car sputters, check engine light comes on, car dies...
#1
12-11-2010, 08:59 PM
car sputters, check engine light comes on, car dies...
ok, so I've had trouble with this car for a while...oil leak, coolant light that comes on when it's cold outside...
Today I leave the house and go to the grocery store (10 min drive), go in, grab a couple things, and then head down the road to pick up some pizzas (another 10 min). Get the pizzas and leave...car sputters when I pull out of the pizza place, then seems to run ok...shortly after the check engine light comes on and it starts sputtering again. Not long after that it starts slowing down. I add more gas pedal, car continues to slow down and eventually comes to a stop. I had to leave it as I was on the way to my sons' birthday party, but here's what I do know:
since spring '09 the car has had tb/wp service, valve cover gaskets, coolant temp sensor, trans fluid/filter change...
CODES PULLED SATURDAY NIGHT
P1139 AND P1137 are Long Term Fuel Trim - bank 2 too rich.
*EDIT* FOR 12/15/10 - Went out last night and removed the MAF, took it all apart and cleaned everything out as best as I could. There wasn't much in the way of carbon deposits that I saw, a little dirty, but not bad. I looked for vacuum leaks but it was dark and 20* outside...I didn't see anything glaring but it doesn't mean I didn't miss anything. Put the MAF back in and tried starting the car...turned over, but wouldn't fire. Battery was very low from when we towed it home (towstrap and pickup truck). Got out the jumper cables and hooked it up to my wife's Rav4 and left them hooked up for 20 minutes or more...no fire. Engine turns over but that's it. Volts drop immediately to 8 or less as soon as I try to start...12-14 volts before turning the key.
Scanned an it's not picking up any codes now; we cleared them when we towed it home Saturday.
Does the 2.8l 30v have a schrader valve on the fuel rails i could use to test fuel pressure?
Today I leave the house and go to the grocery store (10 min drive), go in, grab a couple things, and then head down the road to pick up some pizzas (another 10 min). Get the pizzas and leave...car sputters when I pull out of the pizza place, then seems to run ok...shortly after the check engine light comes on and it starts sputtering again. Not long after that it starts slowing down. I add more gas pedal, car continues to slow down and eventually comes to a stop. I had to leave it as I was on the way to my sons' birthday party, but here's what I do know:
- 1998 A6Q, 2.8l 30v AHA
- sputtering
- check engine light
- low coolant light that goes off when the car warms up
- oil leak- appears to come from driver valve cover or from just above the oil filter...was working on trying to diagnose that this weekend and couldn't figure out exactly where it was coming from.
- no smoke
- didn't see any fluids under the car (out of the ordinary)
- trans slips, sometimes slips out of gear when coming to a stop on a hill
since spring '09 the car has had tb/wp service, valve cover gaskets, coolant temp sensor, trans fluid/filter change...
CODES PULLED SATURDAY NIGHT
- p0300 - cylinder misfire
- p0301 - cylinder 1 misfire
- p0304 - cylinder 4 misfire
- p0305 - cylinder 5 misfire
- p0306 - cylinder 6 misfire
- p1139 - manufacturer control fuel/air metering
- p1137 - fuel/air metering
P1139 AND P1137 are Long Term Fuel Trim - bank 2 too rich.
*EDIT* FOR 12/15/10 - Went out last night and removed the MAF, took it all apart and cleaned everything out as best as I could. There wasn't much in the way of carbon deposits that I saw, a little dirty, but not bad. I looked for vacuum leaks but it was dark and 20* outside...I didn't see anything glaring but it doesn't mean I didn't miss anything. Put the MAF back in and tried starting the car...turned over, but wouldn't fire. Battery was very low from when we towed it home (towstrap and pickup truck). Got out the jumper cables and hooked it up to my wife's Rav4 and left them hooked up for 20 minutes or more...no fire. Engine turns over but that's it. Volts drop immediately to 8 or less as soon as I try to start...12-14 volts before turning the key.
Scanned an it's not picking up any codes now; we cleared them when we towed it home Saturday.
Does the 2.8l 30v have a schrader valve on the fuel rails i could use to test fuel pressure?
Last edited by whitey; 12-15-2010 at 11:17 AM.
#3
12-11-2010, 11:29 PM
Need to find out what dtc's are stored from the check engine light first. A guess from the description, could be a fuel pressure problem. Don't quote me on that!
Oil leak: Most common leak spot on these engines is the gasket under the cam adjuster/chain tensioner. The left side is on the front, the right is on the rear of the cyl head. If you pull the toothed belt cover back a little and see oil inside of it, sure indication it's the adjuster gasket. The dealership I work at ALWAYS has adjuster gasket kits in stock, along with valve cover gaskets since we replace so many on the 2.8 and 2.7L engines (also 1.8L as well). The valve cover gaskets are technically reusable but if they've been in there a while, the material gets hard and can't be reused (without it leaking that is)
Make sure your coolant tank is at the MAX level with a COLD engine. It sounds like you may be just low enought for the low level warning to come on with a cold engine. As the coolant gets hot and expands, the level rises and the warning goes off.
Intake can be cool to the touch, nothing but outside air going through it, There's no hot air intake system or coolant flowing through it, only air.
No idea on the trans off the top of my head. Generally, Audi transmissions are bullet proof and we have very, very few problems with them.
Oil leak: Most common leak spot on these engines is the gasket under the cam adjuster/chain tensioner. The left side is on the front, the right is on the rear of the cyl head. If you pull the toothed belt cover back a little and see oil inside of it, sure indication it's the adjuster gasket. The dealership I work at ALWAYS has adjuster gasket kits in stock, along with valve cover gaskets since we replace so many on the 2.8 and 2.7L engines (also 1.8L as well). The valve cover gaskets are technically reusable but if they've been in there a while, the material gets hard and can't be reused (without it leaking that is)
Make sure your coolant tank is at the MAX level with a COLD engine. It sounds like you may be just low enought for the low level warning to come on with a cold engine. As the coolant gets hot and expands, the level rises and the warning goes off.
Intake can be cool to the touch, nothing but outside air going through it, There's no hot air intake system or coolant flowing through it, only air.
No idea on the trans off the top of my head. Generally, Audi transmissions are bullet proof and we have very, very few problems with them.
#4
12-12-2010, 08:28 AM
Could be fuel pressure, could also be ignition related. Pull your codes then we can be more helpful.
#5
12-12-2010, 09:20 AM
p0300 - cylinder misfire
p0301 - cylinder 1 misfire
p0304 - cylinder 4 misfire
p0305 - cylinder 5 misfire
p0306 - cylinder 6 misfire
p1139 - manufacturer control fuel/air metering
p1137 - fuel/air metering
car will start, then sputters and dies. we cleared all codes, car fired right up as normal and within 10 seconds started sputtering and died.
fuel pump? as far as I know it's not been replaced. fuel filter last year. ignition switch has been replaced in the past year and a half...spark plugs last year.
p0301 - cylinder 1 misfire
p0304 - cylinder 4 misfire
p0305 - cylinder 5 misfire
p0306 - cylinder 6 misfire
p1139 - manufacturer control fuel/air metering
p1137 - fuel/air metering
car will start, then sputters and dies. we cleared all codes, car fired right up as normal and within 10 seconds started sputtering and died.
fuel pump? as far as I know it's not been replaced. fuel filter last year. ignition switch has been replaced in the past year and a half...spark plugs last year.
Last edited by whitey; 12-13-2010 at 10:45 AM.
#8
12-13-2010, 11:29 AM
since you have trouble on both banks, it may be the fuel pressure regulator, and not necessarily the pump. A clogged fuel filter would also not allow the car to run.
If the pump was dead, you wouldn't be able to start the car at all.
If the pump was dead, you wouldn't be able to start the car at all.
#10
12-14-2010, 01:09 AM
Highly doubt the fuel filter. In all my years of working on cars, I have never seen a fuel filter cause a vehicle not to run. Sometimes they make it run rough of misfire, but never completely stall a car. Not saying it isn't possible, but unlikely.
Start with your MAF like people are saying. Clean it, and if that helps, that is going to be your problem. Could also be something with the ignition module. MAF is easiest to test and replace, so start there.
Start with your MAF like people are saying. Clean it, and if that helps, that is going to be your problem. Could also be something with the ignition module. MAF is easiest to test and replace, so start there.