Hi folks,
I'm helping my niece with a no-start on her 2002 Beetle (TDI of course) automatic. First thing I did was check the fuses and found the 150A strip fuse on top of the battery had blown. Battery voltage is 12.5 volts measured at the battery with the cables disconnected. Well, I had her get another couple fuses and before I put one in I metered the positive battery cable to make sure it did not show a short to ground (it didn't) and also both the posts for the strip fuse were not shorted to ground (they were not).
SO I hooked up the negative battery cable and all was ok, but the second I started to hook up the positive cable there was a decent spark (showing something was pulling amperage) and there was a clicking sound from the engine (almost like the sound a starter makes when it has a bad solenoid or not enough battery juice to start the car). Then the radiator fans started running and about 5 seconds later the 150A fuse popped. Once the 150A fuse popped the clicking stopped immediately, but the fans kept running until I pulled the battery cable off. Mind you this was on a stone cold engine, AND THE KEYS IN THE HOUSE AND NOWHERE NEAR THE CAR!!
The backstory is that apparently the old battery had died so she and her boyfriend got a new one. Before they put the new battery in, someone had put the key in the ignition and turned it to the "on" position, and when they put in the new battery in, as soon as they hooked it up, the car did the clicking thing and apparently blew the strip fuse.
I'm trying to figure out my next step to help her out. She doesn't have a ton of money falling out her backside right now so.......I'm going to see if on a rare occasion my Bentley manual can provide some help too, but my initial thought is either a shorted starter, a shorted alternator, or god-forbid, a toasted ECU.......
Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it. Beetles are hard enough to work on without chasing your tail in the process!
I'm helping my niece with a no-start on her 2002 Beetle (TDI of course) automatic. First thing I did was check the fuses and found the 150A strip fuse on top of the battery had blown. Battery voltage is 12.5 volts measured at the battery with the cables disconnected. Well, I had her get another couple fuses and before I put one in I metered the positive battery cable to make sure it did not show a short to ground (it didn't) and also both the posts for the strip fuse were not shorted to ground (they were not).
SO I hooked up the negative battery cable and all was ok, but the second I started to hook up the positive cable there was a decent spark (showing something was pulling amperage) and there was a clicking sound from the engine (almost like the sound a starter makes when it has a bad solenoid or not enough battery juice to start the car). Then the radiator fans started running and about 5 seconds later the 150A fuse popped. Once the 150A fuse popped the clicking stopped immediately, but the fans kept running until I pulled the battery cable off. Mind you this was on a stone cold engine, AND THE KEYS IN THE HOUSE AND NOWHERE NEAR THE CAR!!
The backstory is that apparently the old battery had died so she and her boyfriend got a new one. Before they put the new battery in, someone had put the key in the ignition and turned it to the "on" position, and when they put in the new battery in, as soon as they hooked it up, the car did the clicking thing and apparently blew the strip fuse.
I'm trying to figure out my next step to help her out. She doesn't have a ton of money falling out her backside right now so.......I'm going to see if on a rare occasion my Bentley manual can provide some help too, but my initial thought is either a shorted starter, a shorted alternator, or god-forbid, a toasted ECU.......
Thanks in advance for any help, I appreciate it. Beetles are hard enough to work on without chasing your tail in the process!
