Sander

Hi,

my wife's 2001 A6 Avant wouldn't start this morning. The engine cranks and turns but no ignition happens. Not even a single 'put put' or anything like that.

I checked the engine codes and the only one stored is an intermittent O2 sensor one. Annoying but that shouldn't stop the engine from starting. I checked the fuses in the cabin and none of the engine ones (only ones I checked) were blown. I removed one injector connector and the voltage changed as the engine was cranked. I did not check the ignition although that is now a suspect of course. I'm not sure how to do that with this car without taking the whole thing apart.

The fuel pump fuse is ok but is there a way to test for fuel pressure without hooking up a gauge?

Any other tests I could do? I'd rather not have the car flat-bedded to the dealer Unfortunately I don't have the Bentley manual for this car. Never planned to do any work on it myself and for the last 6 years it wasn't needed. Maybe now it is.

Thanks!

Sander

Raoul

Crank with the pedal to the floor. Eventually (30-60 seconds) it should start to fire.

Sander

I put the battery on the charger to make sure it doesn't die because of the abuse. Is this (long crank) a known trick to fix a known problem? I'll search the forums.

I definitely smell gas so it appears to be ignition related now.

4Driver4

2nd.

Sander

I had the charger at 'crank' for extra juice and made sure I pushed the pedal all the way through the bottom resistance. Fired up in 15 seconds or so. After a minute or so I shut it down and started it normally. No problem.

Searching the forum I found some references to broken temperature sensors causing this behavior. Is that correct? I'd rather try to fix it myself than take it to the dealer.

I checked codes again and nothing showed up that could help.

thanks,

Sander

audikillsbmw

Way to go : ) Glad you got her started....

MrFine

pump. The third time, it resolved itself after I let the car sit for a few hours (I didn't try the long crank with the pedal floored). I had assumed it was the fuel pump again, but my indy assured me that was not it. We never found an answer, and in the 7 or 8 months since, it's never happened again.

As a complete neophyte in matters automotive, I didn't have any idea, but I didn't want to ignore the problem, either.

I searched the archives earnestly (intensifying my AW addiction), learned a LOT, and came away with more questions than answers.

My take on all that info was that it might be a coolant temp sensor. Indications are that even I might be able to perform this simple repair.

Please let us know what happens.

Edd W

amount of time. If this is done twice you can almost guarantee the problem will happen.

MrFine

haven't been able to duplicate the problem.

Maybe my issue is different...
Back to the archives !

FMB CAD

My 2001 A6 had to be towed into the dealer twice over 2 months. no start, no codes. Turned out that the engine coolant temp sensor was failing/intermittant. You would think that something that would prevent the engine from starting would leave a code, but no. That was my experience, I'm sure that there are also many other possiblilties.