PaulNZallroad

Hi allroad experts. I'm relatively new to Audi ownership and am having a bit of a hard time. Thousands of (NZ) dollars for a gearbox/TC, gear selector switch and a couple of new airsprings and a bit more besides in the 8 months I've owned my 4.2 V8 I now have a starter issue I can't really ignore an more. I'd appreciate some ideas of where to go next if anyone has any, please?

I've read a few of the starter problem threads and none sound quite like mine.

Very early on (months ago) I noticed there was occasionally a hesitation in firing up that seemed to be on cooler mornings. Not cold, 50 or so degrees. This happened enough to be a pain and on one of the many occasions it was in the garage I got them to replace the ignition switch. This seemed to improve things, but after a while the issue has crept back in and now it's been back a while and is getting worse.

When I leave the car for a few hours there is often a delay after I turn the key before the car fires up. There is no crank. Lots of things start up and come on (fan, lights etc) but it doesn't start. Sometimes it will after a few seconds, but other times it won't. In these instances if I walk away for a few minutes and come back it (almost) always then fires up first time, no hesitation or anything. And once it's started for the day it's always fine for the rest of the day - except for today. It's getting cooler as we get to the southern hemisphere winter and today it didn't start straight away after work so I need to do something about it.

Question is what?

The fact that it starts when I leave it for a few minutes after a failed start and come back suggests to me that it isn't a battery losing charge. But, the fact that it is worse the longer I leave it such as overnight, or if I don't drive it for a day, suggests that it could be.

My hunch is that it's a bad ground or something - but that is probably because I don't want to pay for a new starter. Any suggestions of likely culprits as places to start?

Can someone help me out with a few dumb questions? I should get a Bentley manual, I know. Shipping to NZ is extortionate.

• Is replacing the starter as bad as I have seen suggested on the 4.2?
• Am I right that I should be able to clean contacts on the starter if I can get beneath the car with it on stands?
• What voltage should the battery voltage indicator on the cluster show when it's pausing trying to start? It doesn't drop off at all when I hold the key in the ignition position. It sort of sits at about 11 or 11.5ish.
• Would anyone start with the battery given what I have described? Seems easier than the starter.

The other reason I am reluctant to decide on the starter being the issue is that it can go a week or so at a time without an issue at all. And some mornings when I expect it to be a pain it fires up straight away.

Fingers crossed I have a good day tomorrow, and that someone here has had a similar experience. Any ideas/suggestions gratefully accepted.

Cheers

transman

You could be experiencing a Bendix problem with the starter. If it was my car I would be taking the starter off to get it bench tested at an auto parts store.
Shopkey says its only 2.6hr to replace the starter on the V8, so its not a big deal to do on your spare time. Its a free test, and worth the hassle to at least eliminate it. I would get them to run the test several times in case it is an intermittent problem.

Just a suggestion, I've never had an AR with a v8, so maybe someone else will chime in..

Hope this helps, Connor.