Starter Spin - no start

rozey said:

Update - I replaced the starter and now all works perfectly. It also solved the chugging and smoking at first start.

Thanks Again

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Coolness. Now have you had the timing set to where it starts the best?

I have not had the timing set. Do I need Vag-Com for that or just play around with rotating the injection pump?

by all means use a VagCom. Very touchy adjustment.

Thanks - I've got 2 TDI's so a Vag-Com will probably be worth the investment.

I've found this thread because i have just come back from a drive which hasn't been for a while now.......after a few issues had just been sorted out(retarded timing / noisy lifters / retarded cam timing) and on giving it some hammer on a long straight i heard i whining noise which seems to go away the higher the rpm's rise.


I stopped the car to investigate but could not find anything a miss , i even took the timing cover off and found everything in place......i started back on home and found that when starting in first gear as normal there was some drag on the car and it stalled out.......i got closer to home and it happened again but this time it would not start (its a new battery) and would barely crank over............i got lucky and a few young lads one of which i new gave me a push i tried to crank it and it started up and i managed to get home.......but it's noisy when driving and not just on start up unlike most people with similar issues on this thread......*** going on here!!!!.

I appoligise for my motor being an A3 but could only find this reverent thread.....and the starter is not yet just spining (yet!!)

Come on guy's have i simply got a case of a diffective/broken starter motor.....and that i need to replace it!!

A defective starter won't make your car stall and lose power.

Anyone still on here? Same problem as original poster but with some new info

Hey guys so i have exact same issue as OP. So i changed my starter brand new one and installed it myself... however, in cold weather car still does same thing. anyone have any ideas? i see check ground connections is this just the one right off of battery to starter? is there another one i can check? at present i have to try like 7-8 times before it will start. occasionally i get nothing but spinning and sometimes i get from 1-7 revolutions before it either spins out or fires up.... thoughts??? thanks

OPs issue was fixed with new starter, 12 years ago.
If yours just spins free could be busted flywheel teeth, or more likely, you got a bad starter. Check the ground at top of transmission case and the B+ battery to starter.

If it's like mine.....your problem will disappear in warmer weather. Above about 40 degrees and mine works perfect. My starter is rebuilt new. Got another new under warranty and does the exact thing.

Why is it temperature dependent?

doesn't spin freely all the time, only every now and then or, after turning over 2-7 times.
are bad starters common?
ill check ground for sure at top of transmission. sorry i dont know what you mean when you say B+ battery to the starter. apologies for my ignorance.

LandlockedIslander said:

doesn't spin freely all the time, only every now and then or, after turning over 2-7 times.
are bad starters common?
ill check ground for sure at top of transmission. sorry i dont know what you mean when you say B+ battery to the starter. apologies for my ignorance.

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Your symptoms are different than OP. What are your symptoms?
New or certified Bosch rebuilds rarely fail, others, ebay, Amazon, are not so reliable.
B+ wire is the heavy red (I think) wire that goes straight from the battery to the starter, the big one. Sometimes the terminal gets yucky, occasionally the wire itself can rot from the inside, harder to see.

BobnOH said:

Your symptoms are different than OP. What are your symptoms?
New or certified Bosch rebuilds rarely fail, others, ebay, Amazon, are not so reliable.
B+ wire is the heavy red (I think) wire that goes straight from the battery to the starter, the big one. Sometimes the terminal gets yucky, occasionally the wire itself can rot from the inside, harder to see.

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my symptoms are quoted in your response, not sure what you're looking for. Ill elaborate on them if thats helpful.

cold weather hit and car starter began spinning occasionally before catching and turning over the engine.

i replaced the starter in response to this happening. i purchased a new starter from lords auto parts and installed it myself. i cleaned wire that goes straight from battery to starter.

uupon completion car started without minimal spinning before starting.

now
one week later when weather is very cold starter motor may spin before catching, i release the key out of start position and i hear same thing OP did. i re try to start and it turns over from between 2-7 times before free spinning again.

i retry it does the same thing again.

and then it starts and i go where i have to go. thanks so much for any help.

LandlockedIslander said:

occasionally i get nothing but spinning and sometimes i get from 1-7 revolutions before it either spins out or fires up.... thoughts??? thanks

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Sounds like the Bendix drive is slipping with the cold.
Do you gear a grinding with the problem? Check the teeth on the flywheel.

Need to start at square one. Verify your battery and cables. Just cleaning the ends won't resolve an issue of corrosion inside the cable (I've cut open a positive cable and found it readily corroded- green powder!). These things can be checked by doing simple voltage drop tests.

Bad voltage/amperage can cause electrical stuff to be flaky.

ok ill check that, thanks guys. any reason why corrosion would be worse in cold?

re bender i think i read previously in this thread that there is no bender in this vw golf 06 tai? is that correct?