My 2001 Jetta GLS 2.0 does not start. When I turn the ignition key,
nothing happens. If I hold the ignition key in the start position for
a few seconds, a clicking sound can be heard from the dashboard. If I
keep holding it, the clicking sound gets faster and more erratic, and
the dashboard lights, clock, and odometer turn off. The clock is reset
to 12:00.

A jump start does not work. There is no visible corrosion on the
battery terminals, and it seems to me that it is too soon for the
battery to go dead. The remote works fine to open the doors. The
interior lights work, though the power windows will only work for a
second, then the clicking will start.

The car has been fine all winter. Even when it was not started for
weeks in very cold temperatures, it always started right up. The last
time I drove the car was 10 days ago. Since then the temperature has
warmed up (it is in the 50's now).

Am I looking at a bad alternator? Anything else that could be wrong?
Thanks in advance for your help...


--
Dave

I tried leaving the car hooked up to jumper cables for about 15
minutes. This time the car started!

So, is it likely I'm looking at a bad battery, even though the car is
only 3 years old? Or could it be something else?


--
Dave

I just replace a battery in a 2000 Passat Wagon. It was bad and lose it's
charge even with it out of the vehicle. It would drop to 10 volts. :-(
So yes it could be the battery but it is good to check the battery and to make
sure you also don't have a drain in your system causing the battery to lose
it's charge. And of course to make sure your charging system is properly doing
it's job!

later,
dave
Reminder........
Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way,
when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their
shoes. Frieda Norris

Sounds like a bad battery with a bad cell.


"DaveR" <NOSPAM_drubin (AT) NOSPAM_i-2000 (DOT) com> wrote

In article <whN4QFnQLNY1obHwcBnYDhZ17m6R (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
DaveR <NOSPAM_drubin (AT) NOSPAM_i-2000 (DOT) com> wrote:

Sure can. I ended up replacing the battery in my 37-month-old Jetta
TDI; same symptoms. Buy an Interstate or a good Optima; don't bother
stopping at the VW dealer.

sd

Thanks for the replies. Since the jump start/charge, the car has been
starting on its own. So, maybe it is a bad battery after all...

The reason I did not think it was the battery is that the car has been
fine all winter, and we did not drive it much. Even after sitting idle
for several weeks in cold temperatures, it started right up. So I find
it odd now that as the temperature gets warmer, the battery goes bad.

Are there any other potential problems that would be revealed only as
the temperature warms up?

"DaveR" <NOSPAM_drubin (AT) NOSPAM_i-2000 (DOT) com> wrote

Had the exact same problems in my 1995 Jetta GLS (summer 2003). Got a jump
start and then measured the voltage at the battery while the engine was
running. It was less than 12 volts. The alternator is designed to generate
+14v and that's what I should have been measuring at the battery terminals
while the engine was running.

Removed the alternator, took it to AutoZone, they tested it and it tested
bad (I think it was only putting out +8vdc while spinning). Bought new
alternator, way too expensive, like $260. Installed new alternator, has
been running great since summer 200

In article <9l55QFOElC13hQbyiO3k91l+dMFR (AT) 4ax (DOT) com>,
DaveR <NOSPAM_drubin (AT) NOSPAM_i-2000 (DOT) com> wrote:

Actually, severe heat is harder on a battery than extreme cold. The
only other VW problem that I know of that is related to heat is that
sometimes the waxy weatherproofing inside the doors will ooze onto the
rocker panels when it gets hotter out. But, come to think of it, I
don't recall seeing that on my '03 Jetta (did on my '99.5 Jetta).

sd