2000 Beetle Suddenly Won't Start

[new_beetle_lover]

Hi all,

I am new to the forums and after lots of work, decided to register and see if anyone can help me out with my until today awesome Beetle.

Here's the basic story: My girlfriend was driving to work this morning and said that my Beetle (she drives it during the week since I take the lightrail to work) was "running rough". When she went to go get lunch the car wouldn't start at all. I got it towed back to my place and started doing diagnostic work on it, and am totally stumped at this point. Here is the run down:

1. Car turns over, serpentine belt is moving. The timing belt looks fine.
2. I pulled a spark plug and it was firing.
3. Fuel pump relay is working.
4. I took the inlet hose off the fuel rail and turned the car over; plenty of fuel is flowing.
5. Has half a tank of gas, but put two gallons of fresh fuel in just to make sure the gauge wasn't broken.
6. Put a multimeter on one of the fuel injectors; about 15 ohms. Checked voltage at plug, it was between 5-7VDC when the car was turning over.

At this point I have no idea what else could cause the car, which was running just fine, to suddenly die. It's getting spark, it's getting fuel, it's turning over, the injectors seem to be getting signal...I figure even if just one is getting one, it should at least cough and wheeze when it tries to start...instead nothing, it just sits there, turning over, doesn't try to start at all.

One odd thing I noticed was that when my buddy tried pushing the throttle pedal when he was turning it over, I saw blu-ish smoke come out the air filter! (It's an aftermarket K&N cone style). At that point I started wondering just how serious this problem was, or if it was just exhaust gas re-circulating.

I have no idea what else to even look at. I do not have an ODB II meter so I guess I could buy a one and see if it's throwing any codes...does anyone have any suggestions before I go spend $100 on a meter that may not even tell me anything?

Thanks for everyone's time!

--Frank (new_beetle_lover)

[D2Beetle]

Have you considered the cam, knock and/or crank sensors?

[Fl_bug]

Originally Posted by new_beetle_lover

Hi all,

I am new to the forums and after lots of work, decided to register and see if anyone can help me out with my until today awesome Beetle.

Here's the basic story: My girlfriend was driving to work this morning and said that my Beetle (she drives it during the week since I take the lightrail to work) was "running rough". When she went to go get lunch the car wouldn't start at all. I got it towed back to my place and started doing diagnostic work on it, and am totally stumped at this point. Here is the run down:

1. Car turns over, serpentine belt is moving. The timing belt looks fine.
2. I pulled a spark plug and it was firing.
3. Fuel pump relay is working.
4. I took the inlet hose off the fuel rail and turned the car over; plenty of fuel is flowing.
5. Has half a tank of gas, but put two gallons of fresh fuel in just to make sure the gauge wasn't broken.
6. Put a multimeter on one of the fuel injectors; about 15 ohms. Checked voltage at plug, it was between 5-7VDC when the car was turning over.

At this point I have no idea what else could cause the car, which was running just fine, to suddenly die. It's getting spark, it's getting fuel, it's turning over, the injectors seem to be getting signal...I figure even if just one is getting one, it should at least cough and wheeze when it tries to start...instead nothing, it just sits there, turning over, doesn't try to start at all.

One odd thing I noticed was that when my buddy tried pushing the throttle pedal when he was turning it over, I saw blu-ish smoke come out the air filter! (It's an aftermarket K&N cone style). At that point I started wondering just how serious this problem was, or if it was just exhaust gas re-circulating.

I have no idea what else to even look at. I do not have an ODB II meter so I guess I could buy a one and see if it's throwing any codes...does anyone have any suggestions before I go spend $100 on a meter that may not even tell me anything?

Thanks for everyone's time!

--Frank (new_beetle_lover)

Fir a VW, you want to get one that reads VW codes. I'd start by clicking the middle and bottom links in my signature.

[simonsi]

Originally Posted by new_beetle_lover

...I saw blu-ish smoke come out the air filter!

Check the crank and camshaft timing marks are still aligned, that smoke may indicate it is almost firing but allowing gases back up the inlet - which may indicate your cam timing has shifted, this is potentially very bad but checking the marks will rule it in or out.

[new_beetle_lover]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the input. I finally broke down and bought a code reader to see if there were any codes and it looks like it's the fuel pump relay...there are seven codes being thrown but after doing some online reading I've found that a lot of people get multiple codes and when it includes the fuel pump relay code, that's usually the culprit. I was pretty surprised by this because I checked the relay when I pulled it out of the vehicle and it switched just fine...turns out there is a lot of add'l circuitry inside which may be the problem. I have a new one on order, should be here today, so hopefully this will solve it.

[new_beetle_lover]

Well guys, I figured it out after a week of troubleshooting. I hope this info helps someone else!

In the end I replaced the fuel pump relay, checked the fuel pressure at the rail, and changed the regulator at the end of the fuel rail. All of this didn't help at all. Then I talked to a buddy who said that if the injectors are firing, you should hear a click...I heard none. This pretty much meant that the fuel system wasn't the problem, it was the control of the injectors.

At this point I felt defeated and was getting her ready to tow to a shop and when I was looking at the engine one last time, I noticed on the timing belt that two teeth were missing...I think the timing belt slipped a bit and that's why nothing was working as it should. I'm going to have a shop replace it, as I just don't have the time right now and hopefully the valvetrain wasn't beat up by the slip.

Anyway, thanks for the help guys and I hope someone else can find this info helpful.