200q20v stumbled 'til it died

[Kenneth Keith]

Let me close out this issue.  Turns out I didn't have enough fuel
_volume_.  I guess my fuel gauge is more optimistic than I thought.
*insert ascii blush smiley*

I didn't hear the fuel pump humming like it usually does and assumed
it wasn't working anymore.  Well, apparently that humming isn't quite
as loud when there isn't any fuel in the tank!  I actually swapped in
another pump I had on the shelf, from a 5ktq.  It actually runs better
now, but I think the pump that was in it may have been ok, because it
spins when 12v is applied (briefly).  I think it may have been on its
way out, because the car feels stronger than it was and the check
engine light isn't on like it was the night before I drove it out of
gas (which I now know feels different than I expected).

I might be interested in adjusting the fuel gauge, if that's possible.

Cheers,

Ken

On 5/30/06, Kenneth Keith <auditude at gmail.com> wrote:
> Let me type this out while it's still fresh in my mind. =(
>
> On the way in to work today, my 200q20v started losing power and
> eventually stalled out/died.  At first it seemed like when I put the
> accelerator down, it stumbled as if there was a boost leak or
> something.  I tried to stay out of any type of boost, but the problem
> got progressively worse regardless.
>
> The car started stumbling hard and I had to pull over where it ran
> extremely rough, as if I only had one cylinder firing poorly, and it
> finally died.  I had it towed home.
>
> My fuel tank was ran very low, but I wasn't yet on the "E line" and
> planned to refuel after work.  I thought I might have run out of gas,
> but I could get it to start and run with that one cylinder for a
> moment until it died.  I figured if I was out of gas then it wouldn't
> even do that.
>
> Then I suspected it was the fuel pump, which normally is quite loud
> like a swarm or angry bees.  When I was able to try to start it and
> run it on the side of the road after it died, I tried to listen to the
> sound of the pump and it didn't seem the same.  Perfect timing if it
> is the pump as the tank is run pretty low.  However, when I called my
> Audi tech friend about it briefly, he said when the pumps go they are
> usually completely dead, rather than pumping poorly.
>
> I didn't notice anything unusual under the hood.  If I can liken this
> to any other car problems, it reminds me of when I bought my Coupe GT
> and the fuse for the ECU wasn't plugged in.  It ran like crap in a
> similar way, but that's a CIS car so it's apples and elephants.
>
> I'm going to be looking at SJMauto to see if I can get any clues, but
> I thought I'd throw it out there for now in case anyone has any ideas.
>  Recently we fixed my friends 200q10v that would die after driving for
> a while, and that was the rpm sensor at the flywheel.
>
> Last week's issues on the 200q20v was the alternator voltage regulator
> which died on the way to work, followed by the coolant cap which
> somehow stripped out when I tightened it after filling it and no
> longer held pressure when I got to work.  If there's a common
> denominator, it seems that my cars don't like to go to work with me!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ken
>