Audi starting problems
A few things to check. First thing to check which is the easiest, most obvious and less costly is the starter relay, usually located in the under hood fuse box. If there are any other identical relays in the box, you can switch one for the other to test out if the problem persists or not. If you do not have any other identical ones, take the starter relay out of the box, find the 2 pins that control the coil in the relay and just use jumper wires to put it on the car battery to see if it operates (you will hear clicking sound). Being just a coil, the negative and positive have little importance and will work no matter what the polarity. It should only click once when you put the juice on, and another time when you take it off (providing you're holding the jumpers tight enough so it doesn't go on/off repeatedly cause of bad contact), if it does not click at all, or if it jitters on and off by itself, it's defective, replace it. If the relay is good, then we move on to the starter components. Check all the grounding straps if any for signs or wear and tear, corrosion, etc. If it's all good in that area, then the starter solenoid is probably worn out and does not work like it should. Solenoid is usually attached to the starter itself nowadays, so if you want to test it you will need to remove the starter assembly completely. If you do not know how to test it, your local garage should be able to do this for you. If the solenoid is bad, then don't try finding one or replacing it, chances are you won't find one or it will cost as much as the starter itself, so just get a new or rebuilt one and problem should go away for good. Last option happens like once in a million times and is the wiring coming from the relay that gives current to the solenoid being frayed/damaged/corroded, but usually you can test this easily by just unplugging the little wire that goes into the solenoid and checking with a voltmeter if you get at least 12v then a friend turns the key. Hope this helps!
1/4/2014 5:35:48 PM •
2003 Audi A6
•
Answered
on Jan 04, 2014
If fuse 14 is blown and it blows again later, you should try disconnecting the rear footwell light (connector under the seat). The wiring is known to fray inside the seatback, which can cause the short when you sit in the driver's seat. If you look up under the front seat, the footwell light is the black two-wire connector at the top of the picture below:
