Hot Wiring

[Tommmmd]

Can someone offer me some guidance to hot wire my A4 so I can work on it solo? It's tough to recruit someone just to turn the igntion on & off.

Thx, TD

[rigspelt]

I just wired up a second, paralleled iginition switch in the cabin over the engine. Well worth the few dollars and time spent wiring.

[Baltimore Sailor]

If you just want to turn the engine over without starting it, get a piece of 8 gauge wire with an alligator clip on each end. Clip one end to the large terminal on the solenoid where the battery cable connects, and when you touch it to the "S" terminal on the solenoid it will turn over.

If you want the engine to start and run, first clip another piece of 8 gauge wire between the positive terminal on the coil and the output terminal on the alternator. Then when you touch the "S" terminal with the wire from where the battery connects and the starter turns over, the coil will get power from the alternator and send a spark to the distributor and start the engine. Your gauges probably won't work though, because if the key isn't in the IGN (run) position, they won't get any power.

Be sure to only leave the connection to the "S" terminal for as long as it takes the engine to start -- leaving it on will grind the starter just like turning the key while the engine is on.

Tune-up kits in the old days used to include a switch with a button and connectors for between the large terminal and the "S" terminal. You'd hook it up and press the button and it would kick the engine for as long as you held the button down. It was used to bump the cam in the distributor into position under the points for setting the gap.

[Mark Millbauer]

I carry a remote starter switch on the boat and a couple of 14 gauge electrical jumper test leads for the same reason you mention. A remote starter switch is a hand-held spring loaded push button with two electrical leads with alligator clips on the ends. It's a very common auto repair tool and costs about $10.00 at any parts store.

Mark