99.5 won't start... Help please

Went to start my 99.5 this morning and wouldn't start. It's between -5 and -15 with wind chill right now. The glow plug indicator stays on a lot longer then usual.

When I went to turn it over after the GP light went over it was a very pathetic glugging sound start attemp then stopped. Turned it off, put it on accessory mode til GP light when off again and all I heard was clicking with the dashboard indicators flashing. Also noticed the time reset to 12:00.

Ran fine yesterday. Any help would be amazing

Sounds like you need a new battery. How old is the current one that you have?
Most batteries start giving up the ghost around 5 years, sometimes less sometimes more. The cold really brings this out.

No idea how old the battery is I bought it used. Any idea the average cost for a new battery?

I'm hoping if its anything that it is the battery and not altenator. Gonna try when I get home from work after it warms up a SLIGJT but and try and see what I get

Called around. 99 from wal mart 159 from advanced auto. I neglected to get brand. Does that make much of a difference?

Also try the dealer they seem to have good prices for some reason.
What's important is to have the correct CCA for a diesel not a gasser.
I've never been much of a brand person, my biggest thing was cost and warranty .

Yea true. What is CCA?

I have been driving for 10 yrs, probably 7 different cars and have never had to buy a new battery so I know nothing about them. Thanks

Cold Cranking Amps. .

Would new battery be the best bet as to what's wrong?

Most likely. When the alternator goes bad and stops charging the battery, it usually makes the battery light come on when the engine is running.

Believe it or not, a new battery from VW is cheaper (around $130), and has more amp hours in it, meaning its capacity is greater. Most of my customers get well over 5 years (one is at 11) on a stock VW battery.

-Rich

from what you are describing, yes it does sound like that is your issue - but if you want to check, put a set of jumper cables on and it should start up after receiving a jump from another car.

If you battery shop, make sure you get an 80 Ah (amp hour) battery. The OEM battery from the dealership is one of the rarer good values from the dealership, as those batteries seem to go 6-7 years.

Kirk

I was thinking about jumping it and taking it to advanced. They can test batteries there right?

So I want an 80 Ah battery. What about CCA?

Dealership is 40 minutes away so Wal Mart or Advanced would be my best and easiest bet

You want a group 94 with 80 AH with a min CCA of 640 or higher. My .02.

Yes, get a 94R at Wallyworld if you can.

Hooked up cables when I got home an after sitting for 15 minutes it turned. Got to wal mart and they tested it and said it needs to be charged and is losing CCA. Just getting it replaced since all this week we aren't even supposed to get above 20

Cranking amps and cold cranking amps are not the entire story on batteries. Without an amp hour (ah) rating, it is very difficult to tell. The only other indicator that might help is the reserve capacity (RC) if it is available. There are various opinions on this, but a factor of .5 or .6 (depends on who you ask) will yield an amp hour rating by multiplying the factor by the RC minutes.

VW OEM batteries with 80 ah would look abysmal if the CA and CCA ratings were published, yet they perform admirably in this application.

A cheapie battery from wally world will be a disappointment in just a couple of years. And they aren't that cheap, either.

Check the battery for a good warranty, and good RC before pulling the trigger. If I were you, I'd get 140 RC as a minimum.

Cheers,

PH

I've been buying my batteries from Costco my entire life and never had a problem with them. I would give Costco a shot. But yes, your battery is the problem - 100%.