engine dies when put in reverse

yvon g

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
TDI
2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
a while ago every once in a while, not very often, the engine would die when car put in reverse. today i had to push car out of parking spot because every time it was put in reverse, engine died and air bag light stayed on . if i tried to start engine while in reverse, it would crank but no start. put it in neutral , started ok....no cel. drove home and into drive way, but need to back out to get out. any ideas....ecm...shift linkage touching harness some where ? sorry 2003 jetta tdi mt

thanks



tried to check if back up lights come on ...update is with key on and shifter put in reverse, all dash lights go out. also where is the connector for the back up light switch




 
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yvon g

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
TDI
2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
dies when in reverse

i disconnected the back up light switch. now i can back up without killing the engine. noticed that when i put the park brake on, my air bag light comes on.where can i find the pin positions for the ecm. suspect that corrosion could be the culprit. would like to what pins are close to the troublesome circuits to see what could next to act up.

thanks
 

tophergrace

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Ohio
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Alh
sounds like you're onto something. I'd check your drains in the front windshield duct as well. They are known for clogging and retaining water
 

Seatman

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2014 Skoda rapid elegance 1.6 cr tdi
3 earth points under the battery tray that are a common one, I think the reverse switch earths in the too.
 

whitedog

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Bend, Oregon
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2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
any one with pin positions in the ecm for an 03 jetta tdi?
In my opinion, digging into pinouts for the ECU is a waste of time. You have broken wires somewhere. Start by doing a good inspection of the wire harness. I went through something similar on a Duramax. It would die going over bumps. Looked over the engine compartment and saw a wire harness sitting on an aluminum boost pipe and it had black around it. Inspected it and found two CAN wires worn through and they would move just right and short together through the pipe.

What I'm saying is looking and understanding what you see is key to a good visual inspection.
 

UhOh

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Chafed wires in a VW, nah!;):rolleyes:
 

yvon g

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Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
TDI
2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
chaffed wires are possibility for back up lights stalling out engine, but i don't think chaffed wires would cause the air bag light to come on when park brake is applied.
 

yvon g

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Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
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2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
3 earth points under the battery tray that are a common one, I think the reverse switch earths in the too.
to get the wires under the tray, can you get at them with just the battery removed or does the tray have to come off. tried to feel for them on Saturday....could get at them.
 

wonneber

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Monroe, NY, USA
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2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
to get the wires under the tray, can you get at them with just the battery removed or does the tray have to come off. tried to feel for them on Saturday....could get at them.
Once the battery is out the tray is easy to get out.
How would you see what you are doing anyway?
 

Seatman

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2014 Skoda rapid elegance 1.6 cr tdi
to get the wires under the tray, can you get at them with just the battery removed or does the tray have to come off. tried to feel for them on Saturday....could get at them.

Yeh it's only 4 10mm bolts anyway, you can get some lube on them from below if they're a bit snappy offy tight. Once it's out though you can clearly see the earths.
 

wonneber

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Monroe, NY, USA
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2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
The dashboard parking light and the air bag spiral spring (in the steering wheel) both ground at the same point.
Below left side of the dash.
Maybe a bad ground feedback.
Its also a spot water from the sun roof drain can rust if I recall correctly. :)
 

yvon g

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Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
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2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
bad ground

finally got around to checking this out. removed battery tray and found good grounds at the large one closest to the engine and the one closest to the left fender, but thee middle shows about 1000 ohms.checked the one under dash, (about trwo inches to the left of steering colounm with two brown wires going to it). this ground is good. where do the middle grounds under battery lead to in order to check other ends? thanks. removed rain tray. all dry and looks clean, the ground point by the ecm is good. if i check continuity between the two bad grounds under battery, they are infinite.
 
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wonneber

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2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
Where are the 2 leads going to when you get the '1000 ohms' ?
Did you clean the ones under the battery tray? That would have been the time to do it.
There are 2 grounds under my dash. (iIrc)
Right side of the steering column and left side of the dash.
Might be one under the left kick panel for the door. (iIrc)

'if i check continuity between the two bad grounds under battery, they are infinite'
If they are on the same connection bolt they should have continuity.
Remove all under the tray and clean them.
I did not loose my radio settings when I disconnected the battery for this, only the trip mileage & clock.
 

yvon g

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Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
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2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
yes i cleaned all three grounds under battery tray. the two bad brown wires go into a large harness and go towards inside of car. when i checked resistance from battery ground cable to brown wires , i was reading about 1000 ohms. when i checked from one brown to the other, read infinite. did not see ground to the right of steering shaft, but the one to the left is good. i tried prying back the panel to access kick panel. no wires seen there.
 

indysoto

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Location
Eugene, OR
no i do not
Darn..Dunno how much water this holds but someone mentioned in another thread that putting the car in reverse was enough to tweak a leaking vaccum hose and cause a stall. Maybe look and see if there are any danglers near the linkage? or set your cell video up and see if the motor tweaks slightly.
 

yvon g

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Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
TDI
2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
The dashboard parking light and the air bag spiral spring (in the steering wheel) both ground at the same point.
Below left side of the dash.
Maybe a bad ground feedback.
Its also a spot water from the sun roof drain can rust if I recall correctly. :)
where exactly do mean by below left side of dash? are you talking about the two browns about 2 inches from steering shaft? or behind the left kick panel? i tried pulling back the carpet and looked to see a ground point but i didn't see any wires in that area. the two by steering shaft are good.
thanks for any additional input. i guess what I'm looking for is a common ground for these circuits :back up lights, park brake and air bag system. also, if the air bag light is on, engine cranks but no start.
 

BobnOH

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central Ohio
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New Beetle 2003 manual
Have you ruled out that all this is not just a really old really wore out battery?
 

whitedog

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Bend, Oregon
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Check my no start thread in the stickies in TDI 101. I seem to recall the same thing happening to someone and it was in the wiring but I don't recall the details.
 

wonneber

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Location
Monroe, NY, USA
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2014 Jetta Sportwagon,2003 Jetta 261K Sold but not forgotten
where exactly do mean by below left side of dash? are you talking about the two browns about 2 inches from steering shaft? or behind the left kick panel? i tried pulling back the carpet and looked to see a ground point but i didn't see any wires in that area. the two by steering shaft are good.
thanks for any additional input. i guess what I'm looking for is a common ground for these circuits :back up lights, park brake and air bag system. also, if the air bag light is on, engine cranks but no start.
I got the location from wiring diagrams I have.
It gives a general location.
Could be the one you mentioned.
 

yvon g

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Sep 12, 2002
Location
Salisbury New Brunswick Canada
TDI
2014 jetta trendline 2.0 liter
the one at bottom of left a pillar is the one i could't see.if it 's there, I'll just have to peel back more carpet to find it. the light itself doesn't bother me that much, but lately, the colder it gets, the longer the air bag light stays on. just worried that if that ground location is for other circuits as well, my problems could get worse. thanks in advance for info you can provide.
 

indysoto

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Location
Eugene, OR
the one at bottom of left a pillar is the one i could't see.if it 's there, I'll just have to peel back more carpet to find it. the light itself doesn't bother me that much, but lately, the colder it gets, the longer the air bag light stays on. just worried that if that ground location is for other circuits as well, my problems could get worse. thanks in advance for info you can provide.
Did you reset the computer/ecu?
 
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