sp80

Hello everyone. I have been a proud owner of a 98 Audi A4 1.8T 5 speed for the past 2 years. I have not had any problems out of it yet up until now. I dont know too much about cars but here it goes...

Just recently the spedo cluster started beeping 3 times when I would start it (did that on about 4 seperate occasions) and then it eventually did not start due to a dead battery. I had the battery tested and it was completely toast. I didnt get the alternator tested. So my car sat in my driveway for a little over a week until I was able to get a replacement battery.

I just got one today and hooked it up and the car started just fine, but now it has developed a rough idle problem. The car runs and drives fine, but when I put in the clutch the idle jumps up and down about 3 times before settling in at the proper speed. This happens whether the car is moving or sitting still. Basically whenever I push in the clutch. I can also rev the engine when parked and it will have the jumpy idle as well after I let off the gas pedal.

Just wanted to get some ideas of what you guys think it could be. Also I have a VAGCOM cable and the software... would that be able to give me any insight into this problem. My car is also a couple hundred miles past due for an oil change, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. Could it possibly be a problem with the alternator?

Here is a youtube video someone else made. My car is doing the same exact thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdiscjlLKZw

Any info you guys could give me would be great. Thanks in advance for your time.

AudiMick

It's possible you have reset your ECU when your battery went dead. Do a TBA (throttle body adaptation) from VAG.com.

Your car may need to relearn setup parameters and until then may not run well.

600whpA4

Which IIRC is block 098 for the ndbw cars or somewhere near that or you can try using 060 but that ends to be for the dbw cars.

sp80

That sounds entirely possible... I am going to look into that further.


The Vag cable I have is an el cheapo from ebay... Would I be able to do that using my cable or does that require the official expensive one?

sp80

How can I tell if my car is DBW or not?

Also, I did the TBA using my vag.com cable according to http://www.wak-tt.com/vagcom/vagcomt...ebodyadapt.htm

I tried both 060 and 098 and was unable to get the same results as the website. I did not get a step count... In that box all it said was idle. When I do it I can hear it moving in the engine bay but then in the first 2 boxes it settles at 3 and 3 (that cant be right!?! those are the min values) and the problem still remains.

Am I doing something wrong?

Do I need to drive my car more to let the computer relearn the parameters and try again? Or is it dangerous for me to drive it in its current state?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

nooB5

Model years thru '99.5 are Non-DBW.
2000 and up are DBW.

600whpA4

You did the throttle adapt with the key on and the motor off right?

If it did not work using the vagcom, just unhook the battery again and then reconnect it. This time make sure to turn the key on for 30 seconds before starting the car.

footyboyack

Very likely just needs the TBA Adap. My 99' AWD 1.8T had the same symptoms when I left the lights on for several days, draining the battery. Idle was very erratic, and car almost stalled, but the car was able to relearn parameters after 15-20 miles of driving around. I also tried a VAG-COM-less TBA adap. that I read about on this forum, which entailed turing the key on, listening to the TB until all clicks ceased (~2 min), and slowly pressing the throttle all the way to WOT and holding for 5-10 seconds, then turning key to off position while still holding.

sp80

You guys are so smart

My car took about 30 miles to relearn and it is running great now. First time a car has ever fixed itself for me Man I love my Audi