The 99 Beetle Project....Difficult Diagnosis

[tagger609]

Ok so i just bought a project car that was not running. The owner said he bought it in an estate sale and it only ran for a day. I dont believe it however.

Ok so here is what ive gathered.

- Door panel was off and i believe he replaced the locking mechanism , window motor and the door panel.

- The car has 3 new keys , 2 regular keys and one of the flip key im assuming with a chip. I have no clue if they are programmed for the car or if they have to be. THe remote key does not open the doors or lock them.

- new battery by me

- Inside of car was moldy smelling so im assuming it was stored in a moist environment.

- Windows dont work, locks do work with the button on the inside of the driver side door.

- Inside lights dont come on when you open the doors .

- DOES NOT CRANK - hear the fuel pumps turn on , dash lights come on, head lights come on. Thats it.

- When you turn the key the lights go out and nothing. the starter does not spin and the car does not crank.



----- What ive tried -------

- Ive looked through the fuses and they are all ok , or from what i saw

- Checked the cable connections for the battery and starter and look ok.

- I jumped the starter with a pair of plyers and the starter does spin but does not crank the motor. So it does get power to the starter, just wont spin it or crank the motor from inside the car.

- checked the wires coming into the relay box and they seem ok.


---------------- Any help with this would be great. Help me diagnose this thing !!!!

[tagger609]

Also ill offer $20 via paypal to who gets it right. My mind is really blown with this thing. any help is appreciated.

[bme]

Manual or automatic? If manual I would guess the clutch interlock switch. When I worked at dealer we replaced them like crazy for a while. I can't remember if they did an actual recall though.


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[Smileybug]

Have you checked the voltage of the battery? Checked the timing belt?

[tagger609]

Its automatic so not the clutch switch. Have not checked the timing belt. Is there a easy way to do this ?

[bme]

Originally Posted by tagger609

Have not checked the timing belt. Is there a easy way to do this ?

It should crank and trigger the starter even if it is a problem.

Have you checked the fuses in the passenger compartment as well as the battery mounted fuses?


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[tagger609]

Checked them visually no multimeter testing. Should i just replace the bunch. The fuses on the battery cover are 30 amp anx solid green cant really see if they r broke.

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[esse10]

At this point I would check for any signs of coolant in the oil or wet oily spark plugs, check compression to see if you have a blown head gasket. remove the timing belt covers and turn the crank with a wrench while the spark plugs are removed and see if the motor is seized. You might have to replace the whole engine or rebuild
sorry not a happy ending.....

[tagger609]

It sat for a very long time (was bought from an estate). I think its an electrical problem , could it be an ignition switch ? Or something. Before i tear this engine apart

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[bme]

Originally Posted by tagger609

Checked them visually no multimeter testing. Should i just replace the bunch. The fuses on the battery cover are 30 amp anx solid green cant really see if they r broke.

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Just wanted to make sure, you checked the one on the drivers side fuse panel on the dash?


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[tagger609]

Originally Posted by bme

Just wanted to make sure, you checked the one on the drivers side fuse panel on the dash?


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yes i checked the fuse box on the left of the steering wheel.

[bme]

Do you have a Bentley manual? They have great wiring diagrams for these cars. Can you confirm you have power to the starter solenoid when cranking?


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[esse10]

well u specify that you jumped the starter and the motor would not crank over, well if the battery is good and it won't crank over it tell me that the engine is seized up from either sitting too long or blown head gasket, or timing belt skipt a tooth or water pump broke and it overheated and blew the head gasket. You got a real project car alright..LOL

[tagger609]

When i turn the key the starter doesnt spin so i mean what are the odds its seized and the starter solenoid broke at the same time?

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[bme]

Originally Posted by esse10

well u specify that you jumped the starter and the motor would not crank over, well if the battery is good and it won't crank over it tell me that the engine is seized up from either sitting too long or blown head gasket, or timing belt skipt a tooth or water pump broke and it overheated and blew the head gasket. You got a real project car alright..LOL

This would be easy to tell, put a socket on the crank and turn. If you can spin it that ain't the problem.


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[bme]

Originally Posted by tagger609

When i turn the key the starter doesnt spin so i mean what are the odds its seized and the starter solenoid broke at the same time?

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I don't know about odds or if you are being sarcastic, but if you had to jump the starter and it engages the problem can be the starter solenoid (giving power to the starter)or before the starter.


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[bme]

A starter coming out to engage the flywheel is different than the starter coming out and spinning. I have seen latter go bad, where it will engage but not spin.

[tagger609]

Took out a spark plug, cranked motor with a rachet on the pully. Motor turned and air pressure felt at spark plug hole. So now what. Any ideas

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[IndyTom]

Have you taken off the plastic timing belt cover and visually inspected the timing belt? Is it still in place? Even if you cranked the engine by hand the pistons may still go up and down and push air out of the spark plug hole but the valves may not be opening. If it is still in place check for missing teeth on the belt. It may jumped a few teeth.
Have you tried to jump the vehicle? The battery may not have enough power by itself to engage the starter solenoid.

I hope you got a good deal on this beetle. It seems it will cost you a bundle to get it up and running again and since it's an Automatic it will probably cost you even more to get the valve body or the transmission fixed. Those early 4 speeds autos are the worst ever made by VW.

[tagger609]

Got an ok deal on it. I will inspect the timing belt. Thanks Any tips at getting at it