davester0000

My allroad has been in the shop for 3 months total. It was driven for only one week in out of those 3 months. Last night it had trouble starting and after 10 mins of rest the car started and drove. My allroad lost all engine power but still had electrical power No CEL warning (Check Engine Light). Had to call ARSA(road-side assistance). When I was waiting for a tow I tried to start the car about 50 times. It would turn over but the car wouldn't start. I could smell the electrical burning smell. The Volt meter shows 14V and the battery is about 1 year old. When it got the repair shop which is closed on saturdays it started up. It seems that the vehicle only wants to go 5 miles at a time and then it needs a rest. What do you guys think it is? Any experiance with this? any diagnosis or suggestions would help me help the dealer fix the car. Thanks in advance you guys have always been supportive... The car has 61K miles and has not been driven for the last 2-3 months.

jeanfor

Your battery is flat.....

davester0000

The battery was replaced last year. The car will also turn over pretty well also once it is stalled. When it turns over it just dosen't start.

jeanfor

how can you expect to have a charged battery? Needs some clarification on your issue....

yzf996fltri

then working it's way through the system causing erratic starting and running. If that's the case hopefully it will just work itself out or you might just need a new fuel filter.

paulroad

Lost all engine power:

1. Running then died?
2. No power to turn the starter motor?

If it was 2 its possible that yo have a loose battery terminal or cable. If its 1.. then a VAG scan will likely tell the tale.

xtreetoes

Also check your fuel pump. These type of problems are difficult to diag if intermittent. Is it electrical or fuel related ? No one knows until it breaks !

davester0000

The car was running and then sudden loss of power. The night before I had turned off the car for 10 mins and then tried to start it. I tried for 10 mins then it started up again. Thanks

davester0000

The volt meter shows 14 volts and also it can starter can turn over when the car dosen't want to start..
Thanks for the reply HELP !!

happy allroader

Two things (simplified) required to start assuming engine turns over:
1. fuel
2. spark

Remove spark plug and hold it against the block (with wire attached) and see if it sparks. With nothing in the spark plug hole sniff for fuel. The problem I had was similar but in a 1981 Mercedes Benz 230 I had in Germany when I was in the military. Easy to test on an old style 4 cylinder engine. Don't know if you can do it on our allroads.

Since the solenoid was intermittant, everytime I towed it to the dealer it started right up. They said, sorry but they can't fix the problem until it happens to them. I left the car with them for a few days and twice a day they would try to start it until one day it didn't and they found the problem.

Hope this helps.