I went to start my 1998 2.8L 5 SP manual A4 today that's been stored for a couple months but which I start pretty regularly, all went fine. I started it and let it run for a while, shut it off, started it again, this time the start was not good, engine started off in very low rev. I turn off and try to start again, this time bad stuff happens.

When I try to start the car the car TRIES to start, it makes the CHU CHU CHU sound it is supposed to, but the engine wont actually ever turn over... it'll just keep trying as long as I attempt to start with no success...

Did I blow the starter? The dashboard is somewhat more dimly illuminated then I think it should be.. could it be a connection? The battery was purchased brand new in February.. could it have gone bad or am I just pulling at straws?

I have over 200 clicks..

If it is the starter, how much will a mechanic charge me to replace it for labour would you guesstimate? What price range is this going to be in?

This is VERY BAD, I need your expertise audiforum members... please help [&o][:@]

 

problem is probably not the starter or the battery.

 

I bet its your battery homie. use a voltmeter and see if its putting out 12V. if not get a charger and charge it. if its yor starter i'd imagine its gonna be expensive. not too sure tho.

 

could be the car was stood too long without chance of a good charge for the battery, recharge the battery then see how it goes

 

the thing is I started the car twice right before this problem occurred... the battery HAD been previously drained completely (and I mean it)... but it had been a while ago.. and I started it pretty regularly.. last time I started the car was a couple days ago..

I'll try using a voltmeter.. is it AC or DC current? I dont want the screen to blow in my face lol..

Starters are relatively cheap (the motor).. how much would the labour be though? If you don't think it is either the battery or starter.. what could you suggest? Thanks for the input.

 

Well if you started it and then didn't let it run for a little bit the battery wouldn't have a chance to charge itself back up....SO if it barely had enough power to start the first time it wouldn't start again once you turned the car off.

 

the battery has 3 phases standing / charging / driving, when its standing it holds a cranking charge which last approx 1 week so if its run down enough it will not crank the engine even though you can rune the lights and radio ( it doesn't have the cranking amps )

 

I will try to get a boost.. thank god I didnt return the cables to my friend...

 

Thank you it worked...

I guess I am dumb, I would have figured but the meter read at 12V so I thought the battery was fine.. go figure

Thanks again for the input people

 

When your battery is on the hairy edge of having enough juice to crank, but not quite enough to make it start, I think you will still read ~12V accross the terminals. I think the problem is that its not putting out the amperage you need to get it running. Once you run it down further, the voltage drops off more and is noticably low. I ran into this once before.

Anyway, glad you got it figured out.