Help! I have a 2005 A8L with 4.2 that I bought used this summer with 92,000 miles. Even when the weather was warm, I noticed a couple seconds or so delay from turning the key and then waiting for the starter to finally do its thing and engage. Once the starter FINALLY engages, the engine fires right up. But, lately, as the weather has been turning colder and colder, that starter delay has been getting longer and longer -- and took several tries the last couple of days before engaging and turning over the engine . . . until, today, with a temp of around 20 degrees, THE STARTER DOES NOT ENGAGE AT ALL! AAARRRGH! All I hear is an electronic-type ticking sound for 8 seconds after turning the key to start position, and then silence I'm dead in the water. Has anyone else encountered this problem?

 

BTW: system battery check indicates 100 percent, but still no starter engagement.

 

Looks like it's time to replace the starter. See this thread:
https://www.audiworld.com/forums/sho....php?t=2838462

I was surprised Audi used a Valeo and not a Bosch starter in the D3 A8's w/4.2L engines

 

Thank you for the reply, Mister Bally! It DOES suggest starter replacement, but the thing that kept encouraging me to keep trying to start it, is that I've noticed our other two Audis: our 2004 Allroad 4.2 V8 and our 1999 A8 4.2 V8 have ALSO begun to slightly delay (with a wee, but detectable pause) starter engagement, while the weather has been turning colder and colder. Luckily, though, both those cars still start okay, so, I just thought this was normal Audi V8 cold-weather-start behavior. We just moved to a MUCH colder climate area of Oregon, so all our other Audi experience has been in above-freezing temperatures.

I just wonder if dragging it through really DEEP (12-inch) snow for about 40 miles a few days before this happened, has lodged ice somewhere in the starter, which is jamming things up. We have these BEAUTIFUL new Nokian Hakkapelita 7 studded snow tires on the A8L (and the Allroad, too), which really TEMPTS us to blast through un-plowed deep, snowy back roads, lol; they're really fantastic snow tires.

 

What happened with mine, and hat I believe is happening to yours is that you are hearing the starter solenoid (basically a relay with high current contacts) engaging. The problem is that the contact points are barely (when it does start after the slight delay) and sometimes not (when it does not start) making contact. On mine, after a "cold soak" overnight, the car would not start. After a few attempts, it usually would start. I made an appointment to have mine replaced since the car was still driveable. Mine is garage kept, although it does get cold in there as I only heat it when working in the garage.

Prior to having min replaced, I had to go to Chicago for a meeting. I went the night before and stayed at a hotel in Skokie. The car was parked outside. Next morning, it was really cold. Just before the meeting; no start. Tried several times with no luck. Left it engaged several times before the timeout. After a few minutes, It started up. Barely made the meeting on time but did it. Took the car downtown later and parked in an underground garage (about 50°F in there) no problems for the rest of the trip. I'm guessing the warmth of the engine, possibly just the solenoid coil heating up during the attempts caused just enough expansion to get the starter to crank.

If you have access to a "Kerosene bullet style" heater, maybe jack up the car and remove the front passenger wheel/tire and aim the heater at the engine since the starter is buried in there. let it run for a few minutes and try to start the car. If it starts, leave the motor idling and put the wheel back on and drive immediately to a shop/dealer to get the starter replaced.

Recall that the Ross-tech diagnostics confirmed that the starter signal got to the starter but no crank. Since it would work most of the time, I knew the "Starter jammed" was not true but instead the solenoid (part of the starter) was indeed the problem. Once it was replaced, I noticed there is absolutely no delay in starting. Prior to this there was a slight delay, maybe 200ms. Just enought to notice.

Nice tires by the way.

 

Again, THANK YOU, Mister Bally. Your kerosene heater idea jogged me off dead-center enough so I could think logically again (I always get depressed when one of my machines is not fully right). I actually have a propane Mister Heater that radiates an awesome amount of heat. Luckily, too, I have the A8L parked directly over my grease pit. Soooo, my wife and I can push it backwards far enough to get the safety cover off, and then I can just climb down into the pit and place some electric heaters and the Mister Heater inside the pit and point them upwards toward the wheel well and engine areas. I can probably even leave the tires/wheels on the car, although, there's a great big plastic shield under the '05 A8L, but if I can direct the heat inward from the sides, I should be able to get it started, and then high-tail it to my favorite Audi mechanic.

 

To make arrangements for replacing the starter, I started calling around to shops as close to home as possible for the least amount of towing charges, and called Steve's Place VW Audi Volvo in Bend, Oregon, and -- while Steve would've maybe been glad to accept the money for a starter remove and replace -- he, instead, suggested I check the battery first, even though the MMI was indicating 100% battery, as he suggested those systems can give unreliable information with low voltage.

So, I just decided to replace the battery myself, and bought a nice new Interstate Battery from Goodlett Automotive in Medford, Oregon, and that did the trick! It started right up in about 18-degree Farenheit temperature!

 

Wow, way different outcome than I would have thought. Glad it is working! On mine, while parked imn my garage, I fully charged my battery (only 2 years old but I wanted to be sure) and still experienced the delay as well as a no start once. Did this to confirm I had a bad starter.

 

Well, it was sure a PLEASANT outcome -- and I confess, I, too -- did not expect it to be this easy!

However, I'm gaining more and more confidence in it now -- it barely has a couple of nano-seconds for a delay upon turning the key. We took it all the way up to Crater Lake Lodge in the snow today (7,050 foot elevation), but it was only about 29 degrees (warm for here), and it re-started just fine every time we shut if off for fairly extended periods.

We'll see how it does when the temp sinks down into the single digits again (or lower, as it DOES get below zero here from time to time).