Car died while driving, now no start?

I was driving my jetta last night to go down and see my girlfriend. All of a sudden I start losing power so I down shift and the next thing I know the car shuts off and I coasted into a parking lot. I have power to the lights and when I turn the key on but when I try to start it, nothing. No click, not even trying to start. I've been having issues with the security system and once in a while when the car sits for a bit I'll go to start it and it goes completely dead. I have to slam my door and then the car comes back to life. The previous owner said something about the security module or something in the driver's door? Could this have caused my car to shut down? I don't know much about these VW's but love this lil car, so any help is much appreciated!

Could be the the '109' power relay.
Did you check fuses?
Especially the ones on top of the battery.
And their respective connections.

DanEboy said:

Could be the the '109' power relay.
Did you check fuses?
Especially the ones on top of the battery.
And their respective connections.

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I checked the fuses on top of the battery (3 green 30amp fuses) and swapped them with 3 other ones from another jetta and nothing, my car was completely dead like when the security system acts up.

Have you tried replacing the '109' power relay?

DanEboy said:

Have you tried replacing the '109' power relay?

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I have not, where would be the best place to locate a new 109 relay? Where is that relay located?

Timing belt?

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hughesjasonk said:

Timing belt?

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If it were that, wouldn't the engine still try and turn over when I turn the key to engage the starter? It almost has to be something electrical

Just gotta get used to using the search tools...
In this forum at the top, there are stickies, and the one for no starts refers you to this one:
http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=1972344&postcount=2

It's up behind the left side of the drivers dash you may have to remove another relay first to get to the 109 relay.

The original relays had bad solder joints that would crack and go open.
The cracks are so fine that slamming the door could cause enough of a vibration to close the circuit.
And that's why when you're driving the car quits, a little bump in the road could be enough to vibrate the crack to open the circuit.
The new replacement relays don't have this problem.
http://idparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=350

I'll have to try a new 109 relay. As far as the security module or whatever is in the door, could this be part of my issue? Any way to bypass this or just get rid of it? I mean no one even listens to car alarms when they go off anyway so I don't see the need for it. My buddy is a certified tech and worked on TDi's and I asked him and he said it may cause problems if left the way it is? Sorry for the newbie ?'s, I'll use the search function more. I tell guys to use the same function on Cummins Forum lol.

If the 109 relay is bad you would not see a GP light when the ignition is turned on.

A bad 109 relay will not prevent you from cranking engine. If I read this correctly that is part of the problem.
His initial problem was " car died while driving " which could be the 109 relay.

After rereading post one possibility is the ignition sw.

Do I have a combination of issues then? or would the ignition switch kill the car too? I'm going to get the car tomorrow and tow it back to my house to further diagnose this problem. I was hoping is was the 109 relay but I couldn't get it to crank at all so I don;t know if it woulds till be that..

Had a similar problem , ecu was fried , dont know what caused it because all started with lossing power randomly and no starts

Would not cause the initial stall of a running engine, but just wanted to note that the OP's car is a 99.5 and they do have an interlock from alarm that will prevent starter from engaging.

Since the OP mentioned previous experiences where the starter would not engage, but slamming the door allow it to work, my guess is the no-start problem is a switch in the door lock module or frayed wiring in the door hinge.

Use advanced search, look for posts from user "Compu_85" with the terms "Alarm" and "Starter" for more details.

So yes, I believe you have two problems. Or more accurately, you had one problem that was allowed to persist unresolved for a long time (the slamming door scenario) then some other issue caused the car to stall.

I will start with fuses first and go from there. Just from reading some of the threads I searched with key words "alarm" and " starter" I believe my issue may be in the door? I'll try fuses though first. I will add that the trunk button on the door does not work and when you lock the doors (manually as the keyfob doesn't work) and use the key to lock the driver's door, to keep the alarm from going off I would have to use the key to open then trunk and then the door would unlock without the alarm going off and I could start the car. I'm just wondering would a fuse or that faultly security system have caused the car to stall while driving??

I hope not!
The software engineers must talk to the lawyers!!
If it caused you to crash they'd be WAY liable!!!

Those 3 fuses in the top of the battery, what are those for and can I replace them with regular 30 amp fuses or do they have to be those green ones?

Not sure exactly.
Just make sure contacts are clean and tight.
You are looking to make good electrical connections.
NOT like these:

(image borrowed from AndyBees)

Also check connections at starter...

(image borrowed from Victor Huge)

You could also hook up a test light to the thin signal wire to the solenoid (just unplug it and probe) and the other end to ground.
Then turn the key to start position to see it 12v is being sent to solenoid.
Just because it was rebuilt recently doesn't mean it didn't fail again.

Check the engine ground strap attached to one of the transmission mounting studded bolts....and everything else mentioned.

I found the #38 central lock system 15A fuse blown. Could this be the reason for it to not want to crank?

fuel gel

In the north east we have been having extremely cold weather and my 2010 did the same thing last week. Dragged it home with my truck, put it in heated garage and she turn over next morning. Went to Autozone and got some diesel boost and anti gel stuff. No problems since. Not sure what temps in Pa. are but in Ct temps been below the 20's in the last two weeks.

Accord out TDI in said:

In the north east we have been having extremely cold weather and my 2010 did the same thing last week. Dragged it home with my truck, put it in heated garage and she turn over next morning. Went to Autozone and got some diesel boost and anti gel stuff. No problems since. Not sure what temps in Pa. are but in Ct temps been below the 20's in the last two weeks.

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We've been in single digits with wind chills below 0. I treat every tank of fuel that goes through my TDi and Cummins. That wasn't my issue. The #38 15 amp fuse for the central locking system was blown and with a new fuse it cranks over. My ? is what do you think caused this and is it ok to drive now? Compu_85 told me to bridge two wires together to bypass the starter interlock, will this keep this issue from happening again? I miswell just ask in this thread rather than making another one, can I bypass this security system completely? From what I've read these 99.5's have security system issues and want to just completely bypass this if possible?

IMO bypassing the interlock is probably fine, but trying to bypass the entire alarm system is farther than I would go.
You should still fix the issue with your driver door sensing open/closed/locked status though.

But really, the most important thing now is to troubleshoot the other issue that caused the car to stall. That wasn't the central locking system fuse that did that. So whatever problem that was is still there.
Have you checked your timing belt? We ruled that out sort of early on because car wouldn't crank. But now that we have isolated the two symptoms, then timing belt is back in play as a possibility. That is the first thing I would try to rule out, just because you can cause additional damage if you try other troubleshooting steps (or restarting) when the engine is out of time.
Not sure if you ever replied about whether or not you get glow plug light before starting the car (as a way of ruling out relay 109).

Or do the car start and run now?

I had to go to work but my dad told me that the car would crank but not start. Glow plug light comes on for a split second then goes right out. I'll check the timing belt when I get home I guess.

06 5.9 said:

I had to go to work but my dad told me that the car would crank but not start. Glow plug light comes on for a split second then goes right out. I'll check the timing belt when I get home I guess.

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Pull the wire at the temp sensor and see if the glow plug light comes on longer. Below freezing you need the glowplugs for an easy start.

Cat sat outside for a few hours (>10*F) and when I got home I tried to start it. Glow plug light stayed on longer. Cranks fast/normally, but no fire. Fuel has been treated for over a week. I need my TDi back, driving the Cummins everyday is hard on the wallet lol

First confirm that you didn't lose timing.
After that then you're down to a simple diesel equation.
For now we assume compression is good (again, if you've checked timing) so track down fuel and air.

Air is easiest to start with. Start with snowscreen and air filter, make sure your intercooler isn't full of oil, make sure the ASV isn't stuck closed, make sure the intake isn't completely clogged.

For a variety of fuel items to check, reference Whitedog's Car won't Start guide here

I will check the timing belt tomorrow morning. Do you think this no start is caused by the security system still? My dad's buddy knows a guy pretty good with these VW's so if all else fails I'll take it to him early next week. He's good with security systems ao maybe we can bypass this issue all together.

06 5.9 said:

Do you think this no start is caused by the security system still?

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No.
If the security system was still an issue then it would keep power from the starter.

I think the no start now is a result of whatever caused the car to stall in the first place. The key things that come to mind are loss of timing, air restriction or fuel starvation. The guides provided in the links above will get you well on your way to narrowing down the specific cause.