Please help, car won't start

[OllyS4]

My wifes A3 1.8t sport quattro ARY engine turns over but will not start.
I've ran VAG-COM and there are no fault codes in engine or immobilizer.
She has been driving it round with no problems till tonight and hasn't put fuel in for a few days so it can't be the old diesel slip up.
I've had a look round the engine and it all looks in place with nothing obvious, the is a very small split in the Y shape oil breather pipe coming out of the rocker cover to the PCV but this shouldn't make a difference.

Any ideas?

 

[deeman88]

Sorry to hear that mare, Is the fuel pump pumping fuel when you put the key in and turn in to ACC? (iirc)

 

[OllyS4]

Very good point, I've just checked and there is no buzz like you would normally get and i just double checked against my Seat ibiza 1.8T and you can def hear it in that car.
Could this be a relay or fuse maybe?

 

[s3dave]

Take the back bench up and with the ignition on, give it a few bangs around the circular caps if it springs to life the pump will need changing,,how many miles out of interest as i have just changed mine?

 

[Az]

Could either be the relay, or the pump itself. I'm sure you'd normally get some warning with a pump like I did though, where it would splutter and hesitate under load. I had the same problem with my s3 myself a couple of weeks ago, that turned out to be the fuel pump that was knackered, mine is relatively high mileage and it's been remapped for a number of years so it's no wonder it failed. It cost me £263 from Audi with a bit of discount, it should of been £285. If it is your pump then it may not be as expensive as an s3 one. If it's the relay then that's around £70-£80 from Audi. If you lift the base of the rear seats up to expose the fuel pump cover under the carpet beneath the seats, remove the cover for the pump, and just gently tap the top of the fuel pump itself with the handle of a screwdriver, try starting it then. This seemed to fire up my car which gave me a positive indication it was a failed pump. If that doesn't work then try a new relay which is located under the drivers side dash.

 

[deeman88]

have you changed the pump at all?

 

[OllyS4]

Off the top of my head I think its around the 60k miles, the car is std.
She has had it about a year and we haven't changed the fuel pump, I tryed giving it a tap with no luck but that was through the carpet has I didn't have much time this morning.
I will try the relay out of my ibiza 1.8T later just to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Alais DJA]

Is there fuel in the tank?

 

[deeman88]

I tryed giving it a tap with no luck but that was through the carpet has I didn't have much time this morning.
I will try the relay out of my ibiza 1.8T later just to see if that makes a difference.

Maybe topping up with a Fiver and trying the above mentioned and rule them out

 

[Az]

I've heard some stories that it's possible to have 1/4 tank showing on the gauge when there's actually nothing in the tank. If the gauge is showing around 1/4 then try throwing a jerry can in it and starting it. If that does it then I know on the s3 pump the fuel gauge sender unit is part of the pump itself, not sure if it's the same on other models or not though.

 

[OllyS4]

I've sorted it.
I borrowed a fuel pump relay and swapped them over and now I can hear the pump on the first click of the key and it starts/runs fine now.
Cheers for all your help people.

 

[Az]

Glad to hear it was a minor issue and all sorted!

 

[deeman88]

You welcome mate. Safe motoring

 

[OllyS4]

Not sorted...
She went to go to work and it didn't start and no buzz from the pump again, so I swayed the relay for my ibiza and still nothing.
So I pulled up the carpet and took the cover off the pump and tapped it then tryed and it started again.
So it is the pump that's sticking. I have my old ibiza one (only changed because I've gone hybrid) so I'm going to try and swap the pump housing over and put it in the A3.
Will keep you posted.

 

[luckymacy]

Could either be the relay, or the pump itself. I'm sure you'd normally get some warning with a pump like I did though, where it would splutter and hesitate under load. I had the same problem with my s3 myself a couple of weeks ago, that turned out to be the fuel pump that was knackered, mine is relatively high mileage and it's been remapped for a number of years so it's no wonder it failed. It cost me £263 from Audi with a bit of discount, it should of been £285. If it is your pump then it may not be as expensive as an s3 one. If it's the relay then that's around £70-£80 from Audi. If you lift the base of the rear seats up to expose the fuel pump cover under the carpet beneath the seats, remove the cover for the pump, and just gently tap the top of the fuel pump itself with the handle of a screwdriver, try starting it then. This seemed to fire up my car which gave me a positive indication it was a failed pump. If that doesn't work then try a new relay which is located under the drivers side dash.

My '98 A3 car all of a sudden won't start (though turns over nicely).

With the fuel pump access cover removed, should I be able to hear the fuel pump at all? I don't hear anything from it even when I'm turning the engine over.

I don't have extensive documentation on the car but I do have the Audi A3 1997 workshop manual Electrical System edition 11.01. I am suspecting it's not getting fuel because there's absolutely no smell of fuel no matter how much I pump the pedal and try to turn it over. I also don't hear any sound that I think a fuel pump should make when I turn the key in the ignition all the way up to engaging the starter. So searching this forum brings me here. I notice that the relay and fuses on top of the battery have had a problem. The 30 amp fuse in location labeled S164 has completely melted the bottom half away of the fuse! But I can't find reference to what the fuse really is used for. I also can't find the fuel pump relay. Can someone be more specific as to where its actaully located? Thanks! A picture is worth a million words here. I can't refernce to fuel pump relay in the workshop manual.