Hard starting VW

[stellarsteve]

My wife has been having some trouble with her 2004 Beetle. When the engine is cold it starts just fine. No problems. If she has been driving it and shuts it off to get gas, etc. (engine off for only a few minutes), it has a hard time starting. It acts like a low battery in that is slowly cranks or doesn't at all. She turns the key again and it will barely turn over but it will catch and fire up. It shows just over 12v when the car is off and about 13.6v when running. This leads me to believe that the battery and alternator are good. Cables and terminals are good and tight. I am thinking the starter is getting week. It only has about 65k miles. BTW, it has the 1.8 liter turbo.

Any suggestions?

 

[jwilly]

Any suggestions?

Yup, Send Calimus here on the forum a PM. He is a VW guru!!

JW

 

[radman]

Starter draw test will determine the draw and condition of the starter and battery. Carbon build up can increase hot compression and cause the rings to get tight in the cylinders-to the point where cranking can be a problem. The knock sensor will mask the usual attendant detonation that often accompanies chamber carbon build up. Running a de-carbonizing agent in the fuel and oil (SeaFoam is one) can help if that indeed is the problem. But get the cranking system tested first-most likely that's the problem. And take the VDub out now and then and beat the living **** out of it-it will thank you.

 

[stellarsteve]

Thanks Radman. I don't think it is the carbon buildup. The wifey likes to step on it from the stop lights. She likes when the turbo kicks in. I guess I will have to take it in and assume the position.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Calimus]

No need for a PM, I sniffed out the thread (ok, so how many times do you see VW in an FJR forum?)

Steve, being that it's an 04', my first guess would be the battery. Most OEM batt's are good for 5 years, but I've seen them croak in 2. Heat does very interesting things to electronics, creating extra resistance is one of them. The Batt can show a nice healthy 12v, but most volt meters just show the surface charge. Take the car to a local Autozone/advances auto and have them run a diag on the batt/alt/starter system. They will do this for free.

Being that you get 13v+ when the car is running, does lead me to believe that the alt is good. The problem can be in the batt or the starter since the starter selenoid can be effected by heat as well. However, I'm leaning on the batt in this case. I had a similair issues 2 years ago with my 01' Jetta. Still had the OEM batt in it and cold started fine. Wife made a short run into town and couldn't get the car to start when she tried to come home (less then 10min at the store). Even though my voltmeter showed the exact same things as you saw, I replaced the batt just to be safe (was past it's freshness date anyway). Problem solved.

If it's the starter (which I've had to replace on my daughters 98' beetle) then it's really not too bad if it's a 5 speed. I was able to change it out without having to even jack up the car. However, I did find things went much smoother after removing the battery & airbox. However, that in itself is a royal PITA. Would like to shoot the engineer that designed the engine bay in the beetle. If the wifes car is an automagick, I haven't tackled one of those just yet, but I'm sure I can find a nice how-to for you.

Feel free to PM me any questions just incase I loose track of this thread. If it's found that the issue isn't in the batt, starter, alt, please let me know. I'll see if I can locate some fellow dubbers in your area that might have a Vag-com tool. It's basicly the exact same software that the dealer will use to diag the car. I have one, but I'm a little far out to make a quick run down.

 

[stellarsteve]

Thanks a bunch Calimus. I appreciate all the info. I will take it to a different Advanced store than the one I usually use. The last time I took a car to have the charging system checked he whined that it looked like it was going to rain and didn't want to get his tester wet. After I prodded he finally came out but wasn't able to get it to work. The whole time he acted like he couldn't wait to get rid of me. I removed the alternator and took it in to test and the old b#$ch in there couldn't find the right adaptor to work with my alternator and basically blew me off. It sucks because these are newer employees and the ones that used to be there were really helpful.

Thanks again.

 

[Calimus]

Wow, can't believe you've had those issues with Advanced. I might just be lucky because I have several auto parts houses within 10mi, but everywhere I've been, they have always been happy to help check things.

LMK what you find and good luck.

 

[stellarsteve]

You were right about the battery. Took the car to a nearby Autozone and they were happy to run a test on it. They said it tested bad so I bought one on the spot. Got it home and when I got the old one out it was about an inch shorter in length than the new one. :huh: The new one was 750 cc amps and the old one was only 600. I was reluctant to try to make it fit because the old was seemed very tight in the box. There was some type of hard fiber "blanket" around the old one with a couple of plastic half covers. The blanket didn't fit the new larger battery but I figured it only held in more heat and left it off. The new batter fit right in and the two plastic half covers fit just fine.

BTW, looking at the old batter, one cell on the end was low on acid and there was bright white spots on the end where the low cell was.

Car starts fine now.

Thanks a bunch for all the help. I knew somebody on this forum would have good advice.

 

[Calimus]

Glad to hear you got the issue resolved without having to take it in the backside by the dealer. Keep an eye on the car for just a few days to make sure it's not the Alt. and if all goes well, I'd say you're out of the woods.

The batter blanket is mainly just there for insulation and as a spill absorber. It's also rare to find a batt that fits perfect unless it's the OEM VW battery. Happy 4 wheelin'

 

[radman]

And it's insulation against heat, not cold. With you living in frigid Florida, it's a good idea to somehow get that thing wrapped again. Heat kills more batteries than cold.