My Nightmare allroad - Multiple CEL's after Ice Storm, Battery not charging.

[dasfinc]

Hello All,

I have a 2001 Audi allroad that I picked up back in mid October that I picked up for silly cheap as it needed a fair amount of work;

I addressed the main issues it had (mostly cosmetic), and it had one main lingering issue where it would have an intermittent hard-start, but would then run/drive fine.

This issue has been getting generally more frequent, and now it will randomly stall out at a stop light, but then after 10-15 seconds of cranking with some throttle pedal normally fires back up and then continued to drive fine.

This has lead to my 'climax' of issues (just wanted to provide back story incase its related). We had a bad Ice Storm in the midwest last Monday, and I let a friend of mine borrow the car that week.

Tuesday night on the drive home, the car began running rough, and then the battery was no longer charging. I drove out to the car as she had parked it in a gas station lot and shut it down before completely dying.

The car had an Ozone/Burning Electrics smell, but obviously I couldn't do/see much at night in the cold so I called road-side. I plugged in my VAGCOM/VCDS lite and saw a TON of codes (will post current codes at bottom of this post).

4 hours after calling for a tow, one finally arrived, and the car drove up onto the flatbed and off the flatbed without issue (Battery even charging, but still running rough).

Sunday I finally had time to take a look at the car, and when I tried to start it the battery was bone dead (Tow truck driver left interior light on). I jumped the car and it fired up and ran with the battery charging (Albeit still running rough). I took it to my friends shop to replace the cam plugs (as they'd been leaking badly), and re-install the under body tray (as we thought maybe snow/ice got up into something that caused a short). We found the Battery was not acting especially healthy, and thought maybe the car was running solely off the alternator which would cause a number of issues similar to what it was experiencing. The battery was also some brand I've never heard of before, so we went ahead and replaced it.

The car is running/driving again, and charging the battery, but still has a ton of codes, still runs rough at idle (but fine driving around), and still occasionally cuts out at stop lights randomly, but then re-starts.

The car has had the following replaced over the past few months in an effort to resolve the intermittent no start (again, just to provide the full picture):
Fuel Pump
Fuel Pressure Regulator
Fuel Pump Relay
Fuel Filter
Vacuum Lines (Hand full of leaks)
Battery (Just this weekend).

The Engine module codes its throwing are as follows:

17833 - P1425 Evap Purge Valve (N80): Short to Ground
17880 - P1472
17843 - P1435
17938 - P1530 Camshaft Timing Adjustment: Short to Ground
17829 - P1421
17955 - P1547
17697 - P1289 Boost Pressure Control Valve
17529 - P1121
17525 - P1117
17861 - P1453 Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor (G235): Open or short to Plus
17865 - P1457
18032 - P1624
17523 - P1115 Oxygen Sensor Heating: B1S1: Short to ground
17527 - P1119
16486 - P0102
16518 - P0134 Oxygen Sensor B1S1: No Activity
16538 - P0154
17522 - P1114
17548 - P1140 Oxygen Sensor B2S2 Internal Resistance too High


I have to assume a ground is gone, or a fuse is blown, but can't figure out where it would be.

Interior fuse panel didn't have any blown fuses for any of the engine control fuses.

Please help! I'll send you baked goods if anyone can figure this out, I love the car, I hate this part :(

[dasfinc]

Car also has Fresh Plugs, forgot to mention.

[SteelyS6]

I would look into that camshaft timing code. Have you looked at the timing belt and associated components?

[dasfinc]

I would look into that camshaft timing code. Have you looked at the timing belt and associated components?

I have not, but these codes all appeared at the exact same time (minus secondary air pump which was pre existing), so I have to believe it's sensor/ground related. Just don't know what is common/what to check/where the grounds are on the car.

Even if some how the car jumped time it wouldn't cause all of these codes to appear on the very first key on start of the car. I've cleared the codes, confirmed cleared, restarted the car and these all immediately pop.

[SteelyS6]

Also have Stuklr code out your EGT's and Rear O2's, these will cause the car to run poorly as well.

[SteelyS6]

Just saying if you don't know the condition or last known service of the timing belt I would personally be doing it.

[dasfinc]

Also have Stuklr code out your EGT's and Rear O2's, these will cause the car to run poorly as well.

Just to clarify, these codes all came on at once, and continue to the first time the car is started with the codes cleared.

I may tune things like these out later, but I'm like 99% sure I have an electrical issue, just don't know the grounds/plugs/wires in this car and don't have a manual/diagram.

[SteelyS6]

Wish I could help you with with wiring diagrams but I don't have any available right now. I will go see if I can find anything in my Bentley manual.

[dasfinc]

Wish I could help you with with wiring diagrams but I don't have any available right now. I will go see if I can find anything in my Bentley manual.

From a significant amount of digging the only suggestion I could find was 'see if they have a common ground/fuse' but I don't have the slightest idea if they do, or how to find it.

[dasfinc]

Anyone :-/, I'm sure a shop will level me for this kind of diagnostic/repair.

[tewnick]

Did you figure it out yet? Interested to find out.

[PaperToast]

whats the mileage?
need to know that, some components have a point where they start to give out from age and need replacing

[dasfinc]

whats the mileage?
need to know that, some components have a point where they start to give out from age and need replacing

132K, I can't imagine a SINGLE component that is failing with Age that would cause 12+ CEL codes?

Anyone have a scan of the Bently for the wiring? Really want to know what I should be expecting/looking for on the passenger side of the car that would explain the dead ground.

[PaperToast]

dont know if its the right ground but, while taking out the sai plumbing, i came across a ground on the passenger side rear of the engine just right of the combi valve looking from the front. might be worth checking

there are some components that fail to age
example, icm's, if you have them, seem to go out from 130k to 150k miles.
there are various electronic bits that live in the engine bay, and with the extreme heat and cooling cycles, breaks down circuit boards, capacitors, and solder points.

[dasfinc]

dont know if its the right ground but, while taking out the sai plumbing, i came across a ground on the passenger side rear of the engine just right of the combi valve looking from the front. might be worth checking

there are some components that fail to age
example, icm's, if you have them, seem to go out from 130k to 150k miles.
there are various electronic bits that live in the engine bay, and with the extreme heat and cooling cycles, breaks down circuit boards, capacitors, and solder points.

I'd be super stoked if you had any way you could send a pic? Just got through replacing my Crank sensor, and fixing my air ride, so the car is pretty close to 'correct', minus this suspected bad ground issue.