Jetta Help!?! Please!?!

[Lizey]

been a while since i posted anything about my old girl but im almost done rebuilding it and i have a question...

ive done nothing to the engine yet, but its a 1.6 non-turbo diesel and i know that glow plugs are the main thing... but what else do i need to make the stupid thing start without using "Starting Fluid"? I need the car to be reliable because im scraping my Plymouth as soon as im done fixing this issue. Once the engine's warmed up she starts fine but in the mornings or when i first start it for a day it wont catch at all... help?! 

[FLG]

I dont know much about diesels, but i know they make a big deal out of changing the timing chain.

[Darkman]

Make sure your battery is fresh and strong. It draws a lot of power to warm the glow plugs. Batterries generally don't like the cold either.

On cold mornings when starting my Landcruiser, I would usually turn the ignition on, wait for the glow plug light to switch off then repeat the process a couple of times to get some good heat in there and then crank it.

[elacruze]

I don't know the particulars of the VW diesel, but I know a lot about diesel in general.

Glow plugs are critical, however if your engine is in good condition it should only need two to start fairly well. Re-cycling the key more than once can burn out the glow plugs on engines with primitive glow plug control (as I did on my '85 6.2 GM)
You need to verify that the plugs are receiving power, and that they pass it through to the block. Glow plug controllers may be a simple solenoid which can go bad or fail to power up due to poor connections.
You can test the glow plugs themselves with a continuity test-they should show a circuit to the block if they're single-post and across the posts if dual post.
You should never have to use starting fluid. My 6.2 non-turbo starts down to about -20* without a block heater, although that's certainly not preferred. If you need ether, your glow plugs are not working properly or you have a fuel delivery issue.
Keep us posted.

[bull]

Have you driven your (or any) non-turbo diesel Jetta yet? Get ready for some seriously crappy performance. My brother had one (an 86 I think) and that thing couldn't get out of its own way.

[chargergirl]

Starting my turbo deisel: turn on key, wait for "wait to start" light goes off, start, put in neutral and let warm up...if cold it takes longer to warm of course. Deisels are cold blooded pups and like to warm before moving. Just think of a "lizard on a rock". Sluggish till warmed!

[Todd Wilson]

Its probably an indirect injection engine. The glow plugs need to be working for it to start. I had a 6.2 GMC that would not start in July unless the glow plugs were working.  Its probably got a glow plug timer on it somewhere. On the GM engines it would cycle on and then off and you could start. On really cold days you could let it cycle 2 times and then start.  I believe its tied into the water jacket and would cycle the glow plugs a few more times until the engine warmed up. The controller at the time was really expensive for the 6.2. This was probably 18 years ago when mine went out. It was 100$+ back then.

Diesels fire with compression. The heat caused by compressing the air in the cylinder reachs enough heat to fire off. If things are super cold or the heater systems are not working properly a diesel may not start or be very grumpy when it does start. Sometimes you cannot drive them right away but have to let them warm up if its really cold out.

Todd

[Lizey]

yes it is an indirect injection (so i was told by the Jetta forum) and same thing with mine it wouldnt start when it was 95 degrees outside. the timer for the glow plugs must still work because the colder it is the longer the light stays on... i just bought plugs and (hopefully) they're going in this weekend so ill keep everyone posted

Its probably an indirect injection engine. The glow plugs need to be working for it to start. I had a 6.2 GMC that would not start in July unless the glow plugs were working.  Its probably got a glow plug timer on it somewhere. On the GM engines it would cycle on and then off and you could start. On really cold days you could let it cycle 2 times and then start.  I believe its tied into the water jacket and would cycle the glow plugs a few more times until the engine warmed up. The controller at the time was really expensive for the 6.2. This was probably 18 years ago when mine went out. It was 100$+ back then.

Diesels fire with compression. The heat caused by compressing the air in the cylinder reachs enough heat to fire off. If things are super cold or the heater systems are not working properly a diesel may not start or be very grumpy when it does start. Sometimes you cannot drive them right away but have to let them warm up if its really cold out.

Todd

[Arthu®]

I'm pretty sure the glowplugs are your only problem. They are not changed a lot on the old VW's because especially the one on the first cylinder can be a bitch to change. Make sure you don't break them while you try to remove them, they can be very stuck. When you get them out make sure there is no rubbish in the thread on the cylinderhead, when you than put the new ones in you will have a hard time to get them out again. Good luck, mean while check when your timing belt was replaced. The old 1.9 has a habit of going through them.

Arthur

[Lizey]

one of my grandpa's friends is an old vw mechanic he's going to do it (but show me how while he does) and he said he'd check the whole motor out for me... so ill remember to have him check the timing belt as well, thanks!

sorry if this comes across as rude, but its a 1.6 not a 1.9. no big deal, i appriciate the help.. you guys are better than the Vw thread!

I'm pretty sure the glowplugs are your only problem. They are not changed a lot on the old VW's because especially the one on the first cylinder can be a bitch to change. Make sure you don't break them while you try to remove them, they can be very stuck. When you get them out make sure there is no rubbish in the thread on the cylinderhead, when you than put the new ones in you will have a hard time to get them out again. Good luck, mean while check when your timing belt was replaced. The old 1.9 has a habit of going through them.

Arthur

[charge70]

one of my grandpa's friends is an old vw mechanic he's going to do it (but show me how while he does) and he said he'd check the whole motor out for me... so ill remember to have him check the timing belt as well, thanks!

sorry if this comes across as rude, but its a 1.6 not a 1.9. no big deal, i appriciate the help.. you guys are better than the Vw thread!


    i would start with checking for power at the glow plugs.If you have power to them then I would replace the plugs.If you don't have 12v follow the feed wire from the glow plugs back to the firewall you should find a square junction box,inside is an inline fuse. Check for power on both side of the fuse,These used to go bad all the time.Beyond that the glow plug system didn't really have any other problems. John.