Intermittent no crank on cold weather

**michaellw** · 03-05-2016 08:41 AM

Hi there!
I am getting these intermittent no crank on my Audi A4 Quattro 2000, 2.8L Automatic. It seems to do it more often on cold weather (-20 C).
It would finally crank and start after around 5mins of repeated Run and key OFF. And after it did start once, you could turn it off then crank as much as you want. But if you let it sit for about 3-4 hours of cold weather, you'll have to wiggle with the key again.

Here is what I tried so far:
I did clean the starter and alternator terminals.
While it is doing the problem, I did bypass the switch with a 12v wire to the solenoid; you could ear it engage but not turn.
(The 12v signal does come when you turn the key to run)
Having the starter hammered a little bit while having a friend attempting to crank didn't made it.

The constant 12v gives me same reading than the battery.
I did Positive and negative voltage drop (while it was not doing the trouble) and they both passed at 0.2V

The battery is good (replaced before winter)
The starter has 19 000 Kilometers (January 2014) (Proof of receipt from previous owner, part did cost 220+tx)

*So my guess is either the starter gone bad again... maybe it was a cheap one?
Or the engine is hard to turn over when it's very cold outside...
What I didn't try yet is to turn the engine over by hand a little bit while it is doing the problem to see if the starter could then turn it over itself.

What do you guys think before I just go and buy another starter?

Thanks you!

**michaellw** · 03-05-2016 08:45 AM

Oh and I forgot to say... I'm not sure it might be normal or related, but when the car is running at idle with a certain load of accessories (Heater, radio,...), The alternator is giving me around 12.6V instead of 14.0V which I get when I give it just a little bit more RPM.
Alright thank you for your time in advance.

**GrapeBandit** · 03-05-2016 08:55 AM

crank position sensor

**michaellw** · 03-05-2016 09:02 AM

Originally Posted by GrapeBandit

crank position sensor

I think it would still crank but not start, right?
And the only code I am getting is from a O2 Sensor.

**MetalMan** · 03-05-2016 09:14 AM

Originally Posted by michaellw

I think it would still crank but not start, right?

Correct. Crank position sensor will cause intermittent no-start condition until the car will no longer fire (or it will just fail outright).

Have you considered the ignition switch?

**michaellw** · 03-05-2016 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by MetalMan

Have you considered the ignition switch?

I thought about it at first but I did bypass it while it was doing the trouble and it would not turn the engine over, just a simple "Toc" noise from the starter like it try to engage.