Audi 80 2.0L ABK engine juddering/misfire

[dear161]

Well finally got around to getting the speed sensor changed today thankfully before forking out £130 to Audi, double checked the computer reading and said it was the revolution sensoe well that was a new one to me so lifted the dizy cap and the rotor arm for some reason and the rotor arm fell apart. Turns out it was double arcing and causing a false reading. One new Rotor arm and car running like a dream.

[lizard556]

Hi my 1994 audi 80 2.e auto has flat spots and seems to be using an excessive amount of fuel. The lambda and emissions all read ok. Could relay 30 be the source of all the grief. 30 miles to £10 of petrol is too much to bear. Help please

Paul

[brd]

Hi,
After about 10 months of headaches with Audi (both the garage and the car), I eventually found that the intermittant running which seemed to be more related to when the temperatures were hot outside and could happen at any speed was due to a 12 euro relay alright.
If you suspect this could be the source of your problem, it is one of the cheapest parts to replace, so I'd try that alright.

Good luck!
B.

[Chris J]

Hi Paul,

I had juddering and/or engine misfire for more than 12 months until I replaced the Relay 30 with a genuine Audi part. Since then I've had absolutely no problem at all- it was unbelievably cheap to fix- so much so that I bought a spare to carry around just for peace of mind- effectively costs no more than a couple of gallons of petrol

[sdk778]

Hey Paul, change the relay pal, it's £12 tops, if that doesn't work then get you timing checked, mine was doing the same and it transpired that my cam to crank timing was a tooth out on the cam belt, purrs now, or did, sold it yesterday!!!

[SteveInDaBury]

I recently had very bad running of my audi 2.0E ABK, it felt very underpowered and I honestly thought it's number was up. It was after a recent service, plugs and oil changed.

I rechecked the relay (see earlier in this thread) and my previously soldered joint was still shiny and looked good but I resoldered anyway. No difference.

I got my dad to take a look at the car, he noticed the HT leads have a metal shield where there attach to the spark plugs. He suggested to remove the shields, apparently these can cause problems (on motorbikes too - he used to be a motorcycle mechanic) depending on humidity they can help the spark to arc before reaching the plug! I guess looking in the engine bay at night when it's dark enough to see the spark jump might help. On idle with the bonnet open and observing, every so often there was a click and the engine would buck ever so slightly.

Unbelievably, removing these shields solved the problem. I could not believe it because the HT leads were quite new (less than 2 years). Another approach might be to get some good copper cored HT leads as replacements.

Thought I'd post as 'something else to try' for those still with issues...

[muz666]

not sure if it helps anyone, but i have had on going running issues with my 80, mainly holding back, hesitation and flat spots, had to change the fuel pump yesterday and the car runs smooth as now, so it might be worth considering.....

[johnhh]

Hi there, I’m Johnhh from New Zealand and fairly new to this Audi problem.

I have a 1994 Audi 80 2.0E ABK and after reading this ‘fix’, have decided to have a look and see if this is the problem with mine.
I have removed the parcel shelf under the steering column and can see the bank of relays. I have located relay 30 but can’t get it out.

I can squeeze my hand up under the dash and grab hold of relay 30 but I can’t pull it out. When I tug on it, it feels like the left side wants to swing round to the right, as if I’m trying to dislodge the relay from its’ mounting rather than unplug it from its connector.
I can’t see if there are any clips holding it in and I’m a little scared to force it in case I end up in a bigger mess than I started with.

Can anyone tell me the best way to get it out without damaging anything?

Thanks heaps in advance.
Johnhh

[Dobbo_84]

Hi everyone, I have read through this thread and found things very interesting.
Firstly I am having the same problems with my 1993 2.0 16V coupe its and ACE engine so may have difference causes but wouldn't have thought they were too different.

It doesnt idle well enough for an MOT which is really annoying as I have just spent lots of money replacing bits and bobs all over it. Ive replaced fuel pump and filter, cap and distributor and gaskets, replaced Air mass sensor with a working second hand one, checked compression and had the timing done with new cam belt. I have also Checked for leaks and all wiring the connections with no luck.

The car has been off the road for over 4 months now and I just dont know where to go from here. I looked for this "30" relay under the dash but couldn't find one with it on. checked the pcd in one that I thought was it but it seemed okay althought Im not sure if I'd spot a dry joint anyway.

Could there be anything else wrong with the fueling or air or anything else?

Please if anyone can suggest something that I may have missed

[Jillbaby]

Hi Dobbo and all. I haven't posted since last Feb when my juddering 1995 Audi 80E was cured by resoldering the joints on the fuel relay. Don't know much about these things but assume every car has a fuel relay somewhere regardless of what number it has on it. Am delighted to say I have had no return of the problem since. Dobbo take heart, even I as a mere girl could see what made a dry joint - if you look at the joints they should be nice and shiny silver solder blobs. If they look crusty or powdery, that's a dry joint. My post was pages ago so brief recap: 10 minutes with a soldering iron to restore nice shiny joints completely solved the problem. That's not to say I haven't had any other problems since and have spent a vast amount on my car this past year ( To answer whoever it was that posted here about big fuel consumption, I had this prob together with poor starting and although I haven't had it fixed properly yet as it was over Christmas, the garage disconnected the second fuel injector (I think - I could be wrong but gather it's a secondary something or other - it's got a little blue or green end anyway LOL) and it is fine now, starts like a dream and back ot normal petrol usage. Keep trying, my garage assures me they are great cars!!