02 Jetta TDI Cranks but No start

SmokeShow

SmokeShow

New member
As title says, the old girl just cranks & cranks. Has ran perfect with no signs of an issue. Got home from work fri. evening & went to start Sat. & no dice. Cranks over strong, just doesn't fire. I don't even know what to check. It had a timing belt change & head rebuild about 5k ago. It has since stopped leaking oil & until fri, ndver an issue in the 25k miles I've put on it.

I've read it might be fuel filter. I'm going to get one but honestly don't even know where its at as I've yet to do one myself on this car. -_-

Little help. :D
 
First thing to do is make sure you have fuel to the pump and coming from the pump to the injectors, crack some lines and turn over, see what you have. If you have fuel there, you will need a scan tool, if you do not;

Look under the head of the injection pump, they are known for leaking from the body O-ring and causing this. Look the entire pump over for leaks, mine was leaking from two spots.

Check the fuel filter for sure, be dang skippy the fittings are in tight.

Look under the car fro any signs of leaks, the fuel supply lines are not metal, road debris can crack them.
 
throwing parts at it never works and costs tons of money...

Does the glow plug and check engine light come on when you turn the key?
if no, relay 109 or some other communication to the ecu. Otherwise you'll have to look elsewhere.

For the sake of double checking things, make sure the timing belt is good and has no slack. I've seen that enough times where someone mashes a tensioner then keeps cranking wrecking everything.

Check fuel, etc. wouldn't hurt to crack the injector lines and crank to see if fuel comes shooting out.

Are you saying its leaking oil? Where is it leaking from? I have seen a front main seal leak enough to soak a timing belt and that slipped and dropped a valve.
 
Last edited:
Sorry for the confusion... it no longer leaks oil after the recent head rebuild and timing chain replacement. I feel 99.9% sure this is not a timing belt issue. The guy/shop who did it has done hundreds of them and is known nationally for his TDI experience.

I'll check the relay first. Then I'll probably throw a new fuel filter in it (what's the recommended change interval on the fuel filter?) and check those fittings. And proceed to checking the lines for flow and the pump for leaks.

Thanks for the tips.
 
Nevermind. Found it. My goodness that floorboard is hard for a fat a guy to fit in all twisted around reaching. LOL. My guy suggested tapping the relay to see if it'd start. No luck.

Someone mentioned if the glow plug or check engine lights come on, its not likely the relay? I didn't see the check engine light but the glow plug light illuminates very briefly when first turn the key then immediately goes out.

For no more than the relay costs, I'm going to throw one in there.
 
These diesels run on more than 1 wire. they have a computer, a scanner - even generic does wonders!

VCDS in the hands of a smart individual will answer all questions.
 
I don't have even a generic scanner... I was trying to avoid taking it to my guy (who obviously has the VCDS) to save some money mostly on the tow bill to get it there since it's DEAD at my house 20 miles away.

Ugh.
 
you could have put a jumper wire in between where pins 30 and 87 plug in. My car wouldn't start right before I bought it so I stuck a jumper in for troubleshooting purposes and it fired right up. I put a new relay in and it has been fine ever since.
 
Which legs of the relay are those two pin positions?

And honestly, how in the heck did you manage to do that in that confined of a space up under the dash? Or did you do that jumping in a harness somewhere more accessible?
 
SmokeShow said:
Which legs of the relay are those two pin positions?

And honestly, how in the heck did you manage to do that in that confined of a space up under the dash? Or did you do that jumping in a harness somewhere more accessible?
Click to expand...

The pin numbers are on the relay. And very carefully LOL

Did you remove the panel under the steering wheel? It makes it a little easier to get to
 
Last edited:
I couldn't figure out how to get that panel out. I got it loose directly below the wheel but couldn't get it free by the door/fuse panel. I didn't know which way to tug & feared breaking it so I quit.
 
I had a little time to tinker with it today. To better reach the 109 relay, i pulled the big black "double" relay just below it, then inserted a piece of wire in the opens where leg 30 & 89 go for the relay. Reinstalled the big lower relay & it still didn't start but idk if it was a good enough jumper. So i reinstalled my relay after lightly tapping on it (whatever that might do is beyond me lol ). When I reinserted the relay, it clicked inside of it.

Since that exercise didn't work, I watched the fuel line between the filter head & pump while cranking bc its clear & there was very little or no fuel going through the line. I stopped there. Going to get a relay & fuel filter first & go from there.

Would the pump still suck fuel (making fuel flow thru that line I watched) if the 109 relay is bad? If not, I have a major clog before pump or pump isn't sucking. There was no moisture are the pump that would lead me to believe its leaking.
 
Just asking, but when was the last time you put fuel in? And for the record, what you describe is what I had going when the head o-ring was leaking, plenty of fuel in the tank, but none at the IP due to it leaking back into the tank. The only way I found mine was doing this was with a hand operated vac pump. I disconnected the fuel lines and blocked the ports off and used it to pressurize the IP's fuel system and listened for leaks.
 
It has about a 1/4 tank of fuel according to the gauge which has been accurate & operating correctly. And it should still have fuel based on miles for the tank (have a little more than 400 miles on this tank, usually hafta refuel around 600). But last refuel was 2-3wks ago. Unless it was siphoned out in my driveway (not likely) theres fuel in it because I remember hearing it slosh when I stopped the night I parked. I only remember that bc I don't normally hear that.

I'll keep that o ring deal in mind.

Thanks for the help.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top