Audi A4 1.9tdi 2004 won't start.

kilkenny31 · 31-05-2014 08:04PM #1

Hi Guys

My audi a4 isnt starting, its been an ongoing issue, happened 1st around Christmas and about three times since. Its happened again today.

Each time its the same problem the car turns over but just wont start. 1st time i called the mechanic he said to try jump start when its being towed, i tried it and it did start. It started normally from then so the mechanic was unable to find out what the problem is.

Second time about 5-6 weeks later it didn't start i got tow truck out and got it towed directly to the mechanic. He was unable to find out what was causing the problem.

The last time i've just got someone to tow the car and started it ran for a month or so and again today it wont start. Does anyone have any idea what might be causing this? As i said it turns over fine but just wont start. Jump Starts when being towed. Once it starts it seems to be ok for weeks before it happens again.

Any help would be appreciated. I don't know where to go from here.

Saucy McKetchup · 31-05-2014 08:09PM

Fuel filter or injector problem would be my guess

Stoolbend · 31-05-2014 08:10PM

Did he plug into it?

If so was there any faults stored?

kilkenny31 · 31-05-2014 08:14PM

yeah he said he plugged into it and he changed a few sensors and there was no joy. If its an injector problem is it an expensive fix?

Chimaera · 01-06-2014 02:27PM

Start by looking for leaks in the fuel system. It sounds like it's losing prime - prolonged attempts at starting are bringing fuel up and it eventually starts for you.

After that get it scanned with a VAG specific diagnostic tool.

kilkenny31 · 19-08-2014 01:23AM

Hi, been running fine the past two months but it happended again over the weekend, got the car scanned, saying a intermittent missfire in cylinder 1. Mechanic thinks its an injector problem. Anyone else have an opinion, would really appreciate it.

debabyjesus · 19-08-2014 01:40AM

Injector wiring loom can give bother so id be replacing that before looking at injectors. Do you ever notice a rough idle or missfire?

George Dalton · 19-08-2014 07:35AM

Most of the time with symptoms like that on a PD it's an injector issue.

kilkenny31 · 19-08-2014 12:12PM

debabyjesus wrote: »

Injector wiring loom can give bother so id be replacing that before looking at injectors. Do you ever notice a rough idle or missfire?

Yeah especially after the car is started, the missfire can feel quiet strong. The car shakes a lot. Once its be going for a while it doesn't seem noticeable.

George Dalton · 19-08-2014 01:59PM

Definitely sounds like an injector issue.

kilkenny31 · 19-08-2014 04:17PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Definitely sounds like an injector issue.

A mechanic today said it might be a timing issue, he says its possible when the timing belt was done it wasn't tightened properly and may have moved a mill or two. He wants to put it on a diagnostic to see if it is. The problem is the engine management light is not after coming on so its harder to diagnose.

George Dalton · 19-08-2014 04:21PM

I thought you said you already had it scanned and there was a fault for a misfire on cylinder 1?

OldMrBrennan83 · 19-08-2014 04:24PM

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George Dalton · 19-08-2014 04:33PM

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

A faulty loom will cause a misfire but will not make the car difficult to start.

kilkenny31 · 19-08-2014 06:25PM

George Dalton wrote: »

I thought you said you already had it scanned and there was a fault for a misfire on cylinder 1?

Yes it has. mechanic says it's unlikely a faulty injector will cause it not to start, my knowledge is limited thats why im on here. I don't want to go down the road of trying a number of fixes and none of them working, i want to find out what the most likely problem is and get it fixed.

George Dalton · 19-08-2014 09:34PM

Faulty injectors are the most common cause of a non start on a B6 A4 with PD engine in our experience.

kilkenny31 · 20-08-2014 12:27AM

George Dalton wrote: »

Faulty injectors are the most common cause of a non start on a B6 A4 with PD engine in our experience.

Ok thanks for your help, how much roughly does it cost to replace one either firstly by getting the one thats in reconditioned and secondly with a new one?

ardle1 · 20-08-2014 02:38AM

Check the connectors on the injector loom 'yourself'.. Take off the rocker cover and you will see the loom, make sure all 4 connectors are pushed in place... if it runs 'great' after doing that but then the problems return after a short period,, well then replace the loom... Even from main dealer about 60€... Good Luck... P.s... NEVER accept injectors until loom is tested!

kilkenny31 · 20-08-2014 10:54AM

ardle1 wrote: »

Check the connectors on the injector loom 'yourself'.. Take off the rocker cover and you will see the loom, make sure all 4 connectors are pushed in place... if it runs 'great' after doing that but then the problems return after a short period,, well then replace the loom... Even from main dealer about 60€... Good Luck... P.s... NEVER accept injectors until loom is tested!

Ok thanks, ill try this.

George Dalton · 20-08-2014 11:37AM

kilkenny31 wrote: »

Ok thanks for your help, how much roughly does it cost to replace one either firstly by getting the one thats in reconditioned and secondly with a new one?

Recon about €200 each. New are crazy money.

George Dalton · 20-08-2014 11:37AM

ardle1 wrote: »

Check the connectors on the injector loom 'yourself'.. Take off the rocker cover and you will see the loom, make sure all 4 connectors are pushed in place... if it runs 'great' after doing that but then the problems return after a short period,, well then replace the loom... Even from main dealer about 60€... Good Luck... P.s... NEVER accept injectors until loom is tested!

The symptoms don't match for a loom issue.

The fault codes are also different for a loom problem vs injector problem.

kilkenny31 · 20-08-2014 06:46PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Recon about €200 each. New are crazy money.

If its showing up that the missfire is in cylinder 1 is it likely that when i get that injector reconditioned that it will solve the problem? or will they all have to be done, ill post a picture here later off the diagnostic reading.

Chimaera · 20-08-2014 09:31PM

If any injector is misfiring, it's a reasonable bet that the other three won't be too far behind.

OldMrBrennan83 · 20-08-2014 10:44PM

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kilkenny31 · 20-08-2014 10:48PM

Patww79 wrote: »

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Talking to my mechanic he says theres not to many people doing it.

OldMrBrennan83 · 20-08-2014 10:50PM

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Chimaera · 20-08-2014 10:56PM

Injector servicing requires a lot of expensive equipment and training. Not too many places going to invest in that.

OldMrBrennan83 · 20-08-2014 11:00PM

This post has been deleted.

Chimaera · 20-08-2014 11:18PM

No, even servicing older injectors needed expensive equipment. There's at least one place in Limerick, on the Dock Road that does DFIE work (can't recall the name offhand) and there's Gleeson's in Cashel. There are probably a few more around the country if you go googling.

George Dalton · 21-08-2014 07:26AM

There are very few places in Ireland that are set up to test and repair PD injectors, and even fewer places that I would trust to do the job correctly.

They require different test equipment to common rail injectors and not many places bothered with the investment when such a small volume of cars use the PD system, relatively speaking.

George Dalton · 21-08-2014 07:31AM

kilkenny31 wrote: »

If its showing up that the missfire is in cylinder 1 is it likely that when i get that injector reconditioned that it will solve the problem? or will they all have to be done, ill post a picture here later off the diagnostic reading.

What we usually recommend is taking out all 4 and sending them away for testing. Then you know exactly where you stand.

kilkenny31 · 21-08-2014 04:19PM

George Dalton wrote: »

What we usually recommend is taking out all 4 and sending them away for testing. Then you know exactly where you stand.

Ok thanks for your help.

ardle1 · 21-08-2014 04:35PM

George Dalton wrote: »

The symptoms don't match for a loom issue.

The fault codes are also different for a loom problem vs injector problem.

Eh no, the code op got, would also appear for faulty loom, now I don't understand why it won't start,... Unless the main loom plug where it enters the 'rocker' is not tight or and not making contact at times! Anyway very frustrating for the op..

George Dalton · 21-08-2014 07:08PM

When the loom is faulty the ECU detects the fault and shuts off the injector that is affected so that you end up running on 3 cylinders until the next time the ignition is cycled. Generally a faulty loom doesn't cause a misfire when the engine is cold only when it warms up. Faulty looms also never cause starting problems whereas bad injectors do. If you read back through the thread the op says that the car sometimes won't start and has a running issue which is worse when cold but better when warm. In other words the symptoms don't match a loom fault.

Incidentally the fault that is logged for a faulty loom is not the same as the one logged for a faulty injector. Unfortunately we don't know what code is logged in this case because the OP never told us the exact code, just gave a vague description.

kilkenny31 · 23-08-2014 11:59PM

The fault reads like this. 16685 cylinder one missfire detected p0301 - intermittent

George Dalton · 24-08-2014 08:10AM

That's going to be an injector fault. If it was a loom problem the code would be:

18074 - PD Unit Injector; Cylinder 1 (N240): Electrical Malfunction

dr.fuzzenstein · 24-08-2014 09:00AM

Chimaera wrote: »

Start by looking for leaks in the fuel system. It sounds like it's losing prime - prolonged attempts at starting are bringing fuel up and it eventually starts for you.

After that get it scanned with a VAG specific diagnostic tool.

That!
I can't believe no one picked up on this.
Had the exact same symptoms with my cmax and the garage wanted to swap out injectors and fuel pump, costing me a fortune.
Took the car to the Ford main dealer and he diagnosed the problem in 5 minutes, fuel line drawing air. Before doing something silly like ripping out injectors and looms, look at the fuel line.
A lot of garages have no clue about diesel fuel systems and instead of logical diagnosis just start ripping out the most expensive bits first.
Always remember: go low tech before going high tech, you can save yourself hundreds.

josephsoap · 24-08-2014 01:23PM

kilkenny31 wrote: »

Hi, been running fine the past two months but it happended again over the weekend, got the car scanned, saying a intermittent missfire in cylinder 1. Mechanic thinks its an injector problem. Anyone else have an opinion, would really appreciate it.

How much milage is on your A4?

kilkenny31 · 25-08-2014 08:35PM

josephsoap wrote: »

How much milage is on your A4?

About 250000 kms.

kilkenny31 · 15-09-2014 06:53PM

What is the cheapest i could get this repaired for. The injector i mean. I just want a quick fix. Ive decided to purchase a new car in janurary.
Im going to trade in my current car. I just want to get the one injector replaced or repaired. Called a garage about getting on reconditioned and they said it would be around 300 euro. Seems expensive, pretty sure iv'e seen reconditioned ones on eBay a lot for cheaper.

Bpmull · 15-09-2014 06:58PM

kilkenny31 wrote: »

What is the cheapest i could get this repaired for. The injector i mean. I just want a quick fix. Ive decided to purchase a new car in janurary.
Im going to trade in my current car. I just want to get the one injector replaced or repaired. Called a garage about getting on reconditioned and they said it would be around 300 euro. Seems expensive, pretty sure iv'e seen reconditioned ones on eBay a lot for cheaper.

300 seems mad price for one reconditioned injector unless maybe they were doing them all. I thought you could buy a brand new one for around 150-200 euro. Unless there is somewhere decent reconditioning the injector it's very much hit and miss as to whether it will fix the problem. Unless there mad money I'd personally just buy a new injector and get it coded in and fited at least it won't go wrong that way.

George Dalton · 15-09-2014 07:05PM

New PD injectors are over €600 each ex VAT.

€300 would be about right for a recon injector including labour.

Bpmull · 15-09-2014 07:12PM

George Dalton wrote: »

New PD injectors are over €600 each ex VAT.

€300 would be about right for a recon injector including labour.

I was way out there so. That would make the recon quote a lot more reasonable as it wouldn't really make sense to buy a new injector at that money.

kilkenny31 · 15-09-2014 07:14PM

George Dalton wrote: »

New PD injectors are over €600 each ex VAT.

€300 would be about right for a recon injector including labour.

When you say labour do you mean removing it and refitting it. When i was talking to them it sounded like it doesn't.

George Dalton · 15-09-2014 07:16PM

Yes. The actual injector recon itself should be around €225 inc VAT.

kilkenny31 · 15-09-2014 07:25PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Yes. The actual injector recon itself should be around €225 inc VAT.

Ok he said it would be 280 + vat not sure if that includes removing and refitting. Like to get it sorted soon, the car didn't start this morning, frustrating because it won't start with a push. It needs to be towed to start.

kilkenny31 · 15-09-2014 07:37PM

Do you know if its a Bosch injector?

George Dalton · 15-09-2014 07:39PM

Yes they are Bosch injectors.

kilkenny31 · 16-09-2014 02:45PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Yes they are Bosch injectors.

Thanks for your help pal. It's great having somewhere like this to come too to ask a few questions.

George Dalton · 16-09-2014 03:29PM

No problem at all. Hope you get sorted out without too much bother!

Tail Docker · 16-09-2014 06:54PM

George Dalton wrote: »

Most of the time with symptoms like that on a PD it's an injector issue.

It's usually the rubber seals in the gallery above the injectors, they look fine on inspection but are in reality weeping under pressure. They cause hard starting, often poor running and sometimes smokiness. Hard fault to diagnose too as it comes and goes according to heat/cold etc etc. Replace the seals. Garages often replace the injectors thinking that's the fault..it's usually the seals, which are buttons..

Audi A4 1.9tdi 2004 won't start.

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