'87 5ktqa ingition

[Swann, Benjamin R. (BSWANN)]

This is where I would start.

I assume you dont have a Bently.  If not order one now for the next time.

Check you are getting positive voltage when ignition is on to the
coil/ignition assembly - I don't have my vehicle in front of me, but from
recollection it is in front of the firewall to the right of the distributor.
This implies that your are getting +12V to all ignition components - hall
sensor and coil.

First, if you haven't done this already, check you are getting spark from
the center of the distributor ( by holding one hand on the wire coming out
of the center of the cap and the other to the engine block - NOT!)  If you
don't see a spark when the wire is held about an eighth of an inch from an
engine block ground, rule out bad wires - they just dont go bad anyway, so
this is likely not your problem, except maybe a bad coil wire.  Kidding
aside about the wire test, please be careful when dealing with the high
tension ignition as the current can kill you.  You will need to only crank
the motor for a few seconds to see a spark or not - you'll have to figure a
way to hold the wire as above, but not with your bare hands.  There may be a
better way of going about this than what I'm saying here, so other listers,
please chime in.

Check if you are getting +12v to hall/distributor - again Bently is useful
here and not available, but it is one of the wires in the connector going to
the distributor.

I wish I could help you more form here, but when I run into problems like
this, I usually have the Bently manual near where I am working opened to the
page with the wiring diagram for the car and isolate major portions of the
systems - one by one.

In the 25+ years of AUDI/VW ownership/around 20 cars, I have had only one
ignition problem with the hall triggered electronic ignition (other than not
actually getting voltage to the system).  It was a broken wire inside the
distributor to the hall sensor.  Needed to replace the hall sensor/entire
distributor.

Wires can also be checked with an ohmmeter - In my experience, they
generally don't go bad, unless they break due to fatique at the boot.

Hope I am steering you in the right direction.  Hopefully is something
really simple that you have over looked.  Checked fuses?

Good Luck,

Ben Swann
'87 5KCSTQW(A)
'85 4KCSQ 
'86 4k fixer upper, '87 4k for parts.
*******************************************
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2000 11:33:55 -0600
From: John Cassidy/Sallyann Mulcahy <jcasidy at uswest.net>
To: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: '87 5ktqa ingition

Hello fans!

Can anyone help me troubleshoot the ignition system on my 5ktqa?  It ran
fine one day, next day it wouldn't start.  I check for spark and found
none.  How can I tell if it's coil, hall sender, wires, ect?

Thanks in advance,

John Cassidy