Won't start

Getting Extremely tired if this pos NOT starting when it's cold out. Always have the additive in the fuel. Have been told by Multiple people a block heater Isn't needed.
Why the F<& wont it start???
Tia.

Good battery, working glow plugs and a great starter and it will start. Most likely not turning fast enough when cold but you really have not provided enough info.

That's what I thought as well. All Are in Great shape far as I know. It spins Fine, but if it Doesn't fire Reasonably soon, the battery drains fast then needs jumped. Might Also try a fresh oil change. It's only been right at 4000miles since the last change. Other than Not starting when it's Cold, it Is a Great little car.

Stella04 said:

Getting Extremely tired if this pos NOT starting when it's cold out. Always have the additive in the fuel. Have been told by Multiple people a block heater Isn't needed.
Why the F<& wont it start???
Tia.

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Are the glow plugs working well (ie: you dont have a glow plug light on)? Sometimes advancing the timing a smidge can help with cold starts.

Do you have access to vcds to read codes and check timing?

Stella04 said:

That's what I thought as well. All Are in Great shape far as I know. It spins Fine, but if it Doesn't fire Reasonably soon, the battery drains fast then needs jumped. Might Also try a fresh oil change. It's only been right at 4000miles since the last change. Other than Not starting when it's Cold, it Is a Great little car.

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You are wasting your time doing an oil change for the purpose of trying to fix your problem. Not only will you get more frustrated because it wont work, you will have spent needless money. Wait until the 10K mile mark to change your oil (you should be using synthetic oil of 5w/40).

First Tia welcome !
Second it would help to know what year your car is , mileage , is it an automatic or a manual.
It would also help to know when and by who did the timing belt change.
Do you have a VCDS that you can scan the car for any codes and check the timing?

What year/model?
What temperature?

What additive?
What battery and low long since replacement (terminals recently cleaned? Water levels recently checked?)
What is your use case - long highway commute, or multiple short trips?
How long since your starter has been either serviced or replaced (they get tired. Amazing the difference in cranking speed when cleaned/brushes replaced (many videos on youtube) or replaced.



Glow plugs are high amperage (50A on BRM). High compression engine takes more to turn over than a gasser (what rpm do you see when cranking?). You also tend to use more heater fan, lights, rear window defrost,and seat warmers in the winter, which all deplete the battery more quickly. Good battery is key. 80AH - CCA don't matter if your glow plugs drop voltage to the point that your old starter just doesn't get the cranking speed high enough. I've had batteries that lasted 5 years, or died within 2.



A good circulating heater - I used FrostHeater ( http://www.frostheater.com/ - I have no commercial interest in the company) for 13 years on my 2006 Jetta TDI - is great and I'd recommend it. My current 2014 Golf Wagon TDI has the factory inline heater and it also works well (standard equipment in Canada - if VW Canada includes them for all up here, I'd respectfully suggest that your multiple people are not correct).

If all those items, starter, glow plugs and battery are up to snuff, check the timing, slightly advanced helps in cold starts. My daughters jetta fires right up, my other daughters beetle needs a slight timing advance which I'm going to get to..eventually, when she lets me have the car for a few minutes.


Edit: Just noticed we don't even know what engine we're talking about ALH, BEW BRM or something else, all are different.

If this is a MKIV: rebuild your starter, or get a new bosch starter. It will probably fix your issue. The reason i saw this is 'the battery drains fast' = too much starter draw.

Pro tip while starting: Raise the parking brake first. It will turn off the DRLs. One less thing to consume the battery.

Thanks everyone. Its an '04 jetta tdi. Not sure which motor. I Juno that late in 04 they switch Motors in it which has more expensive injector which is the motor we have in it it's also a 5-speed it was suggested I change the oil because when you change the oil you also change the fuel filter and somebody said changing the fuel filter might help. I know little to zero of diesels so all of this is fairly new two and a half months ago we'd have the injectors cleaned and some other work done on it I'm not sure what all was done I would have to look at the sheet live in Nebraska last night it got down to like two degrees with the wind chill of -13 even after jump starting it with my Tacoma it took a long time for it to start I have the E-brake on anything electrical off heated seats heater radio the door is closed so the dome lights not on Etc the battery still seems to drain relatively fast in my opinion. I am thankful we have two vehicles for when this one decides not to start.

If the engine is a BEW, check the operation of the in-tank lift pump and possibly the crank shaft position sensor. The cps is located down by the oil filter. The delicate wires tend to break or become brittle over time. Wiggling the cable might help.

So this particular model had a glow plug recall fiasco. First there was one kind of glow plug 7v I think then they did a reflash at the dealer and went with 5v when that didn't pan out they went back to 7v, or some such scenario.


Your plugs may not even be the right kind for your car. Pull them and see what you have 5v..7v or a mix of both. Do you have any glow plug codes in your cars ecu? Any codes of any kind?


It's possible you even have a mix of BEW (your engine) and ALH (previous engine) glow plugs.



As already mentioned the 04-05's have a lift pump, when you turn the key to glow it do you hear a noise coming from the back seat area? You should.


How about cam wear? Has the cam been checked lately?


When was the fuel filter changed last?



How many miles on the engine?


You comment about changing the oil and fuel filter is a bit confusing. Do you change the oil and fuel filter together?


I change my fuel filter once a year (40K miles) and my oil every 10K miles.

Tdijarhead said:

So this particular model had a glow plug recall fiasco. First there was one kind of glow plug 7v I think then they did a reflash at the dealer and went with 5v when that didn't pan out they went back to 7v, or some such scenario.


Your plugs may not even be the right kind for your car. Pull them and see what you have 5v..7v or a mix of both. Do you have any glow plug codes in your cars ecu? Any codes of any kind?


It's possible you even have a mix of BEW (your engine) and ALH (previous engine) glow plugs.



As already mentioned the 04-05's have a lift pump, when you turn the key to glow it do you hear a noise coming from the back seat area? You should.


How about cam wear? Has the cam been checked lately?


When was the fuel filter changed last?



How many miles on the engine?


You comment about changing the oil and fuel filter is a bit confusing. Do you change the oil and fuel filter together?


I change my fuel filter once a year (40K miles) and my oil every 10K miles.

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I'll check the G-plugs & see what we have. I Believe I hear the noise/sound you mentioned from the back. I'll Listen more carefully when I start it next. When she had tbe injectors cleaned they checked the cam & said it was fine. It has just under 191000. I was told to change the fuel filter when I change the oil, every 8-10000 miles.

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=285957&highlight=glow+plug+recall+fiasco


http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=304856&highlight=glow+plug+recall+fiasco


Here are a couple of threads describing what happened. There are others, just type in glow plug fiasco in the search bar.

Could also be low cranking speed from a weak battery. Check age, condition, model. Many of us have been sold the wrong battery, they don't last long.

Thanks Everyone.
I Have learned it got a New cam when the injectors were cleaned. We've just move in the last couple months so Still trying to find the paperwork on what All was done.
Although no warning lights are on, I Will have it checked for anything/codes, etc. And possibly advancing the timing a bit along with a Better Battery. Like I said,Fairly new to Diesels as far as Working on them. Trying to keep My Lady's " Stella" Dependable has been Most Challenging.
I Appreciate Everyone's help