Please answer!!! I need to know why my 1985 Audi 5000 won't start.?

Question

We just bought a 1985 Audi 5000 and we can't seem to get it to start. The starter for some reason won't turn over. We think it might be a problem in the neutral safety switch (its an automatic.) but we don't really know anything about that. We turn the key on and crossed the terminals on the starter selinoid and the starter turns but won't turn over the engine. I've heard that Audi's won't start unless it has a fully charged battery so that may be the problem, but it is charged enough to make all the lights in the dash light up and radio work so I'm not sure if thats true or not. I've never had an Audi so I'm kind of lost, we collect VW's so I thought it would be similar. So what could be going on here? Any ideas would be appreciated.

Answer 1

Replace the starter. The starter drive which is called a Bendix on the end of the starter is broken.

Answer 2

I would first start by buying a new battery if the one that came with the car is likely 4 years old, especially if the car hadn't been driven much. That's bad for lead acid batteries that like to be fully charged all the time. You really can't diagnose any cranking or starting problems without knowing that your battery is in first class condition. Do the easy things first before you start replacing major engine components. Note that just because the radio or lights come on does not mean you have a good battery. Bring the old battery with you to the auto store and they will charge and load test it for free and tell you if you need a new battery.

Answer 3

Radios, lights, bells, buzzers and stuff only require about 30 amps.
Starters on the other hand require over 200 amps.

Your battery may have enough power to run all the little things, but not enough to engage the starter.

Try a jump start first. It's cheap and easy.