88 80q shutting off, work your magic.

[Megan Bigelow]

Howdy! After spending $1200 at the mechanic for a new alternator, 
battery, timing belt job, and etc., I figured I could shove myself 
further into the national pastime of massive credit card debt by 
pursuing this problem my girl seems to have.

It's the needle-in-haystack variety for you puzzle solvers out there. 
Or is it? I'm hoping this is a common ailment I'm unaware of, and 
someone will simply tell me to replace the hooseyhwatzit and tune the 
whatchamebob and all will be fine.

Ok.

I am having a problem with my dear old 88 80 quattro. We're driving 
along (or idling at a stoplight, since this happens at all motion and 
engine speeds) and suddenly my car shuts off.

Nothing dramatic, no heroic sputtering or noises attempting to maintain 
the engine running, she just shuts off.

If this happens at a stoplight, I know it is about to happen because 
the pitch (noise) of the fuel pump will increase for about a second 
before the engine cuts out (the sound is higher). Then the engine loses 
power quietly and the dash lights come on.

If this happens while driving at 70 MPH, I know the car has shut off 
because I can feel it in the gas pedal, it clearly is doing nothing 
enginewise as I push on it. THe dash lights do not come on immediately, 
but after a few seconds they do. One solution I have found is to 
quickly flick the keys from the DRIVE position (as they were before 
engine cut out) to the OFF position and back to DRIVE again. The engine 
seems to recatch, but without the use of the START position (before the 
dash lights come on. If they are already on, I must use the START 
position to start the car normally (if starting your car while driving 
70 mph can be described as normal--only here.)

Sometimes, this happens rapid fire again and again (car turns off, I 
turn it on, car turns off, etc., I pound the dashboard, curse and 
mutter, then turn it back on.) Usually when this is the case the check 
engine light comes on. Tonight I pulled the codes and got a 2123 (full 
throttle switch closed or bad wiring) and a 2132 (a
broken connection between the fuel and ignition computers). Great.

My questions are:

1. What do these codes mean? Are they related to the shutting off 
problem?

2. Do you have any suggestions as to what to fix NEXT so I can have a 
car that does not shut off on the highway at 70 mph, in the city 
traffic, on the back open roads, or basically anywhere motor vehicles 
may traverse? :)

3. What happens when the WOT switch is bad or closed? What happens when 
it's open, for that matter?

I replaced the ignition switch last summer, the fuel pump relay this 
past winter. The mechanic has replaced the coolant temperature switch 
at the bottom of the engine radiator hose (the pluggy one) and the ISV 
hoses (which were collapsing) this week, to no avail. I am using a 
general foreign repair shop right now that I don't want to trouble with 
a very specific problem on an old tired Audi. :)

Any suggestions? I'll send cookies.

Megan

1988 80q