Starting Problem
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Starting Problem
This story started two weeks ago when my A6 would not start. Battery was at 100% according to the MMI but all I'd get was a click from the engine bay. Put a small booster pack on the terminals in the bay and still no start.
Towed to garage and they charged the battery overnight but still no joy. They then replaced the starter motor and this seemed to fix the problem... right until tonight where the same thing has happened again!
MMI still says 100% but all I get is the single click.
What else can it be? I think it can only now be the battery (5 years old original battery) or the regulator module connected to the battery in the trunk. Anything else?
I should note there are no fault codes logged, The only thing I am slightly wary of is that I have been using a 12v to 240v inverter to power my laptop recently and this might be more battery drain than usual.
If I decide to replace the battery is there any risk in using a normal aftermarket battery? I see from Ross tech wiki that there is a process for coding the battery regulator module to a new Audi battery and that worries me slightly!
Any ideas guys and gals?
Towed to garage and they charged the battery overnight but still no joy. They then replaced the starter motor and this seemed to fix the problem... right until tonight where the same thing has happened again!
MMI still says 100% but all I get is the single click.
What else can it be? I think it can only now be the battery (5 years old original battery) or the regulator module connected to the battery in the trunk. Anything else?
I should note there are no fault codes logged, The only thing I am slightly wary of is that I have been using a 12v to 240v inverter to power my laptop recently and this might be more battery drain than usual.
If I decide to replace the battery is there any risk in using a normal aftermarket battery? I see from Ross tech wiki that there is a process for coding the battery regulator module to a new Audi battery and that worries me slightly!
Any ideas guys and gals?
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Joined: Jun 2006
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From: Southington, CT
The starter circuit requires that the brake be engaged (push button start) and the shifter be in park. If the switch for either one of these is flakey the car will not start and I do not think either will generate an error code. Try wiggling the shifter and pressing the brake a few times when it will not start. If this works then respective switch is bad.
If you have the smart key I think that it also requires that the system think that the key is inside the car. You can check this seeing if the car will start with the valet key. If so then you need to look into the smart key system.
If you have the smart key I think that it also requires that the system think that the key is inside the car. You can check this seeing if the car will start with the valet key. If so then you need to look into the smart key system.
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Audiworld Junior Member
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Hi guys well I have a manual transmission and no smart key or funky push button start 
Got towed to garage today so will see what they say in he morning. There is a lovely loud healthy sounding click from the starter so I dont think it's a power issue.
The rescue technician suggested it might be the dual mass flywheel either wearing or getting loose and this could be jamming the starter, no idea if this could be true though!
Got towed to garage today so will see what they say in he morning. There is a lovely loud healthy sounding click from the starter so I dont think it's a power issue.
The rescue technician suggested it might be the dual mass flywheel either wearing or getting loose and this could be jamming the starter, no idea if this could be true though!
AudiWorld Super User
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,023
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From: Southington, CT
In a manual there is a switch to tell the started you are in neutral and there is another switch on the clutch which must be engaged. The click indicates that something is happening so both switches are probably working
I have never seen a flywheel gear problem unless the car was very old.
Perhaps the replacement starter was misaligned at installation or a bolt was not tightened properly and now it is jamming. Let us know what they find.
I have never seen a flywheel gear problem unless the car was very old.
Perhaps the replacement starter was misaligned at installation or a bolt was not tightened properly and now it is jamming. Let us know what they find.
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Well just got a call from the garage. The starter was jammed engaged again and refitting it solved the problem. There must be something causing it to jam - they say it could either be the battery mangagement module or something more mechanical which would require a more expensive strip down. At a bit of a loss now!
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Went to pick the car up - and it won't start - it chucked the starter motor into the engine where it jammed again.
We are replacing the battery as it's only showing 11.5v and un-sticking the starter. The engineer seems to think that the starter motor is so strong on this car that it's plausible that it could get stuck if there is enough power to engage the starter but not enough to turn it.
Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
James
We are replacing the battery as it's only showing 11.5v and un-sticking the starter. The engineer seems to think that the starter motor is so strong on this car that it's plausible that it could get stuck if there is enough power to engage the starter but not enough to turn it.
Please keep your fingers crossed for me!
James
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I have just collected the car again. All good - apart from a very large bill!
The re-seated the starter motor again, but noticed that one of the teeth on the flywheel was missing and I asked them to take the gearbox off and have a closer look. The flywheel was in a bad state - missing and warped teeth on the timing side too. So it was replaced. Also clutch was replaced too as it would be silly not too at 60k miles.
We think the root cause of the problem was actually just a tired battery. The REAL problem started when we attempted to bump-start the car with a jammed starter. This caused the damage to the flywheel which is £750 just for the part!
So £2000 worth of damage from a bad battery... Ooops!
The re-seated the starter motor again, but noticed that one of the teeth on the flywheel was missing and I asked them to take the gearbox off and have a closer look. The flywheel was in a bad state - missing and warped teeth on the timing side too. So it was replaced. Also clutch was replaced too as it would be silly not too at 60k miles.
We think the root cause of the problem was actually just a tired battery. The REAL problem started when we attempted to bump-start the car with a jammed starter. This caused the damage to the flywheel which is £750 just for the part!
So £2000 worth of damage from a bad battery... Ooops!
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