200 cold start problems

[DeWitt Harrison]

On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 12:12:41 -0400 (EDT)
        Geraint Lloyd <geraintlloyd_qc at yahoo.ca> wrote:
Subject: 200 cold start problems

> I have a problem with a CIS MCII audi 10v 1989
>
> The car was not starting too well from cold. it was ok
> ish, but not
> 'special' it would catch after 10 to 20 seconds of
> cranking.
>
> [ ... ]
> the car is now very difficult to start 1st thing in
> the morning, you
> have to crank it for 40  seconds before it catches,
> then it idles badly
> for 10 to 30 secs and is off....
> the idle is ok,  1000-1200 when cold dropping to
> 800-900 when hot. the
> ISV buzzes nicely.
> once te car has started once, it is fine for the rest
> of the day, even
> if I only let it run (properly) for a minute and try
> again half an hour
> later.
>
> I guess that it must be fuel pressure.
>
> so far i have checked [ ... clip long, long list... ]

First of all, your troubleshooting is impressive. Not many hang in
there that long with a 20 year old, overly complicated, CIS engine
management system. There are just _too_ many hard to diagnose,
potential problems.

I had a similar problem with my MC I motor in my '88 5kcstq. I
suffered with it for the longest time and - dope slap - Finally
took the trouble to pull the codes. "Bad Hall sensor" was
the code and that is exactly what the problem was. The Hall
sensor was intermittent and was most likely to be bad
when the engine was cold. Unfortunately, in my case, that
meant a new distributor as the sensor is not available separately.

DeWitt Harrison
'88 5kcstq