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

[suffolkd at aol.com]

We had a 1999 Avant (tip) that did a similar no start w/ 12volts, jump start etc.,

Turn key and nothing except what worked out to be an engine mount to frame or chassis grounding strap issue.

After tow to Advanced Technologies in Gloucester by AAA, they found the loose ground strap and repaired it.
Cheap fix at 230K.

I could hear a faint sound under the ABS module ( non starter side ) which
may have been the loose connection.

Hind sight could have been like a jumper cable sparking because of a bad connection sound.

Switch or ground..........
HTH

- Scott by BOSTON
Quattro123.com
> 
> From: Jay M
> 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. 
> 
> 1995.5
> S6 Avant has 178,000 miles. Was driving the car all day yesterday and 
> car performed flawlessly. <snip> no start .
> --------------------------
> 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 
> 
> --------------------------
> 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