re. i87 5kt intermittent no start

[Ben Swann]

Major snippage below..***comments inserted ***  Ben

 

  _____  

From: Dave Yentema [mailto:yentemad at rider.edu] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 10:32 PM
To: Ben Swann
Cc: quattro at audifans.com
Subject: Re: re. i87 5kt intermittent no start

 

Ben, 

 

Here is some more details on the car[snip]  First thing i did was a near complete tune
up. The cap was pretty new, so i just cleaned it up and i have yet to find a correct
rotor.  *** new and correct rotor might help ***

Every one i find is made for a smaller diameter shaft than what I have. All of the
vacuum lines were solid, and i ended up getting the wrong spark plugs because i didn't
know better(bosch platinum dual electrode plugs). *** for the problem you describe,
don’t worry about the plugs ***

My car started throwing codes for a bad knock sensor and a faulty/mis aligned hall
sender. *** well fix this and verify timing belt is proper and distributor adjusted
w/respect to TDC per Bentley procedure***

Shortly thereafter, i blew the idle screw out of my car. (someone has obviously tampered
with the CO mix and the screw at some point before). I shoved a plastic plug in the hole
and the car started and ran beautifully.  *** Get proper screw – there are two sizes and
you may be getting the wrong size – note dealer won’t necessarily ID the correct one.
Screw is held by threads, not the O-ring although there is an O-ring ***

 

When it came time for the next oil change, I ran a can of seafoam through the gas tank
and into the hole in the IM where the srew is supposed to be. After that is when my car
started acting like it had a clogged fuel filter, hesitated on accelaration and the
frequency valve was buzzing at irradic intervals. *** I assume you installed new fuel
filter after last bout of Seafoam followed by bad gas ***

[snip]

idle switch was out of adjustment (it wasn't clicking into idle mode when it should've
been). I tested the switch for WOT and idle modes, and it worked fine once adjusted
properly. *** get this right and make sure switch is operational, not just that you hear
a click.  Important that closed loop is enabled in order for car to start properly ***

 

*** Check/Replace/Repair all intake hoses and vacuum lines – especially check the
intercooer to throttle body  hose (replace with new to be sure) they inevitably fail!
***

[major snippage]

***Leaky injectors might result in hard start, but more likely airleaks.are your main
culprit.  You just need to find and repair them. ***

 

*** I assume you know how to adjust CO and get IDLE correct once repairs have been made
– you need to get it back in spec! ***

[snip]

 

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Ben Swann <mailto:benswann at verizon.net>  

To: yentemad at rider.edu ; quattro at audifans.com 

Cc: 'Ben Swann' <mailto:benswann at verizon.net>  

Sent: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 8:58 PM

Subject: re. i87 5kt intermittent no start

 

How did you check the throttle body switch?  Did you actually verify operation – that
the switch makes and breaks contact by using a test connector?  Did you verify there are
no broken wires off the switch?  Did you run connectivity test from the ECU connector
through the switch?

More:  what happens when you disconnect the ISV connector – does the idle drop?

What happens when you pinch the air line into the ISV – does this alter the idle?

I have found in general, the idle switch adjust is about 3 full turns out  (MC-1/MAC-11)
to produce proper idle.  This is when CO is adjusted properly and no – I repeat NO
airleaks.  YMMV.

You provide a lot of info here, but no complete description of the problem.  If you just
got the car, assume a lot of sorting is in order and you will find leaks.  OK – get back
on that to see if this leads to a proper diagnosis.

Ben

[Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 19:17:37 -0400From: Dave Yentema <yentemad at rider.edu>

Subject: i87 5kt intermittent no start

To: quattro at audifans.com

Figures that when i finally get all of the right parts installed, my car doesn't want to
run right. I took that plastic plug out that i had filling the hole for the idle screw,
and installed the right one. Screwed it in until i heard the throttle switch click, then
backed it off by about a half a turn. Car starts right up and runs like a champ, a
little too high rpm, but was running very well. Shut it off, played with a few things
like the isv, the throttle switch, etc and went to start the car again. It fired once
but didn't catch and then didnt fire again until i turned the key off and back on again
but still didn't catch. Went back out and played with some more things, took the MM hose
off, cleaned the gunk off of the butterfly valve, backed the screw off a bit, etc. Tried
it again, no luck. Tried one more time, but this time i punched the gas right as it
fired and it caught and i held it at about 1500 for a bit and let off. It stumbled
around for a bit but eventually started  idling beautifully. On a quick test drive it
ran amazing as well. Shut it off and went to start again, and its doing it again... I
used this as an excuse to get some new spark plugs (NGK bp6et)and it runs a lot
smoother, but still has this problem..

Any ideas?

-Dave]