04 Golf TDI Quit Running

Was plenty cold this morning (-5), and the beast was slow to crank but fired and idled well. Drove about 3 miles down to the road and stopped at a red light only to have the engine die and it wouldn't restart. Would crank, but wouldn't fire.

Thoughts?

five below? Diesel Gelly maybe back at the lift pump? Needs a warm garage to defrost, a clean fuel filter & some of that anti-gell additive? I've never had it happen but the description sound right.

Yeah, could be gelled fuel. Try warming the whole car in a garage, or just the fuel filter with a blow drier. If the fuel just started to cloud up, the fuel filter will clog with waxy particles, even though the fuel may still be mostly liquid, so this is the most important place to start.

If you can't get the car warmed up, check local auto parts stores or truck stops for a product called PowerService Diesel 9-1-1. Not any other anti-gel product! Other anti-gel products, including those made by PowerService, will have No effect on fuel that is already gelled, even if you use a lot of it.

Don't crank too much with gelled fuel... your fuel injection pump may not be properly lubricated. You don't want to kill a $2,000 fuel injection pump!

maybe it's your in-tank lift pump. park it in a warm garage ovenight, see if she fires up the next day. being an '04 means it's a PD, you could be one of the candidates for in-tank lift pump recall work. if it starts the next day, discard everything i've said. but you never know, they may sputter for days or weeks before dying, or they die instantly. i hope i don't find out myself.

andreigbs said:

maybe it's your in-tank lift pump. park it in a warm garage ovenight, see if she fires up the next day. being an '04 means it's a PD, you could be one of the candidates for in-tank lift pump recall work. if it starts the next day, discard everything i've said. but you never know, they may sputter for days or weeks before dying, or they die instantly. i hope i don't find out myself.

Click to expand...

When you say it's a "PD", what exactly does that mean?

Pump-Duese

2004 on got the individual cylinder cam-operated injectors. No rotary (VE) pump, as before.

The pump recall was for the under hood "tandem" (fuel feed vacuum) pump leakage. That is by VIN #. Call the dealer and see if you qualify.

Also, the intank electric lift pumps on the PDs fail prematurely.

But my guess is fuel gelling, given your description.

--Nate