Weird delay in starting my car when cold but only on 1st try

B6/7 S4/RS4
#1

So I’m having this weird problem. It’s not a huge inconvenience but might be something more serious so I thought I’d ask.

When I first try and start the car after I haven’t driven it overnight, I have to wait 4-5 seconds for the engine to actually start. However, if I turn the car off after a few seconds and try again, it starts right away (and of course, the car is still dead cold).
For the remainder of the day, the car starts just fine, even if I’ve left it for hours without driving it. It only happens when I’ve left it alone for many many hours (i.e. over night).

Really strange. Any ideas what it could be?

Starter? Ignition? Over the last month, the initial delay has been getting longer by about 1 second a week or two. At this point, I’m worried that in a month’s time, I might have to wait nearly 10 seconds to start the car when I haven’t driven it for a day.

Oh, and when the car does start after the 4-5 second delay, it starts perfectly as if that delay never occurred in the first place. It’s not like the battery is struggling or anything.

#2

holy crap my car has started to do the EXACT same thing recently…one thing I noticed is that it happens more or less when its cold out. I have a feeling its the starter because I hear a crunching sound when this happens

#3

Had this problem with an outboard evinrude motor. Not the same, I know, but just felt like being a part of the discussion.

Changed all fluids, gave everything a nice coat of grease, and things went back to normal.

If your Audi had an outboard…

#4

Is the pause with the starter, i.e. turn key - pause and no action from starter - end pause starter cranks? Or does the starter crank and the car doesn’t fire for a few seconds but turns over?

If it’s like the former it could be the solenoid on the starter. Mine did that and, when really cold (which sadly it is often in Calgary) it could take quite a while before the starter would crank. So I had to replace it. Not terribly unheard of with S4s BTW.

#5

It is the former. Nothing happens and then everything starts.
How much was the solenoid replacement in terms of parts and labour?

#6

Yep I got a new starter and it solved the same issue. About $500 inc taxes, parts and labour.

#7

That is cheap since a new starter is $200.

#8

Jimmy - Isn’t clutch switch failure pretty common on these cars too? Any way to rule that out before buying a new starter?

#9

I don’t need to press down on my clutch to stat the car so my clutch switch might be toast (but for some reason, my cruise control still works just fine).

Also, this only happens after it’s been left overnight. Every subsequent start is fine. Wouldn’t a faulty clutch switch cause the same thing to happen all the time? Heck, wouldn’t it stop the car from starting at all if it can’t determine if the clutch is down or not?

Confused…

#10

That’s very strange… you definitely shouldn’t be able to start your car without pushing in the clutch. That could be dangerous if you accidentally left it in gear and then cranked it.

I was thinking that maybe the switch sticks initially, but is fine once it frees up. I know I’ve read about issues with the clutch switch before, so I’m just speculating based on that.

#11

I guess, although I never leave it in gear.

But even if it’s been 3-4 hours, it still starts fine. Weird…

#12

The starter celinoid gets cold and wont make the connection to start the car. The heat generated by the electricty heats up the clenioid and after a few min will break free the celinoid and help start the car. The colder the temps are the worse the issues are.

Its a comon issue. Wait till its worm and it will go away… It will still be an issue… it just isn’t as bad when its warm out

#13

You can look through the engine MVBs to see what the ECM is reading. I think it is in the 70-80 range but I don’t remember exactly. Usually it would throw a fault when the clutch switch had gone bad.

I don’t think this is fuel related because it would crank but take longer to start.

#14

Pretty sure that Chris is right. Mine has been doing the same thing all winter. I had to hold the key turned for a minute or so sometimes just to build up enough heat.

I want to fix it but it is getting much better now that spring is almost here. It’s on my to-do list for sure before next winter. It would make me late for work anytime I didn’t plan ahead for it in the morning. My plan is to do motor mounts and a few other goodies at the sale time to save labor.

#15

If a solenoid coil isn’t closing the contacts to get the starter pinion to engage the flywheel then my first thought would be to load test the battery, check the connections for corrosion or looseness, and check resistance through the coil.

#16

If I’m not mistaken there is danger in holding the ignition to start for too long. While i was waiting for the starter I ordered we were experiencing some super cold weather and it would sometimes take several minutes to start. I would not hold the key to start for much more than 5-10 seconds a a time though. Basically if it keeps not working right away I believe you risk damaging other ignition components by continuously trying to start the car. Best just to nut up and fix it.

#17

Luckily, I’ve never had to wait longer than 4-5 seconds. But good to know. (Although I couldn’t fathom having to wait minutes to start my car. Would drive me insane!)

#18

One thing that can be damaged is the solenoid. Solenoids have a duty rating and are generally not meant to be run for extended periods of time. Every time you send current through the coils of the solenoid you are generating heat as you are aware. That heat can eventually damage the solenoid. So if you constantly try cranking the engine over and over and for more than a few seconds, you will certainly risk burning up the solenoid at the very least.

#19

Just to clear this up… the delay is for the motor to actually start right? There is no delay in the actual cranking?

#20

That is correct. The cranking itself (once it starts) is instant (i.e. engine turns on right away). It’s just an eerie “nothings happening” pause. It’s been a bit better recently. Maybe it’s the warmer weather. One guy I spoke with said he had the same problem and it ended up being his starter (after over a year, it finally got really bad he said and he needed to address it).