A4 B6 convetible starting issues

[sergeant cookie]

Hi all

Recently bought an Audi A4 B6 convertible 3.0 V6 Quattro.

All was good until I drove it to my local supermarket the other day. When I come from out the shop the car had trouble starting, but I managed to get it going in the end (think I pressed on the accelerator). Anyway, never really thought any more about it and just saw it as an inconvenience more than anything. A couple of nights ago, I went to the supermarket again, come out about 10 mins later, and again the car wouldn't start. This time the accelerator trick didn't work either. After about 20 mins of trying I decided to call the RAC out. When he turned up he did the usual stuff and pretty much the car started straight away for him.

He asked a few questions that I found odd at the time of him asking but after asking him why he asked it made sense. He said 'Has the car been standing for some time'? To which I answered yes around 3-4 months. 'When you last had trouble starting it, did you press the accelerator?' Yes, yes I did. He then plugged in his diagnostic machine, and after some connection issues, it finally connected and the ECU threw up faults on pretty much everything, he said some could be down to low voltage, but also could be a problem of condensation in the ECU? He showed me where to look for water (one of the fuse boxes on the O/S of the bonnet just under the wipers, and said he can see moisture in there so it needs to be dried out. He also said it could be an issue of over fuelling, thus flooding the engine as both trips to the supermarket have been straight from home, which is less than a 2 mile trip.

I went out in it tonight, and taking into consideration what he told me about short journeys, I went the long way round to my destination which was about 4 miles away but ended up doing something like 6 or 7. After an hour or maybe longer of the car been sat there switched off, I got back in it and it wouldn't start. I tried several times, using the accelerator again, and it finally fired up after several attempts. When I arrived home, I pulled into the drive and switched it off, and thought I'd just give it a try to start it back up, and low and behold, it wouldn't start.

So, has anybody got any ideas and has the RAC guy got it spot on, as he says this can be a common problem for cars that sit around for a while (getting condensation in the ECU)?