AAAAARRRRGGHH... My 94 Audi 90 is in a coma.....

Heeeelp!

Ok, so maybe I'm being a little melodramatic but my car is catatonic in my driveway, not dead mind you, it's unconscious, or at least that's how it feels. I just purchased the car through E-Bay (stop laughing in the back, this is serious) three days ago. I live in a place called Oxnard in S-Cal and I purchased it from a guy in Moreno Valley, that's about a 120 mile drive. Other than the AC unit not working, the only problem I found was that the interior lights didn't work and the auto gear selector was a bit sluggish changing up or down in response to throttle or road input. All in all though the car seems to be in good condition. Yesterday morning I get in the car to start it up and nothing.... The ignition lights come on, the battery is fully charged, but the there isn't the faintest noise from the engine bay. nothing, nada, not a squeak. I checked all of the fuses and nothing's blown. I checked the secondary relay panel and nothing seems to have come loose. I just don't understand it, the car has power and all of the ignition indicators light up but the engine is just dead. One little thing might be a bit of a clue however. The gear selection indicator on the dashboard is showing that the car is currently in (D)rive although the gear selector leaver is in Park. If the car though it was in drive, then that would be a reason as to why the car won't start. Any help on how I can fix this problem would be massively appreciated.

Paul Bryant.

Reply to
Paul Bryant
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Sounds a bit like a dead battery, TBH. A full charge is no indication of a working unit.

If you can, try with another unit before replacement (not sure when Audi started using a special shape to prevent reasonably-priced^H^H^H^H dangerous-evil-immoral aftermarket batteries acting as replacements

If it's any help, I had a Mini w-a-y back that had everything electrical working (including main beam), but required a bit of tin-foil stuffed into the (self-tapping) battery terminal screw if you expected to /start/ the thing.

Took a bit of explaining to the cops when things went wrong (naturally, only at traffic lights and roundabouts [think four-way-stop] when Police were in the area)

HTH

Hairy One Kenobi

Disclaimer: the opinions expressed in this opinion do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the highly-opinionated person expressing the opinion in the first place. So there!

Reply to
Hairy One Kenobi

Nope,

I tried. it's not a dead battery. It's something far more obscure(read expensive), I just know it.

Reply to
Paul Bryant

I'm willing to bet a few bucks that the car "thinks" it's in Drive and therefore won't crank because there's a switch connected to the gear selection indicator that breaks the circuit. I assume that the ingnition will still be on so the car should run if the starter cranks. Have you tried short-circuiting the starter relay directly to the starter motor with a screwdriver or similar? (this is usually possible by connecting the thick wire going directly from the battery with an outside connector on the starter motor itself). Ensure that the gearbox is not _actually_ in drive when doing so!

Rune

-98 A6 A/Q 2.8

Reply to
Rune Skigelstrand

Here's another thought. Can you move the selector into Neutral? The starting circuit will also work in Neutral. You can confirm if it is in Park by releasing the hand brake and trying to move the car. If it is in Park, then you will only be able to rock it slightly back and forth. If it moves, then it is in one of the other positions. My guess is that it will be in Park and the switch at the shift lever/console is loose or it has had too many baths from beverages and has the stupids.

Reply to
Glenn Spence

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