Hello to all. I have an odd situation that has developed with my 99' tdi Jetta this evening. Within the last month or so, I tagged and insured this car and have been driving it everywhere with no issues whatsoever. I have had a pesky, flashing glowplug light since I got the car, and I was working on that today. I had a blown brake light and both of the marker lights in the sides of the front fascia were blown as well. I replaced all three bulbs with new ones and while I was in the trunk, I removed the non-working factory cd changer to see if I could tell what was wrong with it.(Will not eject...will not do anything, as if it has no power). Anyway, I put the cd changer back in place when I was done. I didn't do any other work to the car. When I was finished, I thought I'd start the car to see if the glowplug light was gone. When I put the key in the ignition and turned it to the 'on' position, the radio came on as well as the dash/gauges as they would do normally. When I turned the key to 'start', I got absolutely nothing. There were absolutely no clicks or sounds of any sort. I had just driven that car a couple of hours or so before. I have had zero issues with this car as far as the starter engaging. I have not had time to look at the fuses inside the car. I did look at the ones on top of the battery and they look ok. I have not had time for any meter checks.
Here's one thing I'm wondering ...
When I put the cd changer back in place, I was carrying it and my 18v cordless drill and a couple of things in my arms, as well as the car's flip key. When I was putting all of these items in the trunk of the car to re-install the cd player, I noticed that the key ring on the flip key was 'stuck' to the magnet on the drill base. I'm wondering if the battery on the base of the drill wiped the chip in the key fob. I don't know how the immobilizer works on the 99.5 Jettas. If the chip goes bad, will it let the starter engage? I have dealt with immobilizers on 01' and higher, but I believe they are different. Have I wiped the information off of the chip with the magnet or have I possibly blown a fuse somehow?
One other thing I did notice while in the trunk. The courtesy light that mounts above the compartment where the cd changer is stored was hanging down due to a broken tab. In an attempt to get it out of the way, I tried to stuff it back into it's place and it went out. I pulled the bulb and it looked fine but I could not ever get it to light up again. I don't know if I might have shorted something in this circuit that would prevent the car from allowing the starter to engage. I don't think there is anything wrong with the starter, I just think it's being held out due to something I've done. If it's not raining tomorrow afternoon I'll do some meter checks.
What do you all think? Any suggestions? Thanks for any ideas!
Here's one thing I'm wondering ...
When I put the cd changer back in place, I was carrying it and my 18v cordless drill and a couple of things in my arms, as well as the car's flip key. When I was putting all of these items in the trunk of the car to re-install the cd player, I noticed that the key ring on the flip key was 'stuck' to the magnet on the drill base. I'm wondering if the battery on the base of the drill wiped the chip in the key fob. I don't know how the immobilizer works on the 99.5 Jettas. If the chip goes bad, will it let the starter engage? I have dealt with immobilizers on 01' and higher, but I believe they are different. Have I wiped the information off of the chip with the magnet or have I possibly blown a fuse somehow?
One other thing I did notice while in the trunk. The courtesy light that mounts above the compartment where the cd changer is stored was hanging down due to a broken tab. In an attempt to get it out of the way, I tried to stuff it back into it's place and it went out. I pulled the bulb and it looked fine but I could not ever get it to light up again. I don't know if I might have shorted something in this circuit that would prevent the car from allowing the starter to engage. I don't think there is anything wrong with the starter, I just think it's being held out due to something I've done. If it's not raining tomorrow afternoon I'll do some meter checks.
What do you all think? Any suggestions? Thanks for any ideas!
I don't know if mine is acting totally correctly, as there is no obnoxious beeping of the horn like my 2000 beetle does, but I'm here to let you know that it will definitely refuse to crank if the security 'feature' is triggered. --Also, the key would not unlock the trunk although it would unlock the door. Unlocking didn't help, but the fuse was blown, so otherwise, maybe it would have. IDK...