Please Help - A3 Quattro 1.8 T Cutting Out And Stalling!!!!!

[wiz888]

Hello, I would be very thankful for any suggestions to cure the following problem;

I bought an Audi A3 Quattro Sport (2001 – Y reg) with 36000 on the clock about a month ago. Incidentally the car has also been remapped to 210bph.

For two weeks the car was a dream to drive and I was extremely happy with everything about the car. However since then the car has started to cut out about every 3-5 minutes which is infuriating not to mention dangerous and sometime stalls when ticking over and the warning light comes on the dash board (the triangle in the circle). To start the car again I have to turn the key back and forth until the warning light goes out.

The car also idles erratically, from 750 to 850 revs and sometimes the car may ‘half cut out’ when driving and the warning light lights up on the dashboard but by revving the car I have managed to keep it going.

I called the previous owner who was amazed at this and adamant that the car in perfect working order when he sold it to me (of course he would say this). He also said that the car had a new mass air sensor in January but I haven’t seen the receipt for this but the service history look perfect. The car has just been serviced and I have removed the mass air sensor and air filter to check and they are like new.

So I booked it into my independent garage who hooked it up to the diagnostics and got a code for a ‘bad earth’ and suggested changing the main ignition relay which they did but the problem has gotten worse. This week end I will remove and clean all the earth straps in the engine bay (the ones I can find) to see if this helps. I have read posts on this site and slightly similar problems implicate the throttle body or idle stability sensor. I called the main Audi dealer and after asking for my reg they said my car didn’t have an idle stability sensor – they were not very helpful. I really want to keep this car as when it is running OK its amazing to drive! Finally I don’t think its got anything to do with the problem but sometimes when I turn the key to start the car there is a sound of 4 beeps coming from the rear seated area of the car.

[Booster]

Welcome to Tyresmoke+++

The beeps are the battery back up for the alarm telling you its knackered.

Has anyone checked the coilpacks on the car? It was a common problem. I had a 2001 1.8TQ and all of them went at one point or another. Symptoms were a bad mis-fire and it would stall - sounds similar to your problem. If your car has the affected coil packs Audi will replace them for free regardless of how old your car is. There will be a post with the numbers of the batches of coil packs effected on here if you do a search.

[Mook]

Welcome to Tyresmoke Wiz888

Like Booster says, coil packs is the first thing to check after you've checked the battery, followed by the air mass meter, a.k.a. MAF sensor, although this wouldn't normally lead to cutting out, but it does make the car run roughly.

Good luck!

[wiz888]

first Of All A Big Thank You To Booster And Mook For The Advice Which I Took. I Called Audi Main Dealers At Stockport Who Were Very Poor And Could Not Tell Me If The Coil Packs Had Been Rectified, Records Only Go Back Two Years. So I Purchased 4 New Coil Packs Today And Fitted Them.

so The Car Has Had New Spark Plugs, New Coil Packs And A New Ignition Relay.

i Started The Car Up And The Engine Run For About 5 Minutes (i Think The Idling Has Improved And Seems Smoother But This Might Be Just Me) However The Car Stalled Again And The Dreaded Warning Light Came On The Dashboard (a Circle Around A Triangle). It Took Me Ten Minutes Of Turning The Key Back And Forth For The Light To Go Off Before The Car Would Start Again. Whilst Turning The Key Back And Forth I Could Hear A Strange Noise Like A Constant Whirring Coming From Behind The Driver Side Rear Wheel (outside Of The Car) - I Presume That This Is Something To Do With The Fuel System(?) Every Time I Turned The Key The Noise Occured As Soon As The Light On The Dashboard Came On - It Was Very Accurate Corrolated. When I Eventually Turned The Key For The Hundreth Time After Ten Minutes The Warning Light Had Not Appeared And Also The Noise Did Not Appear. Im No Expert (you Might Have Gathered That) But Is There A Relay Or Some Other Potential Malfunctioning Part At The Base Of The Petrol Tank Which Could Cause The Car To Stall And Idle Eratically. Incidentally When I Changed The Coil Packs I Noticed The Earth Strap (which I Cleaned) To The Engine And The Also The Brown Wire To Plugs 1 And 4 Were Cracked And The Copper Wire Was Visable So This Wasnt Helping. Thanks Again For The Help, I Hope I Can Get This Car Sorted As I Really Like It!

Edited July 14, 2009 by shao_khan

[Booster]

Wooooaaahhh!

Change your font!!!!

It sounds like it might be the fuel pump.

[Nelson_R32]

The whirring noise will be the fuel pump priming itself . But they aren't unknown for failiures on the Golf 4/A3 platform.

[wiz888]

Hello again, I am still trying to solve this problem and yesterday I did the following;

cleaned the throttle body

I removed it and cleaned it properly. It was quite dirty particulary where the internal disc (butterfly?) articulates with the body. Whilst removing it I noticed that the electrical connector which connects to the body (behind and to the bottom of the throttle body) was a bit loose and the did not 'click' when I reattached it (the plastic nipple was broken) so I put a cable tie around it so it has got no chance of becoming loose again. I dont know what this connector is, maybe it could contribute to the stalling problem? I put a new gasket on the body and put it back on the engine.

Cleaned all the visual earth straps in the engine bay

Dont think this much good but I thought Id do it anyway.

Noise from the fuel pump

The noise eminating from the fuel pump area is more like a low pitch screaching than the normal audible mmmmmmmm (which I think is the pump priming itself when the key is turned but I may be wrong!).

Throttle Body Adaption

After cleaning the throttle body and reconecting the battery I was unsure if the car would learn the modified throttle body itself or I would have to use vagcom to do it. The engine light (a triangle in a circle) is permanently on the dashboard and will not leave. I tried to start the car and it did start but is running very rough. So I presume I will have to purchase a vagcom device to reset the engine fault code(s) and for the throttle body adaption. Can anyone reccommend the best vagcom device to buy, Ive seen them on ebay but there are so many (maybe a new post is needed for this).

This is my first Audi so can anyone tell me if all Audis are so much fun when trying to diagnose faults!!!

thanks again to everyone leaving comments and advice.

[cruiser647]

Perhaps the MAF has been broken or is burnt out?

I broke my MAF on one of my Omegas, and that resulted in poor running and the engine light on constantly.

Disconnect the MAF and see if the symptoms are the same.

[spa33a]

hi, this story is practically the same as mine. My car would't start had to get my missus to help me push it off the car park, it stalled at traffic lights, when i came to a roundabout, i had to keep the revs up high just to keep the car going. In the end it was the airflow meter, i ordered a new one off ebay( garages too expensive!!!) and fitted it myself and it worked perfectly, a bit sluggish at first but after 30 mins running it was ok and has been ever since. Even though you checked yours just because it looked new, the chip inside could be broken. Hope this will help you!!

[BW2309]

Air Mass meter a definate possibility, especially as the ESP light is illuminating, however this shouldn't actaully cause a stall. The fuel pump relays can fail on these. It is behinf the lower dash, just infront of the driver's right knee. The relay can fail, usually when it's got hot, and this stops the engine ECU going live. This would be likely to give faults for bad earths and even possibly "Open Circuit" faults for all injectors, secondary injection pump and fuel pump.

Really does not sound like failed coil packs.

Also, check the strip type fuses on top of the battery box, and the positive power cable connections on the plate that is also on the battery cover. They can become corroded and cause high resistance.

The 1.8T's are also very prone to air leaks on the breather system and from the brake "suction-jet pump" area. These leaks of un-metered air can cause poor idling, ESP lights on (due to incorrect air mass reading) and even stalling.