Car won't start. Need help troubleshooting.

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
I know I am going to forget some detail when I type this up...

1999.5 Jetta TDI. 311K miles. Timing belt was new 25K ago. Good battery (2 years old and just tested -1,000ish cca), new starter. Alternator is 2 years old.

On Saturday I parked the car in the garage and shut it off. There was 0 issues with anything. When I got in Monday morning, it barely cranked and wouldn't fire up. I put the car on the battery charger and took the Jeep to work. Got home Monday night, it still barely cranked. I suspected the starter as it has seemed to be struggling recently, but decided to pull the battery and have it tested. Everything tested good. Engine RPM's when starting did not exceed 180 RPM. **Note, the rocketchip has flashed this ECM to fix the hot start problem**

I next pulled the starter and it was obviously bad. I was going to R&R it, but it appeared the bearing was also shot, so I bought a rebuilt lifetime starter from NAPA. Stuck it in and it turns over like new. RPM's in excess of 250.

Still no start. The car has a newer relay 109. The GP light comes on briefly on the dash when the key is first turned on. I hear the click from the IP solenoid. The car car no indication of problems prior to this, other than it was smoking a little more than usual when accelerating. No CEL's. When the TB was done 25k ago, the local guru indicated that it appears the IP is getting worn as the IQ was bouncing a little. Will the IP suddenly fail and not allow a car to start?

The next thing I did was to pull the fuel lines off the filter. No fuel came out. 1/2 tank full, or 1/2 empty - take your pick. :) I checked my records, and the fuel filter is beyond due to be changed. It will be changed next, but could it suddenly plug? I pulled the filter out, tipped it either way and fuel came out of both sides. I opened the water separator on the bottom and let fuel come out. I put it all back in and cranked again with nothing. VGCS shows that it is giving a value for the fuel pump. I have not put my multimeter on the solenoid yet to verify voltage, but it is clicking.

I need some help for my next move. I'll be at work and may not be able to respond during the day to people comments, but I will try my best to respond. What should I check next?
 

csstevej

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Location
north nj
TDI
2001 golf tdi 4 door auto now a manual, mine, 2000 golf 2 door M/T son's,daughters 98 NB non-TDI 2.0, 2003 TDI NB for next daughter, head repaired and on road,gluten for punishment got another tdi 2001NB,another yellow tdi NB
Get a plastic bottle with fuel in it and hand it higher than the IP. Connect a hose from that to the IP, make sure it's full of fuel. Try to start the car. If it starts then you are getting air into your fuel system, either through the IP pump, or the Mickey mouse fitting on the fuel filter. One other thing it could be is a blocked port in the fuel sending unit, try to suck fuel through the fuel filter with a mity vac or equivilant . My .02.
 

KLXD

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Location
Lompoc, CA
TDI
'98, '2 Jettas
I would've cracked the nuts on the injectors and cranked it to see if they were getting fuel.

Doing it now would be inconclusive since you've filled the filter with air but would be helpful along with the above to get it reprimed.

Do you have any type of vacuum pump?
 

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
csstevej - I will try that with the fuel. I'll have an extra set of hand tonight, or i would have tried that last night. I'm going to swing by Harbor Freight tonight to buy a hand vacuum to see if I can pull fuel through. I can halfway prime a new filter that way too.

KLXD - I know... I thought about that at the time, but couldn't find the correct wrench. I should have waited till I found it. I'll get the vacuum pump tonight and hopefully that will clear up if their is a blockage somewhere.
 

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
OK, no problem pulling fuel through the filter. I hooked two funnels up on the lines into the IP. The one closest to the firewall, did not seem to pull much fuel into it. The other one, closer to the bumper, sucked the fuel in... but no start. Put the multi-meter on the solenoid on the IP and it showed 12 volts. What now?
 

jheen

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 24, 2004
Location
Salem, OR
TDI
Jetta 2012 TDI Sedan
So I finally got to the bottom of this. Turns out there is a small leak off the injection pump. A combination of a very weak starter that had a shot bearing and the grease inside had gone away, a past due for a change fuel filter, and a leak of the injection pump. I got the new filter in and used the hand vacuum to get purge the air out and it started. Now to repair the IP leak. Thanks for the feedback KXLD and csstevej!
 
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