2000 VW Golf TDI WON'T START

adamtrax

New member
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Location
toronto
TDI
2000 tdi 2dr 300k
Ok, I've had this car for a while now, and really have not had any issues with it except today which of course is driving me crazy...

Sequence of Events.

Pull over at a gas station-fill up the tank half away...try to start the car and it does nothing except crank 5 times...i waited may be 2 minutes and the car started no problem...

Drove maybe 40km and was intrigued what was happening...pull over at another gas station, shut the engine off and turn it on immediately...no problem....then waited 2 minutes and tried to start the car again and all it did was crank several times...waited another 10 minutes, it was a hot day...and the car would still not start, it was just cranking all the time...by this time the battery was getting weak and noticed a tow truck nearby and tried getting a boost...to no avail during the boost the car still wouldn't start and gave up because you could smell the wires? checked everything mechanically, all seemed good, oil, belt, etc...however i did notice a gap of about 2 inches in the clear line which feeds the fuel (is this something to be concerned about)? had the car towed to my place and still the same cranking until battery goes very low?

I asked a friend and he said it might be a power supply relay?

Any help would be greatful.

Adam
 

ymz

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 12, 2003
Location
Between Toronto & Montreal
TDI
2003 Jetta TDI Wagon, 2003 Jetta TDI Wagon
"Main Power Relay" (p/n 1J0906381A) is what VW dealers call it... We call it "Relay 109" around here - as that's the number that's printed on the relay box when you look at the relay panel under the dash... (some say it looks like 601...)

Very common cause of symptoms like yours.

Another thing to check: the shutoff valve (butterfly) at the entry to the intake manifold... sometimes it gets stuck in the closed position...

All the best,

Yuri.

PS: whereabouts in Toronto are you? Many folks around here have some expertise with these cars and would be glad to help...
 

adamtrax

New member
Joined
Jun 13, 2007
Location
toronto
TDI
2000 tdi 2dr 300k
I'm in Etobicko,,,many thanks, i'll try the relay tomorrow? how about the shutoff valve, easy do it your self job?
 

Curious Chris

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jun 11, 2001
Location
Pineview GA
TDI
Jetta Wagon 2003 RIP Rockford IL
Oh the shut valve is the butterfly valve located in the EGR body. It has a vacuum pot that closes it momentarily when you turn off the ignition so the engine stops quickly. If you get more that a slight amount of oily soot in the EGR body, the momentary closing turns into stuck closed. You check these by manually closing the valve, then release and it should pop open; if it hesitates or stays shut you then need to clean out your intake.
 

rdkern

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 21, 2004
Location
Humboldt Co CA
TDI
Passat 1997 silver (sold after 11 years), Jetta 2000 atlantic blue
If the car doesn't start, look under the hood to see if the anti-shutter valve is stuck closed. If so, pull it open, and fix it when you have time. The relay 109 sounds more likely - does the glow plug light come on (even momentarily) when you turn the key in the "no-start" situations? If so, change the relay.
 
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