[Vwdiesel] Quattro no start (Well....)

[LBaird119 at aol.com]

  Went up, checked and no spark.  Tried grounding the center 
pin to the hall effect to no effect.  Swapped ignition control 
modules, nothing.  Checked a few things, tried a few things, 
nothing really.  I was just kind of shotgunning it first to see if 
I hit anything.  Put the module back in and checked and had 
spark!  I may have had spark all along.  It wouldn't jump over 
1/8 inch!  I never held the wire THAT close.  Tried and still no 
start.  Fuel pump was working just as it should and it had a 
half tank of fuel.  I said screw it and put the chain on to tow 
it home.  Turned out to be just under a 2 hour drive instead of 3.

  We got a few hundred yards down the highway and I decided 
to put it in gear and see what happened.  Not much for a bit 
then with a little throttle it'd jump, chug and almost start.  It 
got better and better util it started!  I gave Dad the thumbs up 
and we pulled over and it died before we got the chain unhooked.  
Tried again and almost made it.  Next time we didn't even get 
back on the road and it was running.  I kept it at 3K while he 
unhooked it and away I went bucking and chugging now and 
then.  All smoothed out pretty well and when we were about 
half way home we had to make a stop and pick up some stuff 
for a job.  Kept it idling then Mark comes in and asks if that's 
my Audi puking all over the lot!  Ugh!  Add coolant fan 
thermoswitch to the list of things that don't work.

  He'd shut it off so.. Oh crap!  It started right up!  :-)  I found a 
small vacuum hose that was disconnected so I plugged it.  
Idle was fairly high, after restarting it was a little high, after 
plugging the hose and running a little it was about normal.  
I don't have time to chase it all down in a reasonable time so 
I took it to my friend Jim's shop.  By then it idled smooth, 
started perfectly, you name it.

  Didn't surprise me a bit.  They do that when I drive them 
or when you take them to a shop.  He said it was in home 
territory so no fun breaking down there so it was running fine.  
He'll do injector seals, replace a part the battery ate a long 
time ago (maybe, depending on price and just how important 
it is), chase down that weak spark, and put in a new thermoswitch.

  Thanks all, especially Tony for the support and suggestions.  
It helped a lot even though my attitude toward it still sucked!  ;-D
     Loren