[s-cars] B6 doesn't turn over in the cold.

[LL - NY]

There's a relay for the clutch?

On Wed, Jan 6, 2010 at 7:29 PM, Jerry Scott <jerryscott at wispertel.net>wrote:

> I have had this same problem with my 93 S4 for years.  I did find that
> something defeats the ignition, so that there is no spark when it gets down
> to 0F.  One time when  it didn't start in 0F weather,  I tried to pull the
> car back into a warm garage by using the starter and car in first gear.  It
> started as the car started moving. So, you may be on the right track,
> having
> the clutch out when cranking, since the clutch relay may be somehow
> defeating the ignition.  I know that the starter has to overcome the thick
> oil in the trany, but you may find that it will start if it will crank fast
> enough.
>
> Let me know what you find, as I still haven't solved my problem.
>
> Jerry
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sean Reifschneider" <jafo at jafo.ca>
> To: <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 06, 2010 4:21 PM
> Subject: [s-cars] B6 doesn't turn over in the cold.
>
>
> >I have a 2005.0 S4 and since the temperature has turned cold it has
> > started being hard to start.  Everything works as normal except the
> > starter doesn't engage for half a second to 30 seconds or longer (one
> > time I tried for 10 minutes).  The lights all come on when I turn the
> > switch as normal, but it just won't fire the starter.
> >
> > As the weather started getting colder, I started noticing it take half
> > a second after I turned to start, where before it was instant.  As it
> > got colder it progressively got worse.
> >
> > Usually after I drive it and leave it sitting an hour to 4 hours I have
> > little if any trouble starting it.  But after it sits over night it can
> > be hard to start.
> >
> > The one time that it didn't start at all, I put a kilowatt heater blowing
> > under the car by the front drivers side wheel for an hour, and then it
> > started right up.
> >
> > Here is what I've done for diagnostics:
> >
> >    Replaced the battery.  This was because once under acceleration the
> >    battery light went on, and it's 5 years old so I figured I might as
> >    well.
> >
> >    I have tried another key with the same results, just in case the
> >    immobilizer in the original key was having issues.
> >
> >    A little bit of heat blowing into the engine compartment behind the
> >    front drivers side tire seems to help a lot.
> >
> >    Took it to my independant shop but they were confounded.
> >
> >    It *MIGHT* work better if I turn the key SLOWLY from "on" to "start",
> >    but sometimes it doesn't.
> >
> >    When I press the clutch pedal I can hear what sounds like a relay
> >    activating or deactivating as I press and release around 80% of the
> way
> >    in.
> >
> >    The drivers side mat is firmly planted on it's pins, and pressing the
> >    clutch pedal slightly hard doesn't help.
> >
> > I'm thinking it's something related to the clutch interlock because:
> >
> >    Blowing some heat into the engine compartment for 15 to 60 minutes
> > seems
> >    to greatly help.
> >
> >    If it were the starter, I would expect it to need heat much longer to
> >    warm up.  I'm blowing the heat in fairly close to where the clutch is,
> >    though I admit I don't know exactly where the starter is, they're
> > pretty
> >    weighty and I wouldn't expect even an hour of heat blowing in would
> > make
> >    a whole lot of change to the temperature of the starter.
> >
> >    The ignition key isn't getting any heat from this heater, as it's
> >    blowing under the car, not inside it.
> >
> > I'm expecting that the problem is isolated to the starter, ignition
> > switch,
> > or clutch switch.  Or maybe the ECU (Ugh).
> >
> > Any advice before I take it in to the dealer?  I'm not really looking
> > forward to trying to isolate the issue in the snow, but think it should
> be
> > a fairly simple check of voltage at the starter to see if it's getting
> the
> > voltage and not firing, or not, in which case then check the clutch and
> > ignition inputs.  Immobilizer complicates the ignition switch I imagine.
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Sean
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