Hello All,



I was wondering if any of you could help me out. I have a Karmen Cabriolet
Golf Mk1 on a 'K' plate with a 1.8L engine



I jumped my friends car for him, but after disconnecting the jump leads from
his car, my car cut out. I assumed I'd done something wrong by disconnecting
the jumped car instead of the car doing the jumping (if that makes sense).
Did the basics of checking all the fuses and all are ok.



Anyway, to cut a long story short my car doesn't start anymore. When I turn
the key I get two red lights but no starter motor turning.



Any ideas before the dealership charges me silly money.



Thanks all,



Mike

Mike_smithx1 (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk

Which end (jumpor or jumpee) you disconnect first makes no difference as
long as you are careful not to short the dangling jumper cable clips
against anything.. As a safety precaution, disconnect the negative
terminals first, but this is a only practical precaution for avoiding
accidental shorts.

Was your engine running while the other car was started (it should have
been)?

What voltage do you have on your battery now?

Check to see that both the positive and negative battery terminals are
on tight, you might have wiggled something loose when you were putting
on or removing the jumper cables.

Did you try to jump-start your own car after this?


Mike Smith wrote:

I agree with Mike it doesn't matter which end you disconnect first. Putting
the added load on might have been the last straw for an old battery. Or if
your battery was weak you might have put too much load on the alternator and
blown a Diode. Cheapest way to start
troubleshoot this problem is to take the alternator and battery into a
autoparts store and get them to test both of them. . Most places will do it
for free. If they both pass and all your connections are tight (including
the chassis and engine ground) the next step would be the starter.

HTH
Steve


"Randolph" <trash (AT) junkmail (DOT) com> wrote

Firstly, thanks all for taking the time to reply.



To update you all on what's happening. The AA came round to try and get it
started, the only way he could get it started was by connecting a cable
directly from the battery to the starter motor. He said it could be anything
to do with the ignition system and starter electronics, but that didn't
really help me. Battery tested ok. I was hopping he could narrow it down a
bit more so as I could try and fix it myself. I guess this eliminates the
battery and starter motor itself, could it be anything to do with the fuses
or relays etc (although I have checked every fuse I can see)?



I've checked all connections for lose cables. I did try to jump my car after
it cut out, but it refused to start. No clicking noises at all from the
starter when the key is turned.



Does that help you all to narrow down what the fault could be????



Thanks,



Mike




"Mike Smith" <Mike_smithx1 (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk> wrote

If the car starts with voltage applied directly at the solenoid and
you got in the car and turned the key, then my guess is that the cable
from the +ve terminal to the solenoid is shot. What I've done is
rewired my alternator directly to the battery (4 or 8 Ga.), and run a
battery cable to the starter as usual. When you were boosting the
car, did you accidentally cross the terminals? I've fried a set of
jumper cables that way.

"Mike Smith" <Mike_smithx1 (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk> writes:

From your description, sounds like the key-switch. The starter
contacts in that may have failed. I'm not familiar with the wiring
on that, but you should be able to figure out which terminal is
which when you unplug the back of it. Terminals are usually
labelled. Use a meter to check continuity as the key is turned in
the lock.

If the engine cranks with the terminals on the starter solenoid
shorted, that'd be the most-likely candidate.

/"\ Bernd Felsche - Innovative Reckoning, Perth, Western Australia
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Your car starts & runs if key is on & the starter is directly jumped? Then I would supect the key switch as said before, or a loose connection from the switch to the starter. Odd that it should happen when removing jumper cables, though.
HTH,
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Condsidering it happened right after jumping a car I am likely to think you
may have damaged your power wire to the solendoid. First off your engine
should never be running when boosting another car! It is way too much load
for your alternator to handle it was never designed to put out that many
amps but it will until it fries itself. I have replaced many alternators at
work from people doing this. Run your car for a few minutes to give a base
charge to his battery then turn off you engine & use your battery only to
get it started. Bosch alternators are sensitive to this they blow the diodes
& fry the regulators.


"Mike Smith" <Mike_smithx1 (AT) yahoo (DOT) co.uk> wrote