How long is a "long" crank time?

Im a new TDI owner, so I'm still learning the ropes. I have a 2011 A3 with 89000 miles, I just purchased it two days ago.

So far the car is great, however this morning I started the car after it sat over night. The motor cranked for 2-3 seconds before starting. Not terribly long, but longer than I'm used to. I then saw the "Diagnose Dan" video where he replaced a faulty VVT unit that was causing a long crank time on a cold start. I'm not sure if this is the same issue, or just a glitch. I occasionally got random, long ish cranks on my gas cars even with a good battery. It's hard for me to know how long a long crank is.

Also, according the the manual, I need to turn the key without starting the car and letting the glow plug light go out before starting. I generally forget to do this as I'm not used to it. Not sure how critical it is since temperature is here are in the 60s or 70s.

VVT unit in TDI? Not yet
it should start immediately, half of second, one crankshaft turn is more than enough.
if it takes longer in high temperatures (by high i mean over 10deg celsius) it's usually fuel system allowing air. Is '11 A3 Common rail already in US spec or still PD?

Long crank time? That's a question for your girlfriend

5-6 seconds is long. My first TDI, a '99 A4 Jetta took 3 or 4" until I got a tune (fuel remap), then it was one. Cars do vary. A hot engine can be hard starting especially if timing is advanced.

G-Lab said:

VVT unit in TDI? Not yet
it should start immediately, half of second, one crankshaft turn is more than enough.
if it takes longer in high temperatures (by high i mean over 10deg celsius) it's usually fuel system allowing air. Is '11 A3 Common rail already in US spec or still PD?

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10 deg Celsius is 50 Farenheit, so yes it's been above that quite frequently here. And yes, it's a common rail engine. After the first start of the day it fires up immediately

BobnOH said:

5-6 seconds is long. My first TDI, a '99 A4 Jetta took 3 or 4" until I got a tune (fuel remap), then it was one. Cars do vary. A hot engine can be hard starting especially if timing is advanced.

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Ok, I guess I'm not there yet. until I'm comfortable with what is or isn't normal for a new car I tend to be a bit paranoid. I guess several years of VW ownership will do that to a person. [emoji28]

jmodge said:

Long crank time? That's a question for your girlfriend

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That depends on which one you ask!

Bill1975 said:

That depends on which one you ask!

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You dog!

Bill1975 said:

what is or isn't normal

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3 seconds isn't normal, neither if we talking about tdi cranking or girlfriends
but fixing engine issue may be bit tricky, i wouldnt care much as long it starts.

IMO, anything less than 3 seconds is perfectly fine but all the TDI's i have ever had was always less than 1, usually fires up on the first rotation of the crank. Even when really cold out, as long as the glow plugs are nice and hot it usually starts within the first 4 rotations of the crank, still under a second.
anything over 5 seconds is a sign of something's not working correctly and i would never crank the starter for longer than 10 seconds with 30 seconds of cool off time between.

jmodge said:

Long crank time? That's a question for your girlfriend

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LMAO

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Bill1975 said:

Also, according the the manual, I need to turn the key without starting the car and letting the glow plug light go out before starting. I generally forget to do this as I'm not used to it. Not sure how critical it is since temperature is here are in the 60s or 70s.

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I always remember to heat the glow plugs in my '97 Golf, and it usually starts in a couple of seconds. If it's below freezing, I'll cycle the glow plugs a couple of times before starting.

....funny thing- I just got a 2012 Golf Wagon TDI and it is so similar 'feeling' to my wife's 2.5 gas Golf that I've been forgetting to use the glow plugs. Jump in, turn the key.....

With the glow plugs, the car should start in a second or so....one thous...vroom!

Redrocketdi said:

LMAO

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It figures that a guy who calls himself red rocket would appreciate that remark At the risk of leaving myself open to questionable comments, I had leaky injectors on my AL H that caused this problem, only when cold. Another set of injectors and it fires immediately. I would be suspicious of a fuel leak somewhere.

Guess I will keep an eye on it and see what happens. I have a Vag Com but haven't yet scanned it. It took another 2-3 seconds this morning even after the glow plug light went out. Otherwise I'm really happy with how the car is running. Easily hitting 40 mpg on the highway.

Would extending glow plug time with vCDS help out in this situation?

Also possible the previous battery replacement was an undersized "gasser" model.

So the last two mornings, I cycled the glow plugs on and off three times, and then it started right away. I read that in the common rail engines simply turning the ignition on does not start the fuel pump so perhaps it had something to do with the temperature of the cylinders.