BRM just died and would not restart easily

[buyingconstant7]

So in Calgary it's about -17c(1F), and we have a heated shop THANK GOD! So my sister has a 2006 Jetta TDI with 360,000km and it had been sitting in the snow and cold for a few days. I fired it up(glow plug light went out suspiciously fast, it was on for about 3 seconds) to move it a few hundred feet into our shop, it started a bit hard but nothing unusual. I let it idle for about 3 minutes, drove the car about 200 feet, left it in first gear, and the engine stalled. Turned ignition off, recycle the glowplugs, went out in 3 seconds, tried to start it and it turned over for a bit at normal speed, but didn't fire. About 5 seconds of cranking in, it's like the starter developed a dead spot or something because it would crank fast for half a second, and then slow down and almost not turn the engine over at all, and repeat. I had to get our HD Ram Cummins to boost it(still wouldn't crank fast enough until it was hooked up for 5 minutes), it finally fired and performed fine after that. Took it for a drive, and it was fine. No codes or anything. Fuel filter was changed recently, battery replaced last year with a good high CCA one, and I'm sure it's not fuel gelling since Canadian fuel stations are good about that and it had been filled up 3 days before this. Any ideas?

 

[DonsJetta]

Others more knowledgeable than me will respond but my guess would be fuel availability at start and grounds..

 

[Kalter|Tod]

Check the EGR valve it is probably stuck in the open position.. Had this happen to my car a few years ago... Deleting the egr for "offroad use only" Fixed that problem.

 

[bobthefarmer]

Fuel gelling up after two weeks of polar blast?

 

[VLS_GUY]

I think you have two separate issues here.
First the starter is getting old and you likely do have a dead or weak pole in the starter motor.
The glow plug issue I suspect is related to a change out VW made from ceramic to steel glow plugs due to the fact the ceramic glow plugs would break off when removing them requiring pulling the head to get the pieces out. VW replaced the ceramic glow plug with steel ones but the glow plugs need a firmware flash to make them work since the voltage was dropped from 7 V DC to 5 V DC. The problem is that this firmware change caused hard starting in cold weather. A reflash is need to cure this. along wtih new glow plugs. Check to see what type of glow plugs you have. here is a good link to further explain the problem: http://www.myturbodiesel.com/wiki/g...d-cold-start-problems-tdi-pumpe-duse-engines/

 

[VLS_GUY]

I believe the glow plug change out I gave above only applies to BEW and BHW engines. Sorry for any confusion caused. I would use VCDS to see if the temperature sensors are giving the correct values. I would also do troubleshooting for limp mode.
I just remembered something: Look at the crank position sensor as they have been known noto work in cold weather and not put out a fault code.

 

[Bob S.]

Usually the CkPS, G28, signal output issue can be identified by what the tach is doing. If your tach is not reading when the engine is cracking there may not be a CkPS signal. My memory is that the ECM looks first for CkPS input. If after about 8 to 10 sec, if no signal, it defaults to the CmPS input.

 

[relumalutan]

Check the EGR valve it is probably stuck in the open position.. Had this happen to my car a few years ago... Deleting the egr for "offroad use only" Fixed that problem.

As Tod says. When it does that, don't bother trying to turn the engine on for about 15-20 minutes. After that it will start right away.

 

[pedroYUL]

Do the easy first: check in-tank lift pump