jellsta 0 Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 I have a 94 vr6 with a vag alarm not sure of make, but drove the car saturday and left it over weekend. came to go to work monday morning and the car would not start. all the normal dash lights light up ok but its as if the immobiliser has not been disabled. any clues guys is there a reset button anywhere on the system. Link to post Share on other sites
jezmoz 0 Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 if the windscreen wipers don't work properly (slower than normal you've got a dead battery, sorry to be of little or no help. Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 1, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 theres loads of power in the battery just nothing happens when i turn the key Link to post Share on other sites
shail 0 Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Bit of a long shot, but i had the same symtoms & thought it was the immobilser. It turned out to be a corroded earth strap on the starter motor (braided type). It looked ok, but when i pulled it slightly it just disintegrated. Link to post Share on other sites
francisjonno 2 Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Mine did the same thing and it was the starter motor that had gone (about 90k miles) Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 2, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 did it just go all of a sudden or was it playing up, because mine has been fine no probs at all??? Link to post Share on other sites
francisjonno 2 Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 Pulled into the petrol garage, turned the engine off, filled her up, paid, went to start it but... nothing! All the dash lights came on as usual but nothing happened when i turned the key. Recovery guy checked everything, and put a charge through the starter motor - but it was dead!(also double check the voltage in your battery as mine also had similar symtoms when the battery dropped a cell recently - battery is cheaper than a starter motor ) Link to post Share on other sites
shail 0 Posted November 2, 2005 Report Share Posted November 2, 2005 did it just go all of a sudden or was it playing up' date=' because mine has been fine no probs at all???[/quote']It was all of a sudden. P.S the starter is a pain in the arse to get to change. I have bodged a new earth strap on which has worked for 12 months now. Link to post Share on other sites
Justicevr6 0 Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 Not knowing what area you are (nothing in your profile) maybe someone could plug vag com in for you if you have'nt got it that should tell you whats wrong. Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 3, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 is there any way of testing the starter motor to see if its knackered, or if it is the imobiliser kicked in. i have vag com for my mk 4 golf will this work on my mk 3 ? Link to post Share on other sites
VR6Rich 3 Posted November 3, 2005 Report Share Posted November 3, 2005 I had the exact same problem with my starter motor. Pulled into a petrol station, turned the engine off came back to the car and it wouldnt start! I think the earth strap is a major weak point on these. Why dont the earth straps have sheilding? Link to post Share on other sites
francisjonno 2 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Starter motor takes a lot of juice so maybe there's a possibility any shielding would melt if something went wrong! Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 just bump started the car and it ran, so definatly the starter. how easy are these to change? is there anything i can check on it first before i shell out for a new one??? Link to post Share on other sites
francisjonno 2 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Mine cost about Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 if its the one on the top of the starter moter then it has broken off, dont know if it was like it before hand though. how do u fix it if u can that is??? Link to post Share on other sites
shail 0 Posted November 4, 2005 Report Share Posted November 4, 2005 Jellsta - no earth strap, no start i'm afraid. The starter is a pig to remove (you need to support the engine). I bodged a new earth strap on. Its been trouble free for 12 months now. I got your PM, but unfortunatly no longer have the pic you requested.Basically:1. The earth strap is bolted on one end (RHS of starter). I just unbolted it and attached the new one. Very cramped and a royal pain in the arse.2. The other end of the strap is actually welded to the body of the starter motor. Fortunatly there was still about 1" of the old earth strap still attached to the body. I got a heavy duty clip and connected that to the other end of the new earth strap and then clipped the clip onto the 1" of old earth strap which was still there.3. i used a longish bit of earth strap which was also insulated. You can buy shorter straps, but its impossible attach the clip etc...4. Remember to disconnect battery (make sure you have your radio code), use cable ties to tie the new strap out of the way. Remember that the fans can come on even without the ignition on.5. access is improved by removing the connection to the radiator fans. Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 Shail it is that earth cable but mine has snapped at the end thats conneted with the bolt put some wire between the two but the motor turns over real slow, and the wire stated to smoke after a while. think i need some earting cable to carry the current. thanks guys for all the usefull info. vw wanted Link to post Share on other sites
jellsta 0 Posted November 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 job completed 2 jubile clips Link to post Share on other sites
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