Help, car won't start!!! 2.6 1995 A4 ABC

[rickyboy]

Hi, yesterday after cleaning the cam covers and breathers my car started fine and took it for a run - worked fine. I then went back out later on and on the way back from my 10 mile journey the car started to lose power then stalled. It will now refuse to start.

I checked for fault codes on vagcom and there were none stored. Although after a few more attempts at starting I now have the following codes.

VAG-COM Version: Release 311.2-N
Control Module Part Number: 4A0 907 473 D
Component and/or Version: 2,6l V6 MPFI HS D03
Software Coding: 00083
Work Shop Code: WSC 06335
2 Faults Found:
00515 - Camshaft Position (Hall) Sensor (G40)
03-00 - No Signal
00514 - Ignition Point Sensor (G4)
03-00 - No Signal

I assume these are logged because the car isn't starting or do I have more to worry about?

The car ran fine before unblocking the breathers which I find strange in itself as they were completely blocked.

Any ideas would be a great help, I've checked all connectors and they appear to be intact.

Thanks in advance...

[PatV6]

Sounds familiar to me...

my 1995 2.6 V6 was taking me to work a few Fridays ago and died a couple of miles from home. My local mechanic looked at it, saw the fault code for the crankshaft sensor and the ignition key fault. A £120 sensor later and she still isn't getting a spark. I'm at a loss what to do, I'd really like to get it going again but it could be throwing money into an abyss.

I'll let you know if and when I make any progress on the issue.

Patrick.

[rickyboy]

Thanks Patrick, let me know how you get on. To update on my car - I've replaced the cam sensor to no avail and I'm hopefully going to get my hands on a crank sensor in the next couple of days.

I've done quite alot of research into this problem and I've heard if neither of these sensors fix it and the wiring to the ecu is ok then the ecu is to blame. That's going to be a last resort for me.

If you've replaced the crank sensor the next step would be the cam sensor. Either one of these will stop the car from starting. It's rather unfortunate that these sensors cost so bloody much.

I assume you've checked the immobiliser isn't blocking it from starting.

Fingers crossed for the both us!!!

[rickyboy]

Just looked at your reply again Patrick. What is your ignition key fault? That sounds awfully like the immobiliser to me. That will definitely stop the car from starting. If it's not the transponder in the key itself it will likely be a wire behind the steering wheel that gets trapped. Try straightening up the steering wheel and see if it you have better luck starting it. If it helps I'll send you a link on how to fix it - I had that problem when I bought the car.

Get your mechanic to check your immobiliser for faults and post up the codes - post the engine codes as well.

Cheers,

Richard.

[Crasher]

It is possibly just the cam position sensor on the back of the left hand head, make sure it is connected. If these fail, both codes come up.

[rickyboy]

Hi Crasher, I've already replaced the cam sensor and still no luck. If the crank sensor fails is it possible for these codes to appear? That's what I'm changing next.

I mentioned the immobiliser to Patrick because he says "ignition key fault" rather than "ignition point"??? Don't know if that's just a typo.

[Crasher]

If the G4 or G40 fail either bring up both these codes.

[rickyboy]

Cheers Crasher, that's great, hopefully the new crank sensor will fix it then...

[PatV6]

Thanks for the help all.

I'm not sure about the ignition key/immobiliser detail, it was quoted to me over the phone and I'll tackle the problem in the coming days. My mechanic did say that the vehicle wasn't getting a spark, but I know that the immobiliiser/key issue (as in the problem relating to the 'key' symbol on the dash not extinguishing) allowed the car to start but then to stop almost instantly.

I'd certainly appreciate any help you can send me on this, rickboy.

At the moment, my battery was flattened during this escapade, and it seems to be taking forever to recharge up. It's not an old battery (less than 2 years since purchase) but I'm starting to think that it might have gone belly up with the efforts to start.

Keep the faith!!

Patrick.

[batteryman]

As long as your battery hasn't been left flat for a long period (more than a couple of days) it should be OK. Most small battery chargers charge at about 4 amps and I presume your battery is around 85 Ah - this would take about 24 hours to recharge and it wouldn't be fully charged then. The current tapers off as the level of charge in the battery rises, slowing things down.

Check the water level in the battery if you have removable plugs, top to about 5mm above the plates and charge for 24 hours minimum, then try it. If you have a voltmeter you can check the charge voltage (on charge) - if it gets above about 14.2 volts it's fully charged. A bit of overcharge won't harm it, industrial recharge cycles usually overcharge for about 2 hours to maintain the battery in good condition.