Starting issue?? Need some advice.

Hi guys,

My Jetta 1.3 wont start in the cold weather any more, upon turning the key the battery light comes on as normal, but it barely turns over, reeeeallly reeeaaallly slow. After a while of trying the battery light doesnt come on any more but it still just about turns over.

The annoying thing is, once the ice has melted, say midday, the car will fire up fine.

Please help! I have slaved over this car the last 3 months to get it back on the road and now I've had to leave it at home…

Cheers,

Sam

Heyup Sam
Id say its your battery mate. Battery performance decreaces by 50% when it reaches freezing, you may find it works at normal ambient temperatures (hence why it works when the temps risen) but not when its freezing if its on the weak side. Try jumping it from another car/battery when its really cold again see if that affects the way it starts. If you want to have an in depth read, have a gander at this http://72.10.52.249/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=1
Chris.
 

Cheers Chris!

Thanks for taking the time out to reply, will jump it off my dads car in the morning and see if it makes any difference!

Gonna read the article now.

Top man, cheers.

Sam

No worries matey, Keep us updated with the result  

Yea Jump starting made no difference, DOH

sounds like starter motor on its way out dry bearings?

mate I'd get a new battery if you haven't already - jumping from another car can be pretty hit or miss, had the same problem end of last year - my golf appeared to start only when it felt like it    - got a new battery and then it was sound - plus a new battery is going to do no harm to the situation. If the battery is relatively new then it should be still under warranty. Best to get a new battery first of all, before looking at anything else

James

Test the battery before you replace it. For a starter battery, its a pretty simple test.

Most battery faults' root cause is the alternator not charging properly - so test that too.

Hi Guys, thanks for the replies, apologies for my delay.

Jump starting wasnt working because the leads were broke haha, plugged them in and all ok!

Car drove fine for 5 miles, went to put lights on and temp and fuel gauge started dropping, turned lights back off and they went back up.

A friend thinks battery is pooped and can't hold a good charge, going to test the alternator this weekend though!

Thanks again!

Sam