Car wrecked- fixed, but will not start? Why?

[ewodzien]

Hi-
My 2006 Pkg2 DSG TDI was stolen and wrecked. It was repaired, but the body shop cannot start it. The engine will not turn over. (Almost like the clutch isn't pushed all the way down, but this is an automatic.)
Airbags were not deployed and there was no damage to the engine.
Is there a crash sensor that needs to be reset or something? I'm at a loss and want my beloved TDI back.

Thanks in advance!

-Ed

 

[WalletBoy]

Long shot, but did the thieves try to fill the car up with gas? Maybe it has some type of fuel contamination.

 

[TDITimber]

Hi-
My 2006 Pkg2 DSG TDI was stolen and wrecked. It was repaired, but the body shop cannot start it. The engine will not turn over. (Almost like the clutch isn't pushed all the way down, but this is an automatic.)
Airbags were not deployed and there was no damage to the engine.
Is there a crash sensor that needs to be reset or something? I'm at a loss and want my beloved TDI back.

Thanks in advance!

-Ed

Years ago cars had a tilt switch conected to the fuel pump, cutting off fuel after an accident. You should be able to reset this.
If this IS the case, the body shop should have known this.

 

[arkadi]

Hi-
My 2006 Pkg2 DSG TDI was stolen and wrecked. It was repaired, but the body shop cannot start it. The engine will not turn over. (Almost like the clutch isn't pushed all the way down, but this is an automatic.)
Airbags were not deployed and there was no damage to the engine.
Is there a crash sensor that needs to be reset or something? I'm at a loss and want my beloved TDI back.

Thanks in advance!

-Ed

If there is a fuel cut switch (I am not sure this car has it) and it was triggered the starter would still turn but the engine wouldn't start. On the other hand you do have a manual transmission even if it switches like automatic (I am talking of DSG). There is a thought... if you lift car off the ground then even if the clutch is engaged you should be able to start the engine... That is if that is the actual problem.

 

[2footbraker]

Anti-shudder valve (intake flap valve) checked?

 

[ewodzien]

Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Man this club has such as higher signal-to-noise ratio as compared to the vortex. (Like I didn't know that already- but the replies were "how did they steal it" rather than actually helping me out.)

Anyway, I went by the shop today to check it out and found:

• When you try to start the car- NOTHING. No relay clicks, nada- nothing. This happens with both keys in case you were thinking it was an immobilizer issue.
• I scanned for codes with VAG-COM. Most were warnings about things that were disconnected- temp sensor, lights, etc.
• The only code that stood out was databus communication lost to engine when I scanned the transmission. I cleared the code and it did not return. Perhaps it happened during the impact.
• I checked all of the fuses to double-check the body shop and like they said, no blown fuses.
• It is going to the dealer on Friday. I hope it will be able to be found and there is no other damage to the car. I hope the dealer is competent as CA does not have a lot of diesels. The body shop said that the VW shop said that a relay or something like that goes out on diesels. But who knows- it is all speculation.

Any other ideas? I'm out of them.

 

[wjdell]

Stolen and wrecked - could be a security issue. I am sorry to hear about this. How did they steal it - tpwed or breach the security system and hot wire

 

[ewodzien]

How did they steal it? They broke into the house and stole the factory key. The fun.

 

[stevneil]

No exp with A5 but too much with many A4s so with that in mind...

Immobilizer immobilizes a couple of seconds after start and the symbol flashes on the dash. In other words, car starts normally and then dies.

Don't consider anything in the fuel system until you get the starter cranking.

A4s don't have a fuel cutoff switch of any sort, and as mentioned above, fuel cutoff is not a starter cutout.

A4s don't have any crash sensor switch that would disable the starter. I doubt A5s have such a switch.

A4s with manual transmissions do have two switches on the clutch pedal and both must be adjusted properly or the starter solenoid never gets any juice. But your's is an automatic.

On A4s, the EGR valve or anti-shudder valve is not part of the starter circuit. I can't imagine why such valve positions would be part of the starter circuit.

Your shop should be able to tell you a couple basic things:

Starter has juice? (big cable to starter motor) - Answer should be yes. If no, then first place to look is the fusible links on top of the battery.

Starter solenoid gets juice when is turned to start position? (smaller cable) - Suspect answer is no. If yes, then starter has no juice, insufficient juice, or is completely shot. No means that you have isolated the part of the circuit that is not working.

If starter motor (big cable) has juice, you can ask the shop to try "jumping" the solenoid - connecting the battery positive terminal to the solenoid positive (the smaller wire), with the key in the run position. Remove the small wire from the starter and connect your jumper wire to it. Then touch the other end to the positive battery terminal. The starter should turn the engine and it should start in a few seconds. Stop touching the wire to the battery just as you would release the key from the start position. This is much improved method as compared to jamming a screwdriver across the back of the starter touching between the big cable and the little cable. Worked well on Detroit's engines, but I can't remember if it is feasible on a VW starter.

Hope this helps.

 

[no-blue-screen]

Well, the fuel tanks in these cars are plastic. Depending on how they wrecked it, they could have busted the fuel tank. I know it sounds like a longshot, but worth a look.

EDIT: well, I see that you get nothing when you turn the key...is it possible the ECU is having some problems? With things being disconnected and reconnected, is it possible they didn't connect something correctly? Sorry to hear about this, but good luck getting her fixed and back on the road.

 

[DieselGirl]

It is going to the dealer on Friday. I hope it will be able to be found and there is no other damage to the car. I hope the dealer is competent as CA does not have a lot of diesels. The body shop said that the VW shop said that a relay or something like that goes out on diesels. But who knows- it is all speculation.
Any other ideas? I'm out of them.

My steering wheel control module went out and I had the exact same issues with starting as you are experience. Where nothing at all would happen. The 2nd time the car was in the dealership they only got intermittent error codes from it.

 

[ewodzien]

Thanks for all of the posts. Trying to stay positive, but it has been almost 40 days since the "incident" and it is getting harder as the days tick by.

 

[Lightflyer1]

Sounds like it is time for a new car if they can't get it to start. If mine is stolen, I don't know if I really want it back. Who knows what they did to it.

 

[Evolution]

It sounds like a sensor isn't plugged or got damaged in the crash and they didn't find it for whatever reason. Might not even look damaged. I'd say let VW check it out. With all the on-board computers it could be a number of things. They should be able to take all of your codes and diagnos where and what it is.

 

[blue_jetta]

Glad to hear the car was recovered, sorry to hear it was stolen and wrecked. Any idea why it was stolen?

 

[2footbraker]

Because some people are losers with nothing better to do?

 

[40X40]

Don't worry any more about it..... It is the dealers problem and insurance
is picking up the bill.

Be happy!! You'll get your car back soon!

Bill

 

[weedeater]

Parking interlock switch?

 

[Dodoma]

Car not starting

If there are no lights when key is turned, it means no juice is coming to the switch. So check battery connections. Cleans those first and then tighten them properly. Chances are that the accident may have moved the battery and connections. After doing this and if there is still no reaction, consider replacing ECU.

Please post orognosis.