Funny noise starting engine...

Last week going to Tesco the car refused to start on returning to it... It made a hellofanoise. I left it a bit. Tried again and again the same noise. Later I just cranked it longer and after a hefty shove and the engine jumping in its mounts it started... Drove home. Tried it later and it still did it. Well with Easter I just left it outside and booked into the independent VW/Audi guy down the road for this morning. But I guess most of you have guessed by now what happened this morning... The car was perfect again!!! Drove to him anyway. He suggested the battery may be dying.

So I took it to the battery place and they tested it and said it was dead. BUT they don't stock these batteries and only Audi can fit it! Grrr... So then drove to Audi (and as I started car at battery place it made the same horrible noise again!) Audi said fine they will book it in (whitout me booking in advance!) but a new battery and labour will be a tidy £220!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great.

Leave the car and get the bus home. They phone me later to say the battery is 100%. I ask you. So battery man was just trying to sell me a battery I did not need! NEVER use Kwik-Fit let me tell you...

Anyway. Car started fine yet again when Mr Audi tried it... So all they can suggest is starting it cold. So I agreed they can keep it overnight and try it tomorrow morning...

I just hate these irritating things that come and go and never happen when you are with the machanics!

I had this problem on a citreon 1.9TD. I see that you drive a TDI so it may be the same problem. Mine turned out to be the pre heat plugs one had gone and boy when it started the whole exhaust system hit the bottom of the car but if I let it glow plug warm up more before starting it was ok. Tis may not be the problem just a guess as i am no mechanic. I cant even check the oil on my A2 grrrrr

Audi had the car overnight so could not find anything wrong as the car is behaving itself too well… Grrr…

So phoned my dad. As ever parents are so good at the things we young ones have no idea about. When I explained to dad how the whole engine shook when it finally started he immediately suggested that the small gear on the starter has dried up. This then gets stuck intermittently on the main ring gear in the engine. It will make a big noise as you try to start the car and then the whole engine will shake as it starts the main engine. Obviously in normal operation this gear will release to let the engine to its thing… Makes sense. Took time to explain this to Mr Audi over the phone and he had to ask a technician about it but the answer was “we can replace the whole starter and we are not sure that is the problem”. So they can’t just oil it! Grrr… I asked them to start the car a few time more to see what happens.

No change on the cold start but I knew that anyway. So Mr Audi had car two days and could find nothing wrong. BUT I got the car back washed and vacuumed! This is surely the cheapest way to get your car washed! hehehe "Invent" a problem, let them struggle with it for 2 days and get a clean car with no bill!

BUT unfortunately it is a REAL problem... Because guess what? It did it 3 hours after getting it back again!!! And then after a 40 minute drive and standing for 15 minutes AGAIN. AND this morning. So I drove straight to Audi Independent... and.................. It was PERFECT there! Grrr...

He kindly tested battery and found it fine as well. But said he has found temperamental batteries before testing fine one moment and totally dead the next.

Weird thing is both he and the Kwik-Fit guy could not believe the size of the A2's battery. All of them said not even big diesel cars have such big batteries! Why is it so big then?

Does the 3 year audi warranty cover battery replacement

I think as a 2001 it would be out of warranty unless extended?

batteries I think are serviceable items and as such would not be covered by any extended warranty

No 2001 is LOOOONG out of warranty! AND they say about the life expectancy of a battery... BUt still not sure if this is the problem even!

A2 battery

Johann, I was reading your comment on the A2 battery only being available from Audi dealers. The OE battery on my A2 TDI is a Varta (in small print), as I would expect. Varta UK list 3 batteries for the A2 that probably differ in capacity and whether or not it has the little green eye. I don't know the prices but they are not likely to be anywhere near the figure you quote. Here in Central Manchester, Manbat are excellent and are Varta distributors who will fit a stock battery while you wait. Regards, Paul

It was only the idiots at Kwik-Fit's book that said "dealer fit only". In the end I had it replaced by my local Independent. And for my £120 outlay it solved NOTHING. Very next day the noise was there again and the car did not make the noise ONCE when at the mechanic's.

So now booked it into Audi Docklands again for Tuesday. It is making the noise EVERY time I start it now... So hopefully it will do it there too. If not at least I will get a wash and vacuum again! But prefer a happy car though I have to say...

It may be the pre heater coils that u get on deisels as per my previous post. there again I may be wrong hope you get it sorted out let us know what it was if you ever find out

Loud bad noise

Hi!

Have similar experience on starting my 1,4TDi. Before 120 000 km service all was OK! After getting car back from Mr Audi it was warm and glean and started nicely. Next morning it strted really slow with gigant shakes.
Returned it back ro Mr Audi and they found (afrer service) defective temperature probe. And they changed and charged it. Again when car was returned same broblem was there when engine is cold.

In my opinion there is two main possibilities for this:
1. One ore moore glowblugs are not heating.
2. Engine is not getting enough diesel at the begining of starting. Might be some air/fuel leak on system?
3. Then come all those electrical/computer/probe related problems. But according Mr Audi they are absolutely fine condition now!

Not knowing system details. So I´m asking someone who know: Is there any good book for "Do IT Yourself A2 TDi" and really appreciate any help from people experienced similar problem.

Eki

Hi
The glowplugs only activate when the coolant temp is below 9 degC so you should be able to eliminate this possible failure mode now the warmer weather has arrived.

Cheers Spike

Eki: Your number 2 is spot on! Took car in 2 days ago to Docklands Audi. For two days they could not find the problem as it started perfectly EVERY time. So the technician said he will drive the car overnight to his house (as I started to suspect radio waves or alien intervention over the dealer) and last night the car died on him IN TRAFFIC and did not want to start!!! Yihay!

Fuel pump has been starving the engine is the result. So £283 for a new one that has to be ordered and I only get car back Saturday. So lets hope that was THE problem.

Thanks for all your help guys. Really appreciate it and this is why belonging to an owners club is good!!!

I think you are right. They can only now go via what the plugged in computer tells them. No more old fashioned mechanical logic to it... I still don't know how they traced the fuel pump though... Purely but feeling the car die and then not starting? But we'll see Saturday. This (and the un-needed battery) was all from my own pocket... No warranty left. But all in all the car is still very cheap to run.

Well since I don't drive to work anymore I did not take a courtesy car when I booked the car in. I also sometimes suspect that makes them keep the car easier to do more tests than when you have to bring one of only a few of their courtesy cars back...

But after 3 days they found the problem (As outlined above) and then they discovered the pump is on back order from Germany. So they automatically rented me a car! Yihay. I now have a manual A4 Avant 2.0 Tdi to play with. Powerfull yes, but also leaves me cold. No new toys to play with as it even has the exact same Symphony radio as my car. No BOSE either and worst of all no lovely sunroof and dare I say no character either. Lovely car but a barge to park... Though strangely does not handle like a barge at all. Lovely through the bends I have to say and it is a non quattro too.

BUT I only realised yesterday it does not have a residents permit for my street!!! Grrr... So had to go and hide it in a friend's basement around the corner! hehehe Will know by Wednesday if the A2 is fixed hopefully...

Broblem solved!

Thank You Johann for Your comment: "Your number 2 is spot on!"

Durning my 1+ week trip out of country they have had time to detect and test symptoms.
My knowledge about engines is quite limited in practical, but theory how they should work is still up to date. It is at least harmfull that service personel don´t listen what customers are telling them... They just plug in car and computer and sometimes they must feel as stupid as driwer who told maintenance that after getting in to the car and sitting half an hour and then when she come out, it was still the same place. Obviously not much help either. We still need oldfashioned mechanic skills.

So for the broblem... It was easy leak on fuel line junction. The story goes like this: You drive and engine get hot. Turbo is red hot! In engine compartment all is well above diesel vapor point, what means if there is tiniest leaks in fuel system in temperature area well abowe vaporizing temp, the fuel will vaporize after you have stopt the engine! Vapors will go past tiniest holes what liquids cannot pass. This is also reason why you never see any puddle underneath the car. That means there might be fuel line feet or two or more without any fuel. This might take some time. If the leak is wery tiny vaporizing might take hours. At least until engine compartment is below vapor temperature. That is why broblem never shows up in hot engine when you show it in maintenance personel. When broblem gets worse it might take only minutes. And when vaporizing have hapened and You turn the key next morning it takes time fuel to fill all necessary places. At the begining of your start there is possible that one or two pump cylinders might have leftowers and this is the reason for promising... followed "no not this again", until all necessary places are finally once again full off diesel fuel. In the time you start glowplugs get cold and doesnot help start either. In the time I first wrote it was still +2C here. It is nice to know that it doesnot heat the blugs abowe +9C. Means that no need to wait when starting.
Maybe you can sniff this broblem if you come after fan have stopped, open the cowl and have good wine nose...
(My toyota landcruiser started to heat only when it was -20C or colder. Need not to say that on -19C ewery one near by saw that operation... and heard ;-)

Ok my broblem is now fixed and A2 "starts like under the palm tree" like saying goes here. In my opinion mechanic who made 120 000 km service have unintentionally given cause to this broblem... He might have twisted some line when checking everything is secure and fixed. Anyhow they fixed it now wiht no charge! Thanks to them!

I know this is easy talk after. But if you are normally dependend on car like me it is almost impossible to be without one... exept now when being out of place.
(There is saying in aviation world: "Aeroplanes are most dangerous just after service". It might sometimes apply on cars as well!)
(21 times around the globe with diesels... and going...)

Eki

Just like losing your eye sight slowly over time (and not realising how blind you have become) I did not realise how my car had taken longer and longer to start over the last year or so... It is now fixed and starts within seconds of turning the ignition and not after a few seconds as I had become used to and indeed thought normal. So problem fixed and I'm a very happy man!

ULP said:

Johann, I'm so sorry I didn't see this post before - I had exactly the same problem with my old Punto JTD which could have short-cutted the hassle you have had.

Thankfully it was easy to replicate (full throttle on a hill also caused the car to go into panic mode) but the Fiat garage failed to diagnose it (after replacing the EGR Valve, some other pressure valve and ordering a new ECU thinking it was spitting-out random faults).

In the end some Fiat Techs from Slough arrived to fix a Stilo that had been in the garage for THIRTEEN WEEKS (which took them 5 minutes to diagnose...) and they then had a look at mine, Diagnosing the fuel pump in 10 minutes. Once replaced it was perfect. Thankfully the work was all done under warranty. I swear garages rely too heavily on plugging the car in for all fault diagnosis...

I think mine going was a result of me driving the car to almost empty most of the time, dislodging sludge in the tank that got caught up in the pump. I have stopped playing 'fuel light bingo' and always fill the A2 as soon as the light comes on.

Click to expand...

Hi ULP

I think there is no reason to worry "fuel bingo". My toyota landcruiser have 480 000 km (12x round the globe). Allways filled it with only 1 or 2 liters left, 92 liters total capasity. Never any problems. Diesel is clean! And filters do their job. If not there must be other reasons sludge or dirt ending to your pump.
Even some low wing aviators fly other wing tank empty to get good knowledge their endurance and fuel economy!

Eki