1989 Audi 200 QT - Hard Start Need Help

[Bernard Littau]

Hi Kevin,

You did some really nice diagnostics!  It took me a long time to think of
doing all that you did.  "Limited skills" might apply to your mechanic, but
certainly not to you!  You have pretty much, in my mind, eliminated the fuel
pump and the fuel delivery system as a problem.  Also, just FYI, for my '88
I picked up a used ECU for $100 or so.  You should never need to buy one
new.

Sounds like you have the classic leaking injectors problem.  They leak the
fuel into the manifold and flood the engine.  I think all Audi I5 10V's have
this problem at this point if they have stock injectors :-)

When you shut down and restart immediately (or short time) the injectors
don't have time to leak much, and the car starts right up.  When you let it
sit a while, the injectors leak down, and flood the engine, making it hard
to start until some quantity of air is pulled through to flush out the gas
to a level tolerable for starting -- thus the long cranking.  When the car
sits for 10 days, the gas evaporates out of the manifold, and the car starts
right up.

Try cranking with the throttle open a bit -- this should reduce the amount
of time you need to crank to flush out the excess gas.  Let off the throttle
when it catches so you don't race the engine :-)

The solution is to replace the injectors (and seals).  I think I paid around
$50 per injector, so it is not an inexpensive fix at around $300 in parts
alone.

Best,

Bernard Littau
Woodinville, WA
'88 5ktq