Car cranks 3 times then stops..new starter, battery, I searched yada yada

2000 Jetta. I parked it on the 27/28th of December. It got really cold, so I just drove my truck the 12 miles to work. I got it started once sometime between then and now, and I let it run for half an hour or so. Then it sat for another 4 to 5 days. I tried to start it Saturday morning and it cranked so much the battery died, or so I thought. I charged the battery, no luck. I put a jump box on, no luck. I towed it to work and put it in a heated garage, no luck. Pulled the starter and had it tested, it was good. Each time I did this, it would roll over 3-5 times then nothing. Almost like if you had a dead battery. And it rolls over really slow. Something must be putting bad pressure on the engine, because the positive stud on the starter gets hot enough that it smells like it's burning the plastic cover for it. It sounds almost like it's hydrolocked.

I'm stumped and about to set it on fire.

Well...setting it on fire probably will thaw the gelled fuel...

Bad lug or end on the cable going to the starter. That's why it gets hot . . . the energy is making heat, not being used in the starter.

OlyTDI said:

Well...setting it on fire probably will thaw the gelled fuel...

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I was thinking along the same lines except I was thinking of just a fire to warm the oil, but he said it's in a heated garage.

Aside from fire, how about bleeding the pump and injectors? With gelled fuel, you will get air in the system and it needs to be bled.

Your problem sounds like the starter itself or battery cables. I understand you said the starter was tested but I believe thats where you issues lies. If the car started fine before the freezing weather it should be fine afterwards.


Bajan

tadawson said:

Bad lug or end on the cable going to the starter. That's why it gets hot . . . the energy is making heat, not being used in the starter.

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^ THIS ....also just because your starter works on the bench does not mean that it will crank under load.
First I would remove all 4 ends of the main battery cables, pos and neg, and clean/wire brush the contact surfaces really well and then re-tighten them.