A4 Avant Won't Start ! Cranks Over - No Codes
 

So the story started when my wife told me that on the way home one night the car sometimes felt like it was rocking back and forth, like someone was nudging her from behind.
The next morning the car wouldn't start at all...

When I tried to start it, it would turn over once and die, every time.

I switched out the spark plugs and replaced my battery but it still wouldn't start.

After looking at the pending codes, I found the error code P0016 – Crank/Cam Position Correlation Bank 1 Sensor A.

So I checked the crank and cam positioning sensors and found that the cam sensor was bad.
I replaced it and tried again, same behavior. It cranked over once and died.I cleared the codes and tried again, it now cranks over more than once!!! But still won’t start…Here is what that looks and sounds like:


It seems like a spark plug issue to me so took them out and found that the gap was 0.05 on all of them. I corrected the gap and tried again but it didn’t change anything.I really need your help figuring this one out… it’s tough because the car isn’t pulling any codes!

You need spark , fuel and compression to run the engine. When you pulled out the spark plugs , how did they look. Were they wet with fuel and if not then either the fuel pump is not working so check the fuses. Also you might want to use a noid tester to see if the injectors are working. You also need to see if you have spark.

Thanks for the reply, I don't remember them being wet. I will check tonight.

Not sure what a noid tester is but I'll look into that if it's not the fuel pump.

Are there any risks to letting it crank over like that?

It seems a lot of people are not familiar with a NOID tester so here is a learning moment. You usually purchase these testers in a kit where it has an assortment of lights depending on the mfg. of the car or fuel injection system. What it is , is a small light with 2 leads on it. It's about the size of maybe a half dollar coin. You use it by unplugging the electrical connector to one of your fuel injectors. You plug this light in and start the engine while looking at the light. If it lights then your fuel injector should be working and fuel should be getting to that cylinder. If it doesn't then you have a problem with the ECU or the something in the fuel system. You can also take a fuel pressure test .

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that engine sounds hurt... I would avoid trying to start it any more until you can verify that the timing chain hasn't jumped. The sounds that engine makes indicates that one or more cylinders has less compression than others. With the cam/crank correlation error, that makes me immediately suspicious that it has jumped time.

You could pull all 4 plugs and do a compression test at the very least, to confirm or deny an issue with a bent valve or valves..

That would be my worst nightmare....

It now doesn't huff like it did in the video which to me sounded like not all spark plugs were firing.

Other thing is, spark plugs are not wet with gas so I was going to start chasing fuel supply now.

What do you guys think? Is it worth opening just the top of the timing chain cover to see if it's still on?

Another weird thing I found is after installing the spark plugs and turned the engine over, I found most of the plugs had some kind of black residue on them.

I find this strange. Is it possible I have a blown gasket?