A hello from the lovely Garden of England

gangitano85

gangitano85

A2OC Donor
Belgium
Long-time reader, first-time poster. I have been fascinated by the A2 for a long time, even before I got my driver's license back in 2010. Finally, in 2018 my dream of driving and owning an A2 became true, as I bought a 2004 (04 plate) 1.4 TDI (90 bhp) - ca. 125,000 miles. I think it was a bargain at the time, even if the car hasn't been well maintained by the previous owners. I spent a bit of money on four new steel wheels to replace the original 17 inch alloys - two of which had been damaged and were badly repaired. There were some mechanical issues, but all were fixed by a local garage. The only current 'issues' are a noisy starter, a leaking OSS, some minor electrical problems and a small oil leak from the engine. Also, third gear can sometimes be a bit more difficult to shift into. Currently, the odometer is only a few hundred miles short of 150,000 miles.

All in all, a very happy owner.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID pandemic, the car hasn't been used since March, as I no longer require it for my daily commute. It has been on my drive ever since and I was able to start the car until about three weeks ago. First, I thought the battery had drained for some reason, but it still seems to be OK according to the indicator. I tried to jump start the car using a portable battery pack, but that didn't seem to make any difference.

So one of the reasons I've joined the A2OC is to get some help and advice as to how I can start the car again (or whether I need to bring it to my mechanic). Also, chances are that I will be moving back to the continent in the foreseeable future (in 2021). I probably won't be taking the car with me, so I may be looking for a new family for my little treasure. I wouldn't want her to be scrapped as I still believe she has a lot of life in her. So I would be really looking to sell her to someone who appreciates the marvel that is the A2 and who wouldn't mind spending a bit of money on her to restore her to her former beauty.

Have a lovely evening and I am really looking forward to talking about our common passion. Maybe you can convince me to keep her and take her with me to the continent :)

Best wishes

Thomas

Best wishes

Thomas
 
All electricals work, but as soon as I turn the key in order to start the car, it behaves as if the battery is flat. The engine isn't turning. I got the immobiliser warning once, so I might give it a go with the spare key.
 
Yes, precisely. All looks normal, I even get the OK message on the dashboard. But as soon as I turn the key, nothing. When I put the key back in, all looks fine again. I don't even get a warning light, all just goes dark.
 
Well if the battery is really deeply discharged they can sometimes take an awful lot of charging to get them operational again. I had a similar situation with mine after it sat without being run for a while. I have a Noco trickle charger (which I should have left attached but didn't). It took about 4 days charging on that to get it back to where it should be.
I think the battery needs to be showing 13v 'at rest' when properly charged. (A discharged battery can show not much less than 12v).
So personally I'd give the battery more time in the first instance.
 
Thanks, I will give that a try. It's not urgent for the moment, but it's just sad seeing her idle like that...
 
Evening,

I do hope you get this A2 fired up and back in daily use. You know you’re in the best place to obtain the information you need.

If not and you are indeed considering selling it can you add a price along with pictures. A well priced TDI90 could certainly make a nice project for me as the wife’s A2 (Project 250) isn’t looking to have any retrofitting. My current commuter (Project OEM) is pretty much at the end of its upgrades apart from a few pending items to be fitted.

I have family not very far from you (Dover) who could get this collected if you decide to move it on. Obviously pictures and price need to be disclosed.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
Welcome aboard Thomas.

I would also recommend checking the earth strap underneath the nearside headlight. Two torx screws remove the headlight unit to gain access. It might be worth removing the earth, giving it and the surrounding area a good clean and seeing if that makes any difference.

Good luck.
 
If battery good defo check earth strap, however i found fitting an additional one so much easier when i had exactly the same symptoms. I did a thread search Starshine for more info
 
Thanks for all your help. I will take some photos today to share with you. In an ideal world, I would find someone in the UK with the 1.2 3L who is looking to sell it, so I can take it back to the continent. Also, my wife would be able to drive it. Funnily enough, my wife seems more attached to the car than I am, so there is a good chance that she will help convince me too. I'm just afraid of the potential cost of both importing the vehicle to Belgium, taxes and insurances, and the extra costs for converting the vehicle (i.e. LHD headlights).
 
Howey said:
If battery good defo check earth strap, however i found fitting an additional one so much easier when i had exactly the same symptoms. I did a thread search Starshine for more info
Click to expand...

Sorry to be asking this, but I am rather a noob when it comes to these things. If I follow your instructions, do I just disconnect the battery, install the earth lead and then connect the battery again?
 
Earth Strap is always worth checking when the starter motor does not turn , however if the car has not been run for a good few miles every week or so the battery will have drained down considerably. First action is a good charge/ conditioning using a good modern charger such as a CTEK
 
Sootywg said:
Earth Strap is always worth checking when the starter motor does not turn , however if the car has not been run for a good few miles every week or so the battery will have drained down considerably. First action is a good charge/ conditioning using a good modern charger such as a CTEK
Click to expand...

Since I took it of the road, I have let the car run stationary for at least half an hour every week. Never had any problems until about three weeks ago. Maybe the cold weather might have had something to do with it. The colour indicator suggests that the battery is still fine, but I was thinking of buying the CTEK charger anyways, as I believe it will be a good investment for the future.
 
gangitano85 said:
Sorry to be asking this, but I am rather a noob when it comes to these things. If I follow your instructions, do I just disconnect the battery, install the earth lead and then connect the battery again?
Click to expand...
Do not appologise for asking questions, its why we all here really!

No need to disconnect the battery simply fit it as its the earth side so no danger!!

Interestingly 2015 tdi polo has earth from body to engine mount!
 
Here's the extra earth strap on my A2
a1-f1-m1MYwPg-1kbui50lua-00V3ja-32d2cd6d10f9311fd00eeacd26e8b53f911ea688.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top