1.4 TDI none start...starshine

Howey

Howey

Member
England
Howdy folks

Having owned my A2 for 3 weeks and been on the road for 1 week today it tried for a threw moments to crank then nothing!

Tested battery, all ok!

Got out our other car, connected heavy duty jump leads with donor running, still no cranking! All other electrics fine but battery light flickering on cranking attempt

Car did 70 miles yesterday without hiccup!

Decided to add an additional earth lead, fitted from engine mount to upper drivebelt tensioner bolt.

Car starts better than ever!!

Just thought this might help others!

Many thanks folks

Howey
 
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My battery tested ok but as soon as it got cold I had starting problems.
My auto electrician advised to caharge the battery as a first step and loaned me a bridging device to ensure continuity of power to the radio and electronics. Bought one on eBay for £9.
The new battery has a larger capacity and has made a world of difference.
Apparently batteries lose up to 30 percent of capacity in cold weather and throw up all sorts of quirky faults Ian's they deteriorate.

Steve B
 
No doubt a poor battery does cause major issues!

So long as its cranking with some determination i think you will be fine!

Going to do this exact same mod to my galaxy as thats a bit of a slow turner, but does always seem to fire thou! (Touch wood)
 
Looks great. You wouldn’t be able to share the length of the cable you used and what size ring terminals would you?


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Pinkythelabrat said:
Looks great. You wouldn’t be able to share the length of the cable you used and what size ring terminals would you?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Will find out tomorrow and update!
Guy at work made it for me but in fairness it was a guestimate what size i needed so you could quite happily use a shorter length
 
depronman said:
check the earth cable behind the passenger head light (remove head light) check not only the cleanliness of the connection but also the integrity of the earth lead
Click to expand...
Yeah i was about to do that having attempted to unbolt it from behind abs pump and cut my thumb, then i thought i will fit my own additional one first which will be easier and out in the cold and rain aint much fun, to see if it cured it
 
Pinkythelabrat said:
Looks great. You wouldn’t be able to share the length of the cable you used and what size ring terminals would you?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
The lenght of the cable is 62 cm with two 8mm ring terminals. The rating of the cable is 240A (this has a diameter of 11.2mm) availible on ebay for around £8
However i just so happened to visit Halfords today and they sell shiney braided earth leads for around £5-£8 on the shelf, theres really no need for it be as long as mine unless you like my routing that is.
The main thing for me is fit one before problems begin, for me if it had failed the day before it would have been a huge problem!
 
Would be grateful for some other opinions on fitting this cable before I go ahead.
Has this problem cropped up before and is it a known routine fault ?

Cheers
 
I also have fitted a second earth to the same position on the engine as @Howey but brought the other end up around the back of the air inlet pipe and secured it to one of the redundant Webasto heater location bolts. I did this for peace of mind not because the original was causing a problem. Another advantage of using this new location is it is far more accessible and you do not need to remove the headlight.
 
Many thanks .
Is it possible to buy an insulated cable on line all ready made up with the terminals please ?
 
Ebay
322805522770
Have a look at what they do
Nothing at all to do with me so i am not biased or making money from this
 
Howey said:
Howdy folks

Having owned my A2 for 3 weeks and been on the road for 1 week today it tried for a threw moments to crank then nothing!

Tested battery, all ok!

Got out our other car, connected heavy duty jump leads with donor running, still no cranking! All other electrics fine but battery light flickering on cranking attempt

Car did 70 miles yesterday without hiccup!

Decided to add an additional earth lead, fitted from engine mount to upper drivebelt tensioner bolt.

Car starts better than ever!!

Just thought this might help others!

Many thanks folks

Howey
Click to expand...

What crimp size hole did you get 8 or 10mm
 
Ordered a new earth cable today - thanks Howey for the sizes and measurements... and the idea.

Quite a lot of earthing-related queries the last few days so maybe good to bring this back to the top of the forum.




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Thankyou to Tom (Howey), for the info, and to A2Steve for supplying the earth lead. The original starter motor earth lead fits perfectly between the engine mount and adjuster bolt around the back of the air pipe and under the headlight. Two minutes/two bolts, easy to fit yesterday and looks OEM........
 

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Special edition said:
Thankyou to Tom (Howey), for the info, and to A2Steve for supplying the earth lead. The original starter motor earth lead fits nicely bet the engine mount and adjuster bolt around the back of the air pipe. Two minutes yesterday to fit and it looks OEM........
Click to expand...
You should have said Dave i keep a spare lead in my out house!
 
All A2's would benefit from this, the latest generation VAG's now have a very similar earth in the same position!
 
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