a8a6rs2 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 My 98 S8 all of a sudden won't start. I can't even hear the starter trying to start the car. Battery is brand new and ok, everything else electrical inside the car seems to work. Do you have ANY idea what might have gone wrong? Sth I can look for, without the help of vagcom? The day the car stopped working I fired it up in the morning all right but in the evening it tried once and then nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Starter inhibitor switch may be? Try running it through all gears then back into Park... clutching at straws here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetotreef Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 (edited) Wierdly I'm having the exact same trouble with my 98 S8! I hope i'm not being patronizing here but you can try the basics first. Think of it like this, you need fuel, air and a spark for it to start. 1.get a mate to crank it and put your hand over the exhaust pipes. if you feel air pulses, you've got air! 2. take a spark plug out and have a look.if its wet/damp then it confirms that you have fuel in there. 3. with a good rubber handled plyers, push the spark plug back into the coil and hold it in there with the plyers. then touch the thread of the engine to earth it. get a mate to crank it and see if you have a spark. If you have all those, i'd suggest taking out all the plugs if they are wet. while they are all out, crank the engine again to clear the bores out. replace everything in the right order and try again! this didn't work for my car and i'm still scratching my head, but i hope it helps you out. regards Oops...just reread your post and spotted the no starter part! apologies! can you jack it up and see if the wire that activates the solenoit is attached? they're usually pretty secure, but if you can't even hear it clicking, then there's no current getting to that point. Edited July 29, 2008 by treetotreef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 That may not help treetotreef as a8a6rs2 can't seem to turn the engine over at all. If it were and old ford cortina I would have said bash the starter with a mallet but that ain't gonna work here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
treetotreef Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Agreed, as there isn't room under these bonnets to swing a cat, not to mind a hammer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickbee Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 That may not help treetotreef as a8a6rs2 can't seem to turn the engine over at all. If it were and old ford cortina I would have said bash the starter with a mallet but that ain't gonna work here. Lol, i remember that type of engineering well on all manner of Fords gone by. and a few other marques Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigyb Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Is it possibly the wires in the steering column that get trapped and stop the car starting. I think Botang had this issue on his A8 a while back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure11 Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 I have seen several cars of this age with a corroded connectiond between the battery and the starter motor, On the drivers side on the chassis rail just forward of the front wheel is a plastic box that has the battery lead going in and the starter motor supply coming out. On the last car that had the problem the box lid had gone and the conectors had corrroded to the point where they just crumbled in my fingers. On that car all we did was connect a battery direct to the starter motor and crank her over. Worth a look. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted July 29, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 Thanks for all the input. unfortunately the car won't crank at all when I turm the ignition I can hear several relays clicking but no attempt from the starter it is a LHD car, so Figure11 the box you mention is on what side? checked but couldn't find it. I have the latest ELSA if you can refer me to a pic in there. I keep replaying the last day the car worked and I think, in the afternoon, the alarm went off for no reason. could this be related in any way? any ideas about turning off the alarm? (fuse or sth else?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostKiwi Posted July 29, 2008 Report Share Posted July 29, 2008 This could be caused by a duff ignition switch, duff wiring, duff starter or bad connection (esp earths). Check the earth by connecting a jump lead from the engine direct to a knwon good earth on the chassis and trying cranking the engine. If it cranks there is the problem. Incidentally a duff earth can cause alarm problems. If you look at the starter there is a small skinny wire that provides the control to the starter motor. Try connecting that terminal direct to 12v and see if the starter cranks. If it does then look at the wiring back to the switch and the switch itself. If its the switch you could get yourself a 'Start' button and mount it somewhere to bypass the starter part of the ignition switch. If it doesn't crank then its likely the starter motor is crackered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IT_S8 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Thanks for all the input.unfortunately the car won't crank at all when I turm the ignition I can hear several relays clicking but no attempt from the starter it is a LHD car, so Figure11 the box you mention is on what side? checked but couldn't find it. I have the latest ELSA if you can refer me to a pic in there. I keep replaying the last day the car worked and I think, in the afternoon, the alarm went off for no reason. could this be related in any way? any ideas about turning off the alarm? (fuse or sth else?) I second figure11's idea - The main battery in the boot has two huge feeds - one runs down to the passenger footwell, and the other runs straight to the front of the car into a small juntion box and supplies the starter and alternator. These corrode, and can corrode through sometimes, in which case no other electrical systems will be affected, but the starter motor just wont turn over. Its not alarm or immobiliser as the immobiliser it retrospective, so the car would start, then it checks the key and kills the engine if it fails the check.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted July 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 how do I get to that junction box? should I jack the car up? passenger side? on my car looking down on the engine, on the left I can see the air filter box. I have to lay down to just see the alternator and part of the cables going to it. but I can't see the starter nor the box you mention. sorry for al the questions, but I am definitely no motor guru. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Figure11 Posted July 30, 2008 Report Share Posted July 30, 2008 Here is a picture. It is part #10. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted August 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2008 (edited) update on my problem let the car alone for a couple of days and tried to start it. and surprise it did start!:confused: drove 20km no problem. next day dead again I now assume the starter itself is actually working. yesterday I got my hands on a vagom cable several DTC most alarm related plus these ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Address 01: Engine Labels: None Part No: 4D0 907 558 F Component: 4.2L V8/4V MOTR AT D01 Coding: 05373 Shop #: WSC 20701 3 Faults Found: 18010 - Power Supply Terminal 30: Voltage too Low P1602 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent 17545 - Fuel Trim: Bank 1 (Add): System too Rich P1137 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent 17968 - Maximum Engine Speed Exceeded: Engine Warranty VOID! :-) P1560 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent Readiness: N/A -------------------------------------------------------------------------------Address 02: Auto Trans Labels: None Part No: 4D0 927 156 BL Component: AG5 01L 4.2l4V S8RdW D03 Coding: 00101 Shop #: WSC 00000 1 Fault Found: 17087 - Brake Switch (F): Electrical Malfunction P0703 - 35-00 - - End -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had disconnected the battery in the past, as far as 18010 is concerned. any ideas? update on update tested the cable at box#10 mentoned above and they seem ok. also tested the connection to the alternator ok as well. I did't manage to test the starter, mainly because I couldn't find it. on the attached pic, which is from audiworld,I've circled the cables that supposedlly go to to starter. well not on my car. those exact cables end on the alternator:confused: Edited August 5, 2008 by a8a6rs2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 how do I get to that junction box?should I jack the car up? passenger side? on my car looking down on the engine, on the left I can see the air filter box. I have to lay down to just see the alternator and part of the cables going to it. but I can't see the starter nor the box you mention. sorry for al the questions, but I am definitely no motor guru. I posted a picture on audiworld to your thread. I would bet 2:1 that this is your problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulW Posted August 6, 2008 Report Share Posted August 6, 2008 I posted a relatively detailed troubleshooting procedure from your relay panel on audiworld and send you the wiring diagrams. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 well back from holidays and the car cranks but won't start check how it sounds when I turn the key. RapidShare: Easy Filehosting what comes first to mind? spark plugs? fuel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 forgot to mention I checked with vagcom and no error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PsYcHe Posted October 9, 2008 Report Share Posted October 9, 2008 Ah.. mine did this, would just crank for ages and then periodically make you think it was going to catch, then just crank again. In fact, the bugger did it at new year when I was supposed to be going to my parents. Went out a bit later and it started fine. I had moved it a couple of times the night before and ran for less than 30 secs which is what I blamed for it getting a bit funny. How long have you tried to crank for? Have someone listen in the boot when you turn the ignition on to see if the fuel pump runs in case it's gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 12, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2008 well, I wasn't sure I could hear the fuel pump so fed it with 12v straight from the battery and it's working allright. even tried to start with the pump running but no result have to check the plugs now. anyone know what size spark plug socket (in mm) is required? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 (edited) update checked the plugs, no petrol on them. I assume now petrol isn't making it to the engine. but the pump is working. so fuel filter?!! any ideas about how i get to it? Edited October 13, 2008 by a8a6rs2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IT_S8 Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 updatechecked the plugs, no petrol on them. I assume now petrol isn't making it to the engine. but the pump is working. so fuel filter?!! any ideas about how i get to it? When the fuel pump goes, it tends to produce very low pressure, not just give up altogether... The result is that it appears to spin if you take it out and apply 12v, but under load it fails to move the fuel.... Fuel pumps are a very common failing, whereas fuel filters would be extrememly unlikely to cause a problem.... Hope that helps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 it does help, cause although the pump is making noise no fuel comes out when I disconneted the filter and tried to start my main problem now is how do I get the pump out. I have disconnected all the lines and electrical connection. undone the big black round thing. I haven't undone the smaller yellow round . is that necessary? I don't seem to be able to get it out. I can raise it a bit , about an inch, but sommething seems to be in the way. any hints? the ELSA icons haven't been of much help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ska Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 fuel leak repair also do a search for fuel pump PM me your email for the removal procedure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a8a6rs2 Posted October 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 14, 2008 Ska thanks a lot for the instructions some more info if possible the fuel gauge unit does it have to be removed beforehand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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