Marly

I've been having trouble starting my 1996 A4 Quattro for the past 3 months. My mechanic has checked everything, including replacing the spark plugs. He says his next option is to replace the plugs with German sparkplugs. One of the fellows at work concurs that this sounds like a good idea. What do you folks out there in cyberworld think?

4AudiQ

<img src="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/81050/img_0827.jpg">







I have not had 1 problem with them.

JWG

Unlike people, machines do not discrimnate based on nationality.

I think you have a few questions to ask yourself:

Have you VAGCOM'ed the car to look for DTC's?
Do you suffer misfires?
Have you checked if your plugs meet the heat specs for the engine?
Have you "read" the plugs you have to diagnose the problem?
Have you checked the gap on the plugs you have?
When did you last decarbonize the combustion chambers?
Weak battery (how many volts/amps)?
Weak starter (does it get a good bite on the flywheel)?
Weak coils (any two plugs that are connected to the same coil not firing well)?
Weak ignition amplifier (resistance across the amp itself)?
Old plug wires (90,000 miles or more)?
What kind of fuel do you use (91 r+m/2 or better)?
When did you last replace the fuel filter (with timing belt)?
When did you last run a fuel system cleaner (every oil change)?
When did you last replace the fuel pressure regulator (common trouble point for lots of fuel related issues)?
When did you last have your fuel injectors ultrasonically cleaned (very worth while investment)?
When did you last check the resistance across the fuel injector connectors?
Et cetera . . .