Beetle tdi starting issue

[keith]

Things come in threes.....

Wife's car failed to start 2 weeks ago.....flat battery symptoms. Very cold night. Jump start from a donor car and it sprung into life.

I wasn't sure if she had left a parking light on....so i ran it around and charged it up.....expecting to have to buy a new battery that weekend.
It ran perfect until this morning.....again very cold night.....wouldn't start. She had a jump and took it to the local tyre and battery place. They tested it and said battery and alternator were working fine.....

Any ideas on what else it could be....

She doesn't know if it just clicked or if was trying to turn over....she just knows it wouldn't start....bless her female brain...

How can it not be a knackered battery.....when a jump fixes it.?

[jason k]

Cell down in the battery?

Did they drop test it?

[keith]

Dont know Jase....wife took it.

My normal view is that most quick fit type places are only to happy to condemn something and sell you a new one....they normally load test it don't they...and see if it has enough means to recover....

Dont want to speculate 70 quidd on a new one to have the same fault....but dont want an unreliable motor.

[jason k]

My uber expensive leisure battery was playing up, the green light was showing ok, it was taking charge but something wasn't right, went to a battery place had it drop tested and a cell had gone.
Might be a worthwhile trip, normally cold weather will show up a dead cell whereas in warmer weather you might not notice.

[California Dreamin]

Things come in threes.....

How can it not be a knackered battery.....when a jump fixes it.?

Usual checks Keith......standing voltage then charge voltage......belt tightness.

Mine had to have a new regulator on it last year.....slow cranking / battery not being fully charged (New Bosch S4 less than a year old) it would initially show around 14.3 volts (engine running) but here comes the trick...if I left the volt meter connected it would drop progressively to battery voltage 12.7 volts (not charging) over a 40 second period.
Regulator is an easy fit and about £25.

If it's cranking like a good'n ...then you are into faulty glow plug or relay issues.

Clicks but doesn't crank....earths/live feeds or perhaps a dead segment on the starter commutator.

Yes load test the battery (old fashioned drop test to see if the battery holds a minimum voltage under load) but make sure the battery is fully charged.......To be honest, simply cranking a disabled engine for 15 seconds is enough to reveal if the battery is any good or not...if it can sustain a steady crank without significant slow up then it is fine.

Martin

[California Dreamin]

Code 027 seems to be the economy fit & 096 for extra duty. I remember mine was a tight fit....2l petrol so smaller.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Exide-Excell- ... 43afb29ee6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jason k]

Had starting issues on a late t4 TDI, from discussion with my vag master tech mate it appears TDI are very sensitive to crank speed. Not enough by as little as 50 rpm and it won't go in a month of Sunday's!
He vwas right,swapped starter for new one anbd it's been in the button ever since.

[keith]

Just back from the gym....and tried it again. All frosted up and fired up first turn of the key...

Youre right Martin....they are a tight fit...swopped one about 3 years ago on the previous 2 ltr petrol....

Thanks for the thoughts....

[keith]

had to jump start the wife this morning

cold night.

I turned it over and it had about 3 der der ders in it before it died.

garage battery test is very suspect.
new battery today.