Starting/cutting Out Problem

[MJB20V]

hi new to here
Can anybody help wiv a problem.My 1996 Audi A4 1.8 20v.Recently it has had trouble starting first time,It will start up rev once and cut out and the orange key light on the dashbourd flashes but most of the time it will start after a few turns.Yesterday it would not start at all,so my mate removed the battery terminals for a couple of minutes and when replaced it started first time.When i got it home wiv no problems i turned it off and went to restart it and it would,nt start again so any advice would b great.
thankyou

[gary_m]

Sounds like a problem with the immobiliser - possibly a faulty 'reader'. I had a 95 A4 a while back, and this seemed to be a common problem with the 'earlier' models. Often taking the key out, and inserting it the other way gave me a temporary solution.

Did you happen to adjust the steering column height recently? - as another relatively common problem is that a wire can get trapped in it, causing a slight change in resistance - and trip the immobiliser.

I recently had the same problem with my 98 A4, but it was caused by my error - I had removed the instrument panel to change a bulb, and hadn't reseated one of the cable clusters correctly.

Good luck.

[MJB20V]

thanks mate i,ll try stripping the steering down to see if any trapped wires av occured then key the other way round first then see how it goes b4 i get the dreaded auto electriction on the job thanks for the ideas


I went down to the car before it would,nt start so i removed the battery terminals and replaced them and it started straight away but when turned off it did,nt start again