Hello all - a newbie to this site, but NOT a newbie to mechanical maladies.......

I have an A4 Avant quattro TDi (1.9) and it suddenly has a starting problem (began yesterday) in that it needs to be cranked a lot longer than it used to to start.

It has not (so far) refused to start but this may happen further down the line. It used to start instantly in all weathers/temperatures so not sure why this is happening? Anyone seen this with their car? Anyone got a fix for it or at least a reason? Having just replaced the suspension & fitted a new clutch/DMF, I would hate this to suddenly become yet another expensive problem......

Edited June 7, 20178 yr by boffin486
Bold

Welcome to the forum Phil :) 

sorry to hear your having issues. 

The simplest thing could be the glowplugs. When was the car last serviced? In failing that it could be the leads or injectors. 

Hopefully some of the more experienced members will be able to advise further.

cheers

steve

Hello Phil,

Wonered if you could let us know if this problem occurs when starting from cold - or hot - or both. 

Kind regards, 

Gareth

Hi all, thanks for the replies - the problem seems to be at all temperatures except, occasionally, it starts first time just like it always did before.

Suspect maybe a poor electrical connection on a sensor or relay may be the cause - just unsure exactly where to look.......

Hello Phil,

I would think Darren on here would be your man to suggest what is wrong, but I guess your assumptions may be possibles. Wondered if the delayed starting is accompanied by excessive diesel smell or some smoke when it does actually start. Also if you have had it plugged in to see what fault codes may come up. 

Darren will no doubt make some valid suggestions, but I just wonder if all other things are OK on the fuel supply side, if one ie more of the injectors may be starting to give problems. There is a relatively simple (with the right equipment) test to check these.

Kind regards ,

Gareth.

Hello again, there is no smell of diesel and I don't think it smokes on starting but I may get the chance at the weekend to plug VCDS in to find out what fault codes are stored to try & get a handle on whats wrong. Thank you all for your replies so far, I'll get back to you on  this.

Hey Boff, I've just replaced the secondary power cable that attaches to the battery terminal and didn't realise there's a plate fuse in the lil box that was barely contacting and then sometimes perfectly fine, the symptoms were a strobed dash and slow starting. You never know you might get away with a £14 part. 

10 hours ago, OCV said:

Hey Boff, I've just replaced the secondary power cable that attaches to the battery terminal and didn't realise there's a plate fuse in the lil box that was barely contacting and then sometimes perfectly fine, the symptoms were a strobed dash and slow starting. You never know you might get away with a £14 part. 

That's a good call actually. Had very similar issue with the girlfriends Colt. But I refused to pay nearly £200 for a new part. So I hot knifed it apart and soldered in a new piece and hey presto a car that starts again as it should.

Hello all - The problem appears to have rectified itself! Car is starting normally again, I suspect there may have been some dampness had got in where it shouldn't have & has now dried up. Yay.

I do have an Audi 1.9tdi (B6) of 2003 that is slow to start anytime it feels like especially when it is hot.in The morning it is not a problen to start even if you park it for long it starts okay