i only changed the wheels on it for the S5 alloys,but the car never mis-fired or missed a beat in all the time i owned her ? Cheers

A.T.B Leo
 
Well the cars playing up again. Still got this hesatation/misfire. I really dont know which way to go with it now. The plugs keep going black, and every time i clean them the problem goes away. Still no faults coming up.
Does anyone have any other ideas as to why the car may be overfueling? or any other sugestions why it may do it?? It only happens under full throttle, in any gear though.
Thanks guys.


LEO - Yeah apparently it did have a remap, just not a good one at all. I think the car has lost a little bit of low end torque but it does drive better now. Well, when the plugs are clean anyway. lol. Absolutly love the car, just this little annoying problem. I'll get to the bottom of it eventually hopefully.
Mark
 
Sorry to hear that mate,its really strange because as i said the car never missed or had any hesitation at all right up to the day i drove it up to Chester ?
Did the garage service it & perhaps they may have altered a setting when re-setting the service indicator,i know i'm clutching at straws but it baffles me that you have this problem ? The only thing that used to bug me was the radio interference (bad earth ?) who ever fitted it must have been a numpty and me a bigger one for not getting it sorted !! lol
I rarely used the car as i have a company van and the missus has her own car,i only put just over 4500mls on her in 18 months,well looked after tho !

A.T.B Leo
 
Just an update on this, changed the coils, plugs, theres now a twintake on it, so the air filters good, coolant temp sensor has been changed, and the problem is still there. Hesatation all the time from 4000rpm ish. its so annoying and i cant work it out.
Any other sugestions guys??
Thanks. Mark
 
try disconnecting the MAF and see if the misfire/hesitation stops.
Could need a new MAF
 
Mine has started doing it today, 3 months old and 3.5k miles...well ****** off. No fault code. I had years of this nonsense with my 3.2....cant believe i was stupid enough to buy another audi after that...lol
Anyway...thats 5 of us posting today with the same thing...
 
ive just been and unplugged the maf and it did seem better. Not sure if its just me wanting it to be right or not. I'm going to run it like that tomorrow as im going on a 90 mile run. See how it is then and check the colour of the plugs again. Fingers crossed.
Ive only had the car 3 weeks. Bought it from a garage and they havent got a clue really. They are trying to be helpfull but i think they wish i never entered the showroom. They even offered me my money back, which if i cant solve this problem soon i will be taking back. I'll struggle to find the spec again though, thats why im trying my hardest to fix it.
OOOO!!! Why did i buy another audi!! lol
 
Keep us informed Swatch..
My tail pipes are not just black..they are "thick" black soot today ! this is a new thing in the last few days.
 
My exhaust is like that too. Driving with the maf unplugged is Definatly better but still the miss is there slightly. I took the plugs out today cleaned them up. Then went and drove it for about 20 miles with the maf unplugged. Again drove better but took the plugs out after the drive and they were thick black again.
Are anyone elses plugs black?? Are they ment to be like this??
Thanks. Mark
 
We need a common thread here, too many people with the same problem..
 
  • Like
Reactions: andywaddy
hi,ive been having a misfire with my 2006 2.0tfsi,had it for a while now its not getting worse but its well annoying,i always use good fuel,herd it may be the o2 sensor but duno,i'm gonna try new plugs.
 
ahhh misfire misery, not good seein you with the same prob pads! :crying:

my exhaust and plugs are always sooty... Maybe its Revo?
 
If the car has been remapped,running rich is to be expected,and you'll get a sooty looking pipe as a result(!).....changing the plugs is usually the cheapest first option,followed by getting the coilpacks looked at.
The OEM plugs are fine for remapped(and that includes cars with big turbos) as long as they're changed at 5 000 mile intervals as they don't last anywhere near as long when the car has been remapped.
 
My 2011 S3 has just come out of the dealers having had this problem. It took them 2 weeks to fix, but it turns out that faulty injectors were causing the missfire. Strangely, there were 3 other 2011 S3s sitting there waiting to be fixed with the same issue!
 
S3Alex said:
If the car has been remapped,running rich is to be expected,and you'll get a sooty looking pipe as a result(!).....changing the plugs is usually the cheapest first option,followed by getting the coilpacks looked at.
The OEM plugs are fine for remapped(and that includes cars with big turbos) as long as they're changed at 5 000 mile intervals as they don't last anywhere near as long when the car has been remapped.
Click to expand...

I see what you are saying but mine ran fine and clean for 2k miles after the remap. The sooty exhaust and the misfire is new. I doubt its plugs or coils because its a total cut. momentary admittedly but defo more than 1 or 2 pots. also fuel consumption has suffered about 5 mpg
 
injectors? try using some cataclean with 15 litres of vpower in it, and run it till its empty, if it feels a little better then prob ur injectors could be on the way out... otherwise if it was me, then i would go and get a refund on the car and look elswhere.
good luck!
 
I was reading that if an injector goes on a Tdi it cuts all the injectors, that would explain why i am getting a complete, momentary cut/misfire if the petrol ones do that too.
 
Sounds exactly the same as what mine is doin,I have only had the remap done a couple of months an I have noticed the exhaust tips been very sooty but thought nothing of it until you just mentioned the over fueling.
I have noticed tho when I really drive it hard for a few days it seems to misfire less,maybe it's coked up with carbon.
 
Anyone know how or if you can test injectors?? I think my problem is related to the fuel system now. Ive replaced everything else. I cant believe so many people are experiencing this problem. Mine is running standard now, but still have the miss fire as soon as i put my foot down in any gear all the way through the rev range. Stuggling to enjoy the car at the mo
 
If you go to a specialist independent tuner they should be able to test the spray pattern and delivery levels.

With the plug / coil pack / injector issues some of us are having it makes you wonder if we could 'borrow' any hardware from RS3 (injectors maybe?). If RS4 injectors have been used on some BT conversions surely it can't be out of the question?
 
I think unfortunately that all of this is down to not only the several possible causes(plugs,coilpacks injectors etc)but also a large proportion of luck,as some of us use OEM plugs and coilpacks without any problems at all.

The only misfire problem I had apart from worn plugs,was related to the stock intake piping,but since then the thing has behaved itself.
 
My misfire was down to a faulty injector. Audi changed it free of charge as a goodwill gesture as it was full service history blah blah. And just out of warranty.

Pig of a job to do though!
 
Mine is now booked in at Audi for a week tomorrow ( thurs) ...Se what they can find. i will have to put it back to stock but to be honest i have lost so much performance on it now i doubt i will notice. Induction noise and blow off when changing gear gets louder by the day. Miss fire is at its worse after a down hill coast then back on the throttle. Exhaust very sooty, MPG down 5-7 miles a gallon. the real problem will be getting it to mess about while they test drive it. I took it to my local indie and they gave it a 20 min run and it didnt miss a beat. I have already decided that if Audi say its fine then its going...regretfully :-( I have been down the " imposable to diagnose without a fault code" route before with audi......see my avatar sig...
 
Last edited:
paddy said:
I have already decided that if Audi say its fine then its going...regretfully :-( I have been down the " imposable to diagnose without a fault code" route before with audi......see my avatar sig...
Click to expand...

Paddy, I'm so sorry to hear you're still going through issues again. It's typical about Audi and no fault code. They had mine for 8 days back in 2008 and didn't diagnose spark plugs as they don't throw fault code.

I do agree with Alex above, the exhaust & DP have improved things no end, as have the catch can on mine, but the problem is you are only flaunting the warranty when you take this route. I just decided I'd had enough and would give it a try to see if I could fins some kind of satisfaction with the car and thank god it worked.

There is NO excuse for a car this far through it's lifecycle to be having these kind of issues, and it makes me wonder whether there are still dodgy sets of valve lift springs floating about in the supply system, or whether its just plain and simple that because the engine is stretched so far from the humble GTi from which it evolved, that if anything is suboptimal in the design, then it will just throw a wobbler (another guy called RobDF on SEATCUPRA.net had similar issues with a Leon Cupra 240PS that was never resolved, even after a full head rebuild).

Best of luck mate, my thoughts are with you.
 
Thanks mate, i dont claim another make will be any better. The real problem is the more components you fit the more there is to go wrong and Audi's like most premium cars are stuffed full of nonsense these days,

Take a head light...A shiny fixed bowl with a bright light in it ..cost ? about 9.99p for a sealed beam unit.......or

A unit with 1 std bulb, 2 xenon bulbs and 10 led light's in it. mount it on a 2 axis mount and motorise it in both directions. wire it into a light sensor, wire it in to the steering and add a self cleaning system, control the whole lot with a computer so the leds dim when indicators are on, both leds dim when side lights are on. Build in a self levelling device and hey presto..............

You have shiny bowl with a bright light in it....2011 style..about £900
 
  • Like
Reactions: andywaddy
well after alot of meither I may have got to the bottom of my missfire / overfueling problem. Apperantly theres a flap in the inlet manifold that determines how fast the air gets into the engine, in addition to the throttle boddie. The car thinks that its open properly so putting more fuel in but the flap was clogged up so wouldnt move therefore not enough air is getting in and coked up the plugs. Sorry for the vague description but thats about all i got out of the garage. Anyway its been cleaned up and free'd off and I've done about 500 mile so far and all is going well. I took a plug out yeaterday and it is now a red/browny colour on the electrode so thats better. Still black around the outside edge and the exhaust tips, but fingers crossed it keeps going well.
I did find out one good thing though which is i have a full milltek exhaust and sports cat. I thought it was only cat back. So stage 2+ might be here sooner than i thought
 
  • Like
Reactions: pinterovski
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Help s3 missfire done everything still missfire
Replies
0
Views
576
Cultus
C
Y
Missfire cylinder 3 help on Audi A3 tfsi 2.0 BWA
Replies
5
Views
3K
Y333_off
Y
G
S3 EML and missfire
Replies
1
Views
549
gkoutsis
gkoutsis
SID
HELP ON OFFSETS PLEASE!!
Replies
5
Views
1K
N8
N8
J
Lumpy idle/small misfire on stage 2+ S3, please help?
Replies
1
Views
1K
S3RYE
S3RYE
Top
Back