ALH Cranks, but won't start.

duck-duck-dub

Active member
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Location
Calgary, AB
TDI
1999.5 Golf TDI GL
A couple days ago I took my car (1999.5 Manual Golf TDI) in for a car wash. I had been driving on some muddy gravel roads and the undercarriage and engine bay were quite muddy/dirty. I gave the engine bay a LIGHT rinse with the "spot free rinse" careful not to wash any electronics. Once I was finished, I went to start the car and all I got was a lot of cranking, but no fire. I think something must have gotten wet and shorted out, but I haven't been able to figure it out yet. I ended up getting it towed home where I have been trying to diagnose the issue. I read through the "Car won't start troubleshooting" post, as well as many others. However, I have yet to find anything that describes the symptoms my car has.
Here are some of the issues I have found:
- Cranks, but won't start
- No check engine light or codes (it had both the CEL and codes previously)
- No glow plug light
- Clock is off until the key is turned to the "on" position, and resets back to 12:00
- All other accessory functions work
- Fuses in the driver-side panel are all fine, so are the three on top of the battery
- The ASV seems to be fine
I havent checked the fuel shut off wire yet, but that is my next plan.
Any ideas/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 

tadawson

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Lewisville, TX
TDI
2013 Passat TDI SEL, 2015 Passat TDI SEL
Clock goes back to 12:00? Bad connection somewhere, you are losing power to the clock and who knows what else.

- Tim
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
No GP light when you turn the key to ON initially also may mean other "things" like the fuel solenoid switch may not be working.
Double check that ASV.
 

duck-duck-dub

Active member
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Location
Calgary, AB
TDI
1999.5 Golf TDI GL
I replaced relay #109, it fixed the GP light and CEL and it now starts and runs! The clock a trip are still an issue. There also seems to be a turbo issue, however I believe that is unrelated
 
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