Volkswagen Passat (2001 - 2005) - 03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting | Technical matters | Back Room Forum

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Mon 9 Jun 2008 00:08

03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting - tinypaul

Hi all,

First post for me! I have an interesting problem with my Passat.

It's a 53 plate 1.9 TDI S 128 (uprated to 168).

Been working fine for the best part of a year, been serviced and the lot.

Recently its not being starting on occasions. Having called the AA out a couple of times when it broke down, on both times they thought it would be a fuel problem such as a fuel lifting pump or the like.

The car has been to a vw dealer, they found nothing as its intermittant.
It then went to a non dealer who replaced a fuel pump priming circuit, as this was one error code brought back from the AA.

This did not fix the problem.

It then went to another garage. After a week they found no problems with the fuel system. After the fault reared its ugly head they took the starter motor out, which was shocking they said, and replaced with a new one.

All weel for a week.

Today, it decided to do it again, but it did start after a few chaking motions, i.e. the engine tried to turn over but didn't.

I'm at a loss and so are other people with this, has anyone seen this before?

ALSO with this problem, I get an ABS + ESP light coming on for a few seconds now and again and going off, doesn't affect driving, but did for some reason turn the radio off and back on again, I dread to think what this could be - maybe electrical or wiring or just a faulty ABS sensor?

Thanks a lot if you have any ideas before it next goes into a garage for yet more cash going on it.

Paul.

Edited by Dynamic Dave on 09/06/2008 at 01:30

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Fri 22 Aug 2008 04:43

03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting - Zap

First post for me too! I have a 2004 Passat TDI. I am having the same problem. I replaced the starter, but that did not fix the problem. The car tries to start but does not catch. Could happen at any time. If let sit long enough, it starts. Nothing shows up on the computer for my mechanic to go by. And, after towing it 2x to his shop - it started for him. Last AAA call, the car started as soon as they arrived. Any insight into the problem anyone??

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Fri 22 Aug 2008 12:18

03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting - Railroad.

I'm baffled as to how anyone can confuse a fuel problem with a starter motor problem, but since you seem to have all sorts of strange faults I'd say your problem is a bad earth connection somewhere, and most likely under the bonnet.

Check, clean and tighten all the earth points.....

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Wed 29 Oct 2008 14:56

03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting - gipsy

I have the same car and the same intermittent problem which started in March 2008. The problem has occurred many times since then. The engine cranks over OK but shows no sign of life. Battery is OK. Key warning light goes out as normal. On some occasions the ABS and ESP lights remained on with car in "limp home" mode ie. no auto gear change or tiptronic selection, no ABS, no ESP and no radio. I have since found that the limp home can be reset by restarting the engine normally.

The only way I could get the car to start was to disconnect the negative battery terminal and then reconnect after about 30 seconds; very inconvenient if on the car ferry!

My VW main agent, Ridgeway in Newbury, were sympathetic but were unable to diagnose the fault but charged 102 pounds anyway. Of course disconnecting the battery does wipe the diagnostic memory and without their gadgets they become impotent......... What ever happened to old fashioned fault diagnosis?

I think that this must be an electronic problem which either cuts off the fuel or signals the anti shudder valve to remain closed. Any solutions would be welcome.

Bruce

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Mon 17 Nov 2008 09:24

03 1.9TDi S 130 - intermittant non starting - belle

Hi no help i am afraid, just wondered if you have fixed your problem as I have the same one and am struggling. regards belle

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