Glow Plug Light and engine start

[Deacon Brent]

Two Thursdays ago my Beetle gave trouble starting once the Glow Plug light came on it started. It did good all day stopped and started five or six times, then nothing. Again the glow plug light did not come on. I changed glow plugs today turned the key light came on but plugs were not connected. I connected the plugs and started the car. Shut it off and started it twice after. After letting sit for a while now again no Light and no start. Any suggestions as to what may be going? Oh, and also swapped out the relay and that did nothing.

 

[Tdijarhead]

Search 109 relay.
I assume you changed out the glow plug relay. However one of the symptoms of a bad 109 is the glow plug light not coming on. It's located up under the steering wheel with several other relays. The 109 is over top of a big black relay that partly conceals the 109.

The glow plug relay and the 109 are not the same.

 

[Vince Waldon]

Search 109 relay.

2X... all the signs of a randomly failing relay 109. They do that. Randomly.

 

[joewilhite]

does the engine light come on everytime or does it only come on with the glow plug light

 

[Deacon Brent]

The engine light has been on for a while (also airbag light). The code was something for the EGR system. The car ran good and is still getting 40+ mpg. Changed a few things and most of the vacuum lines but still the same code.

 

[joewilhite]

what is the code # what does it say , could be a circuit issue

 

[Deacon Brent]

I don't remember the code it's been a while

 

[Vince Waldon]

....that said, the code is probably not related to your current non-start, expecially if it was on while your car was still starting ok.

Relay 109 is not monitored by the ECU.

 

[AnotherPerson]

This may sound simple. Have you had a start test done on the battery? Post back what cca is. A weak battery in the old beetles can cause a long to start or no start issue due to some ecu programming in the early cars. My car has this from day one when I got it because it had a cheaper battery installed that was listed as the proper one. But it wasn't.

 

[Deacon Brent]

Looks like Relay 109 was the problem, has started every time since replacing it. Thanks for the advice. Cleared out the codes, there were two 0380 which deals with glow plug fault and 1550 (this has been there for a while) Charge pressure deviation. Today will be the first day in over a week my Beetle will be on the road. Thanks again for the Help/ This is a great forum to be part of!

 

[Deacon Brent]

Jumping off once a week

Ok need help! My 99 Beetle TDI 352000 miles has been giving me a new issue. Once a week I have to jump it off with ether my battery charger or another car. My jump starter won't work to start car. This happens once a week, after jumping it off twice it is good for another week. Now I have a new battery and new starter

 

[Tdijarhead]

So are you saying that the new battery and starter solved this new issue or didn't? If not I would say your alternator or alternator pulley is going bad or already is bad.

If you have a multimeter put that on the battery posts, it should read 12.6 or a little more for a fully charged battery sitting in your driveway not started. Though it sounds like yours is slowly loosing its charge over the course of a week. Start your car and put the multimeter back on the battery posts. It should now read 14.6 with the engine running at idle.

If it doesn't and I suspect it will not, you have a bad alternator or alternator pulley. You can just replace the alternator outright or you can take the serpentine belt off , get a small screwdriver, insert it through the back of the fins on the alternator and attempt to turn the pulley. It should turn in one direction and not the other. If it doesn't turn at all or turns in both directions it's bad.

It is possible to change just the pulley. Idparts has them, but you will also need the special tool to change it. Let us know how you make out?

 

[Deacon Brent]

It did not fix the problem, I had the auto parts guy check and his meter siad the alternator was good (changed it about two years ago). The funny thing is after jumping twice it won't do it for a week (roughly). Will check again never know

 

[Tdijarhead]

A 2 year old after market alternator can still be bad. A multimeter to check those things can be had at Walmart for less than $20. You could also use it to track down any parasitic electrial drain.

 

[Deacon Brent]

After some long thought and prayer I was able to trade my 99 Beetle for a 2015. The only drawback with this one is it is not a TDI but I need something I could depend on. I thank everyone for their help with my 99 TDI Beetle. The salesman said that he had never seen a car with 352500 miles "He can't say that anymore!"