Engine Pressure light battery light SUPER COLD

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
I have a 2005TDI Passat. After 2 nights of -12. My car of course was having a hard start. First day took turning switch till glow plug went out maybe 10 time. Black smoke out back on snow.

This morning after -12 again. I tried to start around 2 pm after it was in the sun and warmed. Turned the engine, would not start heard clicking noise. Tried a few more time with clicking then engine pressure light came on , battery light and STOP. Turned off have oil in the car. But just filled up last week. Had my Valve Cover gasket replaced and was about to take it back as it is leaking. (may have nothing to do with it) .

Did notice antifreeze was down to the min. Had checked the other day as a routine and it was at max. So lost coolant somewhere. Do not see on the snow.

So clicking, rough start, then oil pressure light, battery light and STOP. Has oil, but lost about 1 quart in a week. Had put in 5 30 / not 5/40 as usual. In Mass so very cold

Thanks
 

Scubanero

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2007
Location
Calgary AB
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
Do you have a block heater? If not, you were lucky to get it started the first time. Get a Frost Heater and a battery warmer and plug them both in for a few hours whenever it is below 10 F or so.
 

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
Tdijarhead, so the oil pressure light Ignore? Or when I get it jumped what do I watch for to know maybe its 2 problems, battery and? I have had the car not start in the cold before, but then again I am from Georgia and in my 7 years up here never had -12 before. Its the oil pressure light that scared me this time.
 

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
No block heater but ordering now. Thanks for the tips. I am from Georgia and only been in Mass for 6 years. Learning , especially with a diesel. Never heard of a battery warmer , cool. Thank YOU
 

Vince Waldon

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
so the oil pressure light Ignore?.
Yes, safe to ignore the oil pressure light when starting.

The starter is not fast enough to maintain oil pressure, so the car is trained to ignore the sensor for a few seconds, assuming the car will start and oil pressure will become normall.

If for some reason cranking gets extended for a while the "ignore the oil pressure while starting" window expires, and the light comes on. :)
 

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
Yes, safe to ignore the oil pressure light when starting.

The starter is not fast enough to maintain oil pressure, so the car is trained to ignore the sensor for a few seconds, assuming the car will start and oil pressure will become normall.

If for some reason cranking gets extended for a while the "ignore the oil pressure while starting" window expires, and the light comes on. :)



This.
 

Scubanero

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2007
Location
Calgary AB
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
No block heater but ordering now. Thanks for the tips. I am from Georgia and only been in Mass for 6 years. Learning , especially with a diesel. Never heard of a battery warmer , cool. Thank YOU
Frost Heater (search this forum for contact info) is head and shoulders above the other options. The ones that go in a frost plug are out because BHWs don’t have any. Magnetic ones don’t stick to aluminium and are underpowered anyway.
At around -25 C a diesel won’t start no matter how strong the battery is. I once watched a tow truck driver crank a BHW like mine (but w/o block heater) for 20 minutes with no result.
 

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
http://www.frostheater.com

And of course the most important accessory included with the frost heater is the little bag of M&M’s.

If my 05 hadn’t started on that 2nd morning I would have been disappointed.

How old is your battery?

Is the starter original?

Do you have any kind of CEL (check engine light)?
 
Last edited:

Scubanero

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2007
Location
Calgary AB
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
If you do determine that your battery needs replacing, consider one a bit larger than OEM. All it takes is to buy or fab a different hold down bracket. Search this forum for a how-to.
 

wtribeflyer

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 8, 2013
Location
CA
TDI
2005 Passat TDI sedan
Mine starts even on our very coldest mornings no issue. Just this morning it was 45 and it cranked right over.

Sorry...It must be miserable, truly.
 

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
wtribeflyer I am in New England and it was -13 for 2-3 days. Otherwise, it has cranked beautifully. I have been in New England from Georgia for 10 years, 9 of them having no cranking problems. But these last two years we have had sub zero temperatures to -13 for for days. If this is the trend in extreme weather that looks like is staying, I think I will invest in a Frost Heater. But I have not really needed one until now.
 

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
Tdijarhead my battery is new. I did get a jump and its doing fine now. I had had trouble starting in the cold before and had to jump start it, but never did the oil pressure light come on or STOP engine light. I had a oil leak that came from a Valve cover gasket job done 6 months ago. So it scared me a bit. But thanks to all you guys for your advice and support. Love this car, but I could have easily had it towed and walked away with $$$ bill. My battery is just a few months old. Thanks for your time, Now that the temp are dropping like this in NE, I will invest in a frost heater
 

Lmarjorie

Active member
Joined
Jun 8, 2014
Location
Great Barrington, ma
TDI
2nd TDI Passat Wagon 2005 bought last spring in the southPassat Wagon TDI 2005 retired
Vince Walden , thanks for the time, it did start with a jump. So appreciate you and everyones time answering these questions for me. I am sure you saved me some $$$ if I had it towed. My concern were the oil pressure lights, which scared me Thank you again!!
 

blazen71

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2011
Location
Wiskullsin
TDI
All Gone
It was -25F, 2 days last week in WI. I use a Frost Heater and the car started like it was +70F outside! Getting it up to operating temp, thats another story, it never happened.
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Bring the battery inside for the night and it will start. :)
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
Not if the engine is too cold.
If the glow plugs work and the battery good and is at room temperature, yes it will work. Try it. It's amazing how much power a really cold battery looses.
 

Scubanero

Veteran Member
Joined
May 30, 2007
Location
Calgary AB
TDI
2005 Passat Wagon
If the glow plugs work and the battery good and is at room temperature, yes it will work. Try it. It's amazing how much power a really cold battery looses.
It doesn’t matter how strong the battery is. If the charge air is too cold, it will not reach the auto ignition temperature. Refer to my previous post about the tow truck driver.
 

imo000

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 13, 2005
Location
Cambridge
TDI
2009 M-B ML320 Diesel & '05 Passat TDI Manual 5-Speed
It doesn’t matter how strong the battery is. If the charge air is too cold, it will not reach the auto ignition temperature. Refer to my previous post about the tow truck driver.
Perhaps he flooded that engine by trying to first crank it with a dead battery or a half changed booster pack. The glow plugs, when working, will create the hot spot that diesel needs (when the mixture is correct) to get running. A block heater will not warm up the intake air temperature so the "too cold air" theory isn't holding up. It will however make the engine spin faster. You need around 650rpms to start a diesel so that's anther reason to start with a fully charged and warm battery.
 

Btravelen

Veteran Member
Joined
May 27, 2004
Location
midwest USA
TDI
2005 TDI Passat Variant
It was -25F, 2 days last week in WI. I use a Frost Heater and the car started like it was +70F outside! Getting it up to operating temp, thats another story, it never happened.
I can't keep my Frostheater from leaking. [emoji34]

I had to take the second one off because of a leak. I'm not sure what's going on because Mr Frost told me he's never had one leak. [emoji57]

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk
 

peiphil

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2012
Location
Tignish PEI Canada
TDI
2005 passat GLS TDI and big old Dodge Cummins TDI
Perhaps he flooded that engine by trying to first crank it with a dead battery or a half changed booster pack. The glow plugs, when working, will create the hot spot that diesel needs (when the mixture is correct) to get running. A block heater will not warm up the intake air temperature so the "too cold air" theory isn't holding up. It will however make the engine spin faster. You need around 650rpms to start a diesel so that's anther reason to start with a fully charged and warm battery.
Hey sorry to burst your bubble but there is no such thing as a lean or rich mixture in the diesel world
If you pour a cup of gas into a gas engine it will die flooded
If you pour a cup of diesel into a diesel engine stand back because it will rev untill it blows:eek:
 

afarfalla

Veteran Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2006
Location
sugar land tx
TDI
05 Passat sedan and 05 wagen
my 05 wagen starts right up every time, 1/4 revolution, it's up and running. I don't even look at the glow plug light
 

Tdijarhead

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 10, 2013
Location
Lawrenceville PA
TDI
2003 TDI Jetta Daughters Car, 2001 TDI Beetle, Wife’s car, 2005 Golf TDI Mine, all 5 spds
our thermometers start at +30, when its 68 I wear a sweater



I'm still chuckling at this. I think this winter ours starts at +30 and goes down. When it gets to 0 I wear a sweater.
 
Top