| Author | Message | ||
     Damnut |
So my first question is about Chandler Arizona. What's there to do out in Chandler? I'll be working there the week of April 10th and am wondering what to do. There is A Perfect Circle concert on the 10th but that's about all I have planned. My second question is about my 03 VW Jetta TDI. I can't get my Jetta to start. What happens is the engine turns over but VERY slowly. I rebuilt the starter and even put in a new one. I used 2 different batteries and hooked up a known good battery to my Craftsman battery charger with a start mode function. I also cleaned all the connections going to the battery and to the starter. I also cleaned the chassis ground and I'm still having the issue. I'm new to these diesels so I'm not sure where to look as far as the engine is concerned. It's not like I can pull the spark plugs and do a compression check like a gas gas. I was thinking my next thing to check is the timing belt but besides that I'm clueless. Anyone have any ideas? | ||
| Njloco |
First off, is the fuel pump priming up, do you hear it! If not, Try pulling one of the injectors, then turn it over and check that the injector is spraying fuel, if not, check the fuel pump. You make reference to the motor turning over slowly. If you changed the starter and battery and it's still doing the same thing, make sure your getting good contact with all the cable connections and then check your battery cables for resistance. | ||
| Akbuell |
Since you have done all of the obvious things, more than once . . . Is there a VW TDI site, kinda like the BadWeb, that could help? | ||
| Hootowl |
Www.tdiclub.com Www.vwvortex.com | ||
| Thumper74 |
Slow to crank? What's the voltage that the starter is actually seeing? http://www.aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing .htm Also, use a jumper cable to jump the negative battery terminal to a good spot on the motor, it will rule out a bad ground, or confirm it. I recently had a Kia Sedona brought to be because the alternator was not charging and it was slow to crank, plus the battery was dying every few days. Another shop replaced the starter, alternator and battery... A test show low voltage to the starter, but the battery was good and showing 12.6 V. The new alternator was not charging, either. I didn't see anything obvious and jumped the battery to a known good ground on the engine and everything worked as it should. I found that the battery ground was on a bell housing bolt that was finger tight. At a glance, it looked okay. Once it was tightened up, it was fine. | ||
| Damnut |
I'll try the jumper trick. I did clean the ground that is attached to the chassis so that "should" be ok. I am getting good voltage at the starter as well. The thing that gets me is the sloooow cranking of the engine, it's almost like something is binding up inside the engine but since I know shit about diesels, I wouldn't know where to begin troubleshooting. | ||
| Ratbuell |
How cold is it? My cummins cranks slower (noticeably so) when it's cold out. High compression, thick oil... If it's crazy-cold, do you have fuel treatment to keep the diesel from gelling? If not, add some to the tank. Won't help the lines yet but once you get it started... | ||
| Damnut |
Well now it's freezing around here but it wasn't that cold the last few times I messed with it. | ||
| Bigdaddy |
I'd recheck the ground and would strongly consider running a second ground strap. It sounds like you've eliminated the possibility of low voltage so that only leaves 2 possibilities for slow cranking: 1. bad ground 2. bad starter | ||
| Tootal |
I'm for running a jumper ground also. The German's used to use a braided strap for a ground but with a little age they would rot in half. The one on an old BMW rotted so bad that the door chime sounded like a woman moaning a slow death! | ||
| Thumper74 |
Damnut, clean grounds are fine and all, but cleaning the connectors won't do much if there's a problem inside the insulation. | ||
| Akbuell |
IMHO, the only reasons for a 'slow cranking motor' are: Bad amps. Having replaced starters, batteries, checked grounds, ect. Really bad stuff, like a spun crank or rod bearing, or an eng/trans interface problem, like the clutch is not releasing, or the transfer case went 'solid' for some reason. Hoping it is a ground issue, Dave | ||
| Figorvonbuellingham |
Put new battery cables on it. | ||
| Crusty |
Didja check the air in the tires? | ||
| Damnut |
TPS reset......... | ||
| Damnut |
So I finally got around to working on this thing again today and after everything was said and done, it ended up being the AC pump. It was frozen solid and now I have the wonderful task of replacing it. Figured I'd follow up. | ||
| Hootowl |
At least you found the problem... | ||
| Aesquire |
Yea! Something simple. Pain in the butt but not agony. I need to replace the driver seat on my Caravan. Used by a heavy fellow previous owner and one side of the seat cushion is collapsed. Seat foam only comes pre-covered and $500..... used entire seat is only $175. So why not get power seats with heat? Because the existing plugs won't work until I take it to the dealer, have him change the sales codes in the master computer in Detroit, then reflash the car's computer with new codes to turn on wiring. Maybe. Next car will be old and maximum Luddite. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Power is easy, run an ignition switched power source to the new seat. Heat *can* be easy...either get factory heat and start building a relay / switch harness, or get non-heated seats and get some aftermarket heat pads that come with their own wiring... Certainly not "plug and play"...but where there's a will.... | ||
| Aesquire |
There's a freaking plug under the seat. It's wired to the Computer. Unless the computer knows that wire is supposed to have juice, it doesn't. The "take the interior apart and do it the old way" will work... IF the computer doesn't decide that there is too much draw from the circuit I tap and shut it down for safety. I swear, my next vehicle will have no computers at all... I still know how to work points. Now I do understand the whys here. It's cheaper to make one body wire harness, ( actually there are a couple of harnesses ) and it's safer not to have the "spare" plugs be live. IIRC it was Ford that had a problem with cabin fires when the always on unused power seat plugs got damp with salt water tracked into the cabin. ( Might have been Chevy, please correct me ) It's just the whole idea that I have to notify the MCP at Corporate Headquarters if I install fog lights to get them to work grinds my gears. |
