Re: [s-cars] 1995.5 S6 Avant No Crank-No Start‏... SOLVED!

[Jay M]

 Thanks to all who replied. Problem solved and car is back on the road. The majority of responders suggested the problem was the infamous POS ignition switch (electrical portion) or the starter. I suspected the same and also thought symptoms could also be related to the alarm/immobilizer wiring and/or circuitry (but hoping this was not the case due to my poor electrical troubleshooting abilities). 

In order to diagnose car I had to get the car out of the public city parking garage (this was a story in itself!) and back home. So, I tried to jump/push start the car and see if it would start. If it would start after a manual push start then I suspected the no start issue would be either the ignition switch or starter. The car started with the aid of a friend helping me push the car and popping the clutch while in second gear. Drove the car home and put the car on jack stands to take a look at starter, specifically that braided wire which looks like a ground to me but was told by Peter, a list member it is positive & delivers the power from the solenoid to the starter field winding. Everything looked good and the braided wire connection looked solid and was intact with minimal corrosion. While I was down there I hooked up a test light to ground and the wire that supplies power from the ignition switch to the starter at terminal 50. Went back into car and tried cranking car and the test light DID NOT light which indicated starter was not getting power from the ignition switch in order to crank. Fortunately, I had a new OEM Audi dealer purchased BLACK ignition switch that I was going to install in another sticky ignition switch C4 car. Tonight I removed faulty ignition switch (old white ignition switch that looked after market with no Audi logo or Part number) and I also replaced typical cluster bulbs with 2.0W and repaired/soldered a new bulb in my outside temp light while I was in there and all is good. Thanks again for the suggestions. Until next time.................. 

On 09 Jul, 2014, at 16:03, Jay M <jaybird002 at msn.com> wrote:



1995.5
 S6 Avant has 178,000 miles. Was driving the car all day yesterday and 
car performed flawlessly. Took the car out this morning to go to an 
appointment and car started right up and was fine. After the appointment
 (about an hour later) went out to the car and it did not crank and 
obviously did not start. Turn the ignition to start car and nothing, 
silence...no crank, no clicking noise, nothing. Battery is fine at 12.5V
 and normal dash lights come on and all accessories work when I choose 
to turn them on with ignition switch in the ON position. Just trying to 
get a few ideas from the list on where to start to diagnose. I am 
thinking it is a faulty ignition switch or starter or perhaps even 
something associated (fuse/relay located somewhere) with the factory 
alarm/immobilizer system. The door locks work both with the key manually
 in lock and also work with the remote key fob. Unfortunately, the car 
start is situated right now parked in a position where it will be 
extremely difficult to get underneath the car to troubleshoot but I 
would like suggestions from anybody who is experienced with no crank-no 
start troubleshooting for these UrS6 cars. Thanks.

Jay
--------------------------
Ian:
That braid is actually positive, not ground - it delivers the power from the solenoid to the starter field winding.Leave it to Bosch to do that with an uninsulated wire…
-Peter
-------------------------
On Jul 9, 2014, at 4:32 PM, Ian Duff wrote:Electrical
 portion of the ignition switch is a know suspect. When was it last 
changed? If never, it’s a fairly easy fix, maybe even in the parking 
lot.

If you replaced the ignition switch last week (i.e. 
recently), then how about the starter ground? It’s been a while, but I 
seem to remember a metal braid that corrodes over time. Would most 
likely require getting under the car to check.

Best regards, Meilleures salutations, 此致敬礼, Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
  חמה שלום דרישת, Con i migliori saluti, التحيات أطيب مع, Saludos cordiales,
  शुभकामनाएं, A melhor consideraçāo, よろしく

-Ian.

Ian Duff | 38 Grove Street | New Bedford | Massachusetts | 02740 | USA
V: +1 (508) 717-8058 | E: ian at inside-overlap.com | F: +1 (801) 335-1661

Think Green!  Please do not print this e-mail unless absolutely necessary.
--------------------------
Sounds like the ignition switch to me... especially if it's the 
original, but I would get some healthy people to push it and see if you 
can bump start it.  With a finicky starter (when hot) myself I know how 
easy these cars are to start in 2nd.... or 1st. 

Wylie Bean
theringmeister at triad.rr.com
90 cq
91 90q20v
91 200q20v
92 urS4
08 Q7