Unhealthy start... Video Included!!

[ToMBoY_C]

Knew my car would not start as it should this morning so I video'd it:

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e1...C/6f8c1109.mp4

The sound is the most important part so turn your speakers up! It only does it when the engines cold as 10mins after I had to put fuel in and it restarted fine. What can be causing it?? Get your diagnosis in...

[fat controller]

My laptop speakers aren't the best, but it seems to sort of splutter into life? Doesn't seem to spin over with much gusto to me either?

I'd be inclined to rule out the 'usual stuff' first, and check the batter, fuel filter and air filter before going any further?

[ToMBoY_C]

All new I was thinking glow plugs, would this cause the splutter? Or maybe I still have battery drain??

[A4 Lad]

Probably all them mods weighing the engine down lol !!!!
Did it only start ( pardon the pun ) after the filters had been changed ?
I dont mean to be like a broken down record player but you know yourself...... diagnostic scan to see if any faults ?
At a guess, I would say its either the giggle pin moving too much in its bearing housing. But seriously, maybe glow plugs, temp sensor or air leaking into the fuel system. Defo not a battery

[ToMBoY_C]

Did it before filter change too. I have VCDS and it shows no logged faults, is there a way of checking glow plug quality on VCDS??

[Tups1974]

My sounded a bit like this morning for a second or two, I just put it down to a cold weather start and the oil not being completely around the engine at that point.

A few years ago, I was advised in really cold weather warm the glow plugs a couple of times before starting the engine, which helps.

[fat controller]

Good point actually Tups1974 - mine was a wee bit rougher than usual when starting this morning, but it was quite a bit colder last night than it has been for a while.

Tomboy, as long as it is starting and not running like a bag of spanners, I would be inclined to forget about it - its only a matter of a few seconds when it is really cold, and I am sure that if there was a real issue that something would show up on a VCDS scan?

[JimC64]

Hmmmm........my 07 plate A6 tdi is very similar and has been for a long time.

Mines has been to the dealer for so many things due to cold start issues, too many to mention to be honest.
I've had 3 batteries, RAC has been out numerous times, had 2 new cylinder heads, new starter, ground wires checked / cleaned and a lot more. It used to be a real lottery as to whether it would start or not in cold weather and really did sound like a bag of bolts in the first start up of the day.

Its now a lot better, but on cold mornings similar to your start up but now alway catches ok.....I guess I've almost gotten used to it as otherwise she runs like a dream and now on 90k miles.

sorry mate, dunno what else to tell you...

[martin1810]

If the glow plugs were faulty it would show up on VCDS and you would have clouds of diesel smelling white smoke on start up. It would also sound like it wasn't running on all cylinders. It might be worth having the battery checked to see what voltage you have on a cold morning. The glowplugs put a lot of strain on the battery which makes it harder for the starter to spin up. If the starter spin is too slow, the compression ignition pattern takes longer to establish and this can make the engine sound a bit odd. One way to test this theory is to have another spare battery handy on a really cold morning. Attach it to yours using jump leads. If it starts better and runs better you know the fault is a poor output from your battery on cold mornings. Are you sure you don't have a current drain and have you checked to make sure battery terminals are clean and tight.

[jmm86]

mine spluttered a bit this morning too, might have been me letting go of the key too soon but it struggled, recently had 4 new glow plugs. whats the digital display you have by the cig lighter?