Weird car problem

gaui3d0pnbz86o

i have a 2001 seat toledo 1.8 and yesterday it just wouldnt start, now i had to go to work so i left it overnight and came back to it today, still not starting. However the dash lights and needles will come on and move at random and after i try to start it you can hear a clicking as if the starter motor is trying to engage--not turning over though.

i jumpstarted the car and it workes grand, so i think ok maybe its the battey is dead, perhaps i forgot to turn off the lights or something(which i farily sure i didnt) so i take it for a drive(about 30 miles) hoping it would charge the battery. i also turned off everything i could, lights radio and heater, didnt use the elec windows or anything to save the batt as it was charging

during the drive i notice the handbrake light is flashing on and off and the abs light is staying on. i pulled over, brake fluid was my first thought but thats a hair under the max level and well over min. the brakes themselves are perfect and work great.

when i get home after the drive i turned off the engine and tried to restart but same thing again, wont start.

im at a loss, can anyone shed any light?when it wouldnt start someone mentioned it could be the battery contacts but i checked them, all tight and clean.

el tel

Do you mean jumpstart or push-start?
VAG starters can be are pretty crappy - sometimes only lasting 50k miles. Perhaps it's done and not engaging the flywheel and is time for a new one (which should all now come with a 3yr warranty)

The handbrake light flashing on and off and the abs light staying on could be particular warning/fault diagnostic messages so check your vehicle handbook to decipher them.

Seth Brundle

The recent cold snap seems to be taking its toll on some batteries.

MercMad

I'd say you have a dead cell in your battery. If the ABS light is lighting there is a fault in the system, in this case the ABS ECU knows you dont have 12V in your battery !

The car is obviously charging okay otherwise the battery light would be on and you probably wouldn't get far !

Go to any battery or motorfactor and ask them to check your battery. Make sure you have radio codes and alrm keys before disconnecting it !

gaui3d0pnbz86o

i have the radio code but not the key code!

Do you mean jumpstart or push-start?
VAG starters can be are pretty crappy - sometimes only lasting 50k miles. Perhaps it's done and not engaging the flywheel and is time for a new one

jumpstarted via cables and a second car! your 50k statement is spot on car has done 53k

MercMad

You wont need the keycode if you have the key !

If the starter wasn't engaging its unlikely that jump leads would make any difference, despite the extra current ! If the battery was healthy it would fire the solenoid anyway !

Interceptor

Could also be a problem or loose connection in the alternator. I had the very same problem last week, no starting and the ABS light, gearbox ECU and others went on and off like a christmas decoration once I jumped it. I charged the battery and the problem went away for a day, then changed the battery and the same thing - back after a day. Pulled the alternator and one of the connections onto the rectifier (inside it) was loose. Problem solved. I put a fiver on this being your problem.

'c

unkel

Interceptor wrote:

Could also be a problem or loose connection in the alternator. I had the very same problem last week, no starting and the ABS light, gearbox ECU and others went on and off like a christmas decoration once I jumped it. I charged the battery and the problem went away for a day, then changed the battery and the same thing - back after a day. Pulled the alternator and one of the connections onto the rectifier (inside it) was loose. Problem solved. I put a fiver on this being your problem.

'c

I too had a very similar problem once. Battery replaced (under warranty) didn't solve it. Turned out to be the alternator too. It was faulty so it was unable to charge the battery

AMurphy

Dane Many Slacker wrote:

i have a 2001 seat toledo 1.8 and yesterday it just wouldnt start, now i had to go to work so i left it overnight and came back to it today, still not starting. However the dash lights and needles will come on and move at random and after i try to start it you can hear a clicking as if the starter motor is trying to engage--not turning over though.

i jumpstarted the car and it workes grand, so i think ok maybe its the battey is dead, perhaps i forgot to turn off the lights or something(which i farily sure i didnt) so i take it for a drive(about 30 miles) hoping it would charge the battery. i also turned off everything i could, lights radio and heater, didnt use the elec windows or anything to save the batt as it was charging

during the drive i notice the handbrake light is flashing on and off and the abs light is staying on. i pulled over, brake fluid was my first thought but thats a hair under the max level and well over min. the brakes themselves are perfect and work great.

when i get home after the drive i turned off the engine and tried to restart but same thing again, wont start.

.......QUOTE]

Is this manual or automatic g'box?
And or, do you have cruise control?

When you went to it the firs time it did not start, did it turn over. And if it did turn over, was it fast (good battery) or slow and sluggish, (dying batt).

and whe you say "after i try to start it you can hear a clicking as if the starter motor is trying to engage--not turning over though"
Do yu mean when you had given up and pulled the key from the ignition, it continues with this clicking, etc.?. in the dash, engine, where?.
Or do you mean, "after you have turned over the engine for several minutes, and having failed to start, it clicks when you turn the key to try again"

If the ABS light is on and the oil is OK, I might check you do not have a faulty or disconnected wheel speed sensor or a connector to one of them that is full of water or corroded.

Often if you have a faulty Alternator, you can detect a pulsation in the lights (Mail beams) at idle.
Although a car that goes 30 miles would not be evidence of a flat battery or a failed alternator. More like 5 miles these days.

And while the battery end connections may be OK, you may have loose main connections at teh other ends of the same cables, so check the live connection to the started body and the main ground connection to the engine & body.

CrowdedHouse

A guy I know with a tyre/battery shop told me he reckons he sells 90% of his new batteries between November and February

gaui3d0pnbz86o

ok an update for ye!

went to tinker this morning at it again and the bonnet wouldnt open... ugh not my day!....turns out the cable came out of the release latch. at this stage i admitted defeat and rang a friend of a friend who is a mechanic.

got the car transported to his garage, he fixed the bonnet latch and the car problem was a wire loose in the alternator to the rectafier was loose and the batt was gone too, so a new batt and fixing the wire in properly. the abs lights are gone as is the flashing handbrake lights, seems the abs system couldnt get enough power to operate.

all is good again!

el tel

Dane Many Slacker wrote:

ok an update for ye!

went to tinker this morning at it again and the bonnet wouldnt open... ugh not my day!....turns out the cable came out of the release latch. at this stage i admitted defeat and rang a friend of a friend who is a mechanic.

got the car transported to his garage, he fixed the bonnet latch and the car problem was a wire loose in the alternator to the rectafier was loose and the batt was gone too, so a new batt and fixing the wire in properly. the abs lights are gone as is the flashing handbrake lights, seems the abs system couldnt get enough power to operate.

all is good again!

Happy days, typical of the bonnet though, 'sif the probelm at hand wasn't enough!

Interceptor

Interceptor wrote:

Could also be a problem or loose connection in the alternator. I had the very same problem last week, and one of the connections onto the rectifier (inside it) was loose. I put a fiver on this being your problem.

Seems I owe myself a fiver...

'c