Don't throw in the towel yet - was [ 200QA suddenly no start, no spark - Solved!!!]

Tue Mar 23 07:01:10 PDT 2010

Dave,

I'm not sure what is going on with the coils.  It is probably a fluke - happens when you
swap in used parts with nearly equal high mileage.  I presume that is what you did - a
new coil whould have lasted a good 100k miles and more.  Anyhoo - it's an easy swap and
you can source these cheap and keep on the shelf. 

I understand about too many cars and everyone has their priorities.  As far as which
cars I keep these days, I usually find the older, well-maintained cars are the ones that
are intrinsically more valuable since they are generally less expensive overall to keep
on the road.  If you add up  the original cost of the car and the expenses to date, what
has it really cost you?  Compare that to some of the newer cars you have.  How much work
does it really need?  How much money do you make on your daily job?  Is the week or so
of labor needed **** to whip the car into shape more costly than what you would make on
the daily job?  If you have a job that makes good pay, and little time off, then
certainly the old car needs to go or be sidelined. 

The worst thing to do is to let it sit without preparing it up for long time storage.
If you can't sell it quickly, you should do a few things:

Add Stabilizer to the fuel or drain the tank completely.
Disconnect the battery ground strap and even better - remove the battery.
Spray engine down with some GIBBS  - that is a good metal preserver.
Change the oil - best to have fresh oil in the crankcase than oid acid oil.  This makes
for ready to go easy start when you drive it again.
Pump the tires up.
Cover the car with breathable cover, or at least block the plenen area to prevent leaves
and pests from getting in.  Rodents will mess it up!
Vacuum interior so the funk doesn't become a permanent part of the carpet.  Remove
leaves from plenum area.
Lexol the interior.

If you don't do these things now and the car sets up, then you can pretty much write it
off.  Better to nearly give the car away now than to have a complete liability on your
hands later.

In short, I find the older Type 44's cost less to keep on the road than most newer cars
you can buy, but you do need to keep after them.

Ben

****[fix the AC - complete system change( compressor, dryer and charge) = $400,  charge
about $25 with Enviro-Safe?  DIY <= $100?
Window Lifts - 3 hours max and $75 a regulator (max. used).
Brake Proportioning valve - this can be a PITA, but what are we talking about,  8 hours
max to replace valve and bleed system?
Hood latch cable: 30 min. and $5 from boneyard]

  _____  

From: David Michael [mailto:adavidmichael at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 5:39 PM
To: Ben Swann; Quattro List
Subject: Re: 200QA suddenly no start, no spark - Solved!!!

Hi Ben
The two 6mm screws were tight when I removed the old coil.....
I agree that everything should be working - but it now runs, and runs well. To fix the
AC, both LHS window lifts, rebuild the brake proportioning valve, and replace the hood
latch cable are all things I can do. But I would rather go bike riding with my 5 year
old son or skiing with my 11 year old daughter. I have too many cars as it is, and
somethin's gotta go. It's with a heavy heart that I say the old girl has to go, but my
time is getting too scarce, and I am not inclined to pay anyone to do the work....So I
am selling not because I want to make money or even break even. I just need to stop
working on it.....

It's got a SM chip, makes full 1.8 bar boost in a snap, has full relayed Euro lights,
has the cargo cover, working parking brake, etc etc. It is well maintained, but it's a
type44 after all....
I am the 2nd owner and have owned it for 12 years. But enough I guess is enough...
Sigh
Dave
On Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 4:56 PM, Ben Swann <benswann at verizon.net> wrote:

David,

You do need to have the coil well grounded - the transistor is a heat sink and that is
why it is connected to the firewall like that. Probably the reason for premature failure
is that it was not secured to the firewall. 

Having the car together with everything working makes it far more valuable than having
all the little things needing repair. Usually the cars are worth more to keep and drive
than you will ever get out money-wise.

Ben

  _____  

From: David Michael [mailto:adavidmichael at gmail.com] 
Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 1:26 PM
To: Quattro List
Cc: Ben Swann; psdooley at verizon.net; 200q20v at audifans.com; audi at humanspeakers.com;
kentmclean at comcast.net; bob at chips-ur-s.com; cobram at juno.com
Subject: Re: 200QA suddenly no start, no spark - Solved!!!

At lunch time I checked that the b+ (track 15) was 12V and it was. So then I temporarily
hooked up my old coil (one connector, high tension lead and a ground clip) and the car
fired right up. 

"course when I went to install the old coil more permanently, I totally forgot that the
nuts on the back side of the firewall (in the plenum) are NOT captive, and they fell off
and rolled under the blower. Fortunately we have a metric screw cabinet at work..

While I can't be sure its the actual cause I suspect that, as a few folks had postulated
(along with Scott M's website), the transistor triggering unit went bad. Ironically,
it's a new unit I installed prophylactically about 4k miles ago. Infant mortality.....

BUT, I this is the last straw. It's time for her to go. I no longer have time to keep
up. Car runs like a freight train, but needs some peripheral work (window lifts, A/C,
etc) and I no longer have time and don't want to spend the money. Anyone have any idea
what a 200QA with 235k that is running extremely well but needs work is worth?

Thanks again to everyone for your help with this, and many other problems.....

Dave

On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 8:14 AM, David Michael <adavidmichael at gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for all your suggestions. Based on what you all have said, I need to back the
diagnosis up a step and 1st make sure the coils is powered. SJM's website suggests that
it if the ignition switch can fail and stop powering the ignition circuit of the ECU. 

In any case, I will check 12V and use my LED tester to verify that the ECU is sending
coil triggering pulses to the coil. Though it will have to wait till Monday - car is
still sitting in the parking lot at work

Folks on this list are great. Only way I could have gotten to 230k....

Dave 

On Sun, Mar 21, 2010 at 3:17 AM, Huw Powell <audi at humanspeakers.com> wrote:

If what you mean is the coils don't fail that much, but the POS (transistor) does, then
that is correct. The problem is probably not the coil itself, but the Darlington
Transistor that is mounted on the coil, but generally the assembly is referred to a the
coil by most

The transistor failing is not the coil failing. Coils are incredibly simple. Measure
both sides. Good? then good. I'm running an old audi coil on my '57 Trojan loadster.
Made homemade ballast resistor. Works great.

-- 
Huw Powell

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi

http://www.humanthoughts.org/