[s-cars] Car conks out, won't restart...was: Removing Instrument Cluster

[Tony Curran]

Gas filter? Or pump?

Tony
96 S6.

-----Original Message-----
From: s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com
[mailto:s-car-list-bounces at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Marc Gorelick
Sent: June 14, 2005 9:13 PM
To: s-car-list at audifans.com
Subject: [s-cars] Car conks out,won't restart...was: Removing Instrument
Cluster


Hi again, sorry to be a pest...

So here's a little background, sorry in advance for the longish post but 
I want to provide details.

My '93 //S4 (153k miles) was running great until it conked out at a 
light a few days ago. I tried to restart it but to no avail. I pushed 
the car to the shoulder of the road and cursed the Audi Gods.

My wife came and rescued me while I called a tow truck. I drove her car 
to where my car was sitting to await the truck. On a whim, I tried 
starting it, and it ran for about 5 seconds and conked out again, 
behaving as though it were running out of gas. From this I strongly 
suspected a fuel problem...fuel pump, relay, filter, etc. Since I have 
no place to work on this type of problem,  I had it towed to my 
favorite, much-trusted independent Audi shop. They determined that the 
pump was bad and further, that the relay seemed to have problems too 
since the fuel pump wasn't always getting power. Both were replaced.

On the way home from the shop, the car died at a light again and 
wouldn't restart immediately. Once again I pushed it off the road and 
called my mechanic. I gave it about 2 minutes and this time it started 
right up and ran for a couple of minutes, enough for me to decide to try 
to get it the rest of the way home. It ran another 10 minutes before it 
died again, and once again a couple of minutes later I could restart it. 
It started to hiccup once more and this time I jiggled the key in the 
ignition and it straightened out and we made it home.

Now, for a few months I have been dealing with a dead return spring on 
my ignition switch. I've been manually turning the key back to the "run" 
position and all has been well. This in fact was what gave me the idea 
to try jiggling the switch when it started to falter. Based on this, I 
replaced the ignition switch today.

I took the car out for a short test drive and sure enough, after I got 
back the car died. This time, it was in the driveway...Strangely, death 
occured the instant I closed the driver's door. Loose connection 
someplace? Now the car won't restart at all, but who knows? Maybe it 
will tomorrow morning, or not at all.

I am getting no CEL, and nothing comes up when I try to pull codes.

Does anyone have any ideas what to try next? I am at a loss.

Thanks for any suggestions,

Marc

p.s. The trick to removing that wiring harness was to pull the pink 
plastic clip up with a flat blade screwdriver. Once I did this it came 
right off and I could the IC out of the way.

>>>>
>>>> Okay, so this wasn't the best description. To be more specific, I 
>>>> am talking about the leftmost connector on the back of the IC. I 
>>>> can barely see it with the IC flipped upward, and there must be 
>>>> SOME kind of trick to get this thing to release without just 
>>>> yanking harder...right?
>>>>
>>>> Until I get this connector off, I can't get the IC out of the way 
>>>> to reach the ignition switch.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Marc Gorelick wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi folks,
>>>>>
>>>>> Trying to replace my dying ignition switch.
>>>>>
>>>>> Can someone who BTDT please let me know how to release the green 
>>>>> wiring harness with the pink clip off the back of the IC in a '93 
>>>>> //S4? More force is rarely the answer...but I am getting there. ;-)
>>>>>


_______________________________________________
S-CAR-List mailing list
S-CAR-List at audifans.com
http://www.audifans.com/mailman/listinfo/s-car-list