Greg_Morgan
Member
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2005
- TDI
- 2003 Beetle Midnight Blue
Yesterday My 03 (71K Miles) NB began to have trouble starting.
It goes like this:
CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUGCHUGCHCH VROOM!
It is almost as if the battery is dead, but we replaced the battery just four weeks ago, and the old battery would go:
CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000,2,2000)CH(1000,2,2000,3,3000) Nothing....You know, like a dying battery should do.
It startes everytime eventually, so I have ruled out the battery.
So anyhow, yesterday we were not getting any lights on the dash. Today at noon however, on the fourth hard start I get the blinking glow plug and Check Engine Light. "Ahh, Bad GP's, possible harness, read about this before and Wingnut has that great FAQ"...
So off to the forums I go looking for info on replacing the glow plugs and harness and start coming across all sorts of terrible threads where people have shot heads and blown fuel pumps and now I am starting to have all sorts of terrible visions of coolant in my electrical system, which would make sense as one of my front headlights works itermittently, fog lights don't work at all, and the airbag light is on.
Sheesh. My car has issues. I'll keep posting to this thread to build upon the repository of what can go wrong with these cars, and what fixes them.
Steps To Take:
Go to AutoZone, get the code
Replace Fuel Filter (it is time)
Replace Glow Plugs
Replace GP Harness
Check Relay 109
I did notice that my last battery appears to have leaked acid onto the parts below it. What important electrical and starting parts are underneath the battery?
Thanks for Reading! I will post results as I go through the troubleshooting steps.
It goes like this:
CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000)CHUGCHUGCHCH VROOM!
It is almost as if the battery is dead, but we replaced the battery just four weeks ago, and the old battery would go:
CHUG(1000)CHUG(1000,2,2000)CH(1000,2,2000,3,3000) Nothing....You know, like a dying battery should do.
It startes everytime eventually, so I have ruled out the battery.
So anyhow, yesterday we were not getting any lights on the dash. Today at noon however, on the fourth hard start I get the blinking glow plug and Check Engine Light. "Ahh, Bad GP's, possible harness, read about this before and Wingnut has that great FAQ"...
So off to the forums I go looking for info on replacing the glow plugs and harness and start coming across all sorts of terrible threads where people have shot heads and blown fuel pumps and now I am starting to have all sorts of terrible visions of coolant in my electrical system, which would make sense as one of my front headlights works itermittently, fog lights don't work at all, and the airbag light is on.
Sheesh. My car has issues. I'll keep posting to this thread to build upon the repository of what can go wrong with these cars, and what fixes them.
Steps To Take:
Go to AutoZone, get the code
Replace Fuel Filter (it is time)
Replace Glow Plugs
Replace GP Harness
Check Relay 109
I did notice that my last battery appears to have leaked acid onto the parts below it. What important electrical and starting parts are underneath the battery?
Thanks for Reading! I will post results as I go through the troubleshooting steps.