VW golf V6 dead as a dodo - anyone help?

espresso

The only real way to test the battery is with a drop tester. Any decent garage should be able to do this for you. This puts a load on the battery while measuring the voltage.

GW65

espresso wrote: »

The only real way to test the battery is with a drop tester. Any decent garage should be able to do this for you. This puts a load on the battery while measuring the voltage.

If you haven't got a drop tester, you could try the following... With the battery in the car as normal and the engine not running, put a meter across the battery - it should be a little over 12 volts if fully charged, but could be lower given cold weather and less than full charge. Turn on the headlights (you many need to turn on the ignition, but don't start the engine) and see how much the voltage drops - if it's more than 0.5 volts then the battery is effectively dead. Given that the car's been dying with the engine running, may also be worth checking the voltage when the engine's running to see if the alternator is OK (it should be around 14.5 volts).

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

Cars are full of electronics. A low voltage on the battery may cause all manner of electronic problems.

goldspanners

seeing as your man is into his old vw's then he was doing the right thing letting it heat up before moving off,i read in a mk2 or 3 (cant remember) owners manual that the vehicle should not be driven until the temperature gauge has moved from the white mark into the centre part of the temperature gauge. this was highlighted in bold with an exclamation mark. so he think he is doing the right thing,personally i hate driving any vehicle when its just been started in cold weather,i will always let it tick over for a few minutes to demist windows and let it get some heat around the engine. regardless of if its legal or not.
i dont think letting the car tick over has caused the dash lights to go out and not allow it to restart.
it could be that the battery was weak before hand and having just started the car on a very cold morning the battery had not recovered from starting the car and was still drained, or maybe the alternator isnt charging the battery. if your boyfriend is handy with cars then he should be able to jump start the car and check to see if the battery is being charged or not,let it run for a while (or to stay legal) take it for a run,let the alternator charge the battery up and take it from there.

lovethymini

Inactive wrote: »

Nope, that is the correct thing to do, leaving a car ticking over from cold does the harm.

I thought that when I first start my car all the oil is in the sump, so letting it idle for a couple of minutes allows the oil to come up to it's correct operating temperature and circulate thoroughly around all the parts of the engine

Also, aren't the tolerances on engine parts much greater when the engine is cold, therefore, driving on a cold engine is likely to cause premature wear.

Another reason for allowing your car to warm up before driving is that a cold engine requires a higher percentage of petrol to air. This has the effect of "washing" the bores and reducing the effectiveness of any oil.

(Land_of)_Maz

goldspanners wrote: »

seeing as your man is into his old vw's then he was doing the right thing letting it heat up before moving off,i read in a mk2 or 3 (cant remember) owners manual that the vehicle should not be driven until the temperature gauge has moved from the white mark into the centre part of the temperature gauge. this was highlighted in bold with an exclamation mark. so he think he is doing the right thing,personally i hate driving any vehicle when its just been started in cold weather,i will always let it tick over for a few minutes to demist windows and let it get some heat around the engine. regardless of if its legal or not.
i dont think letting the car tick over has caused the dash lights to go out and not allow it to restart.
it could be that the battery was weak before hand and having just started the car on a very cold morning the battery had not recovered from starting the car and was still drained, or maybe the alternator isnt charging the battery. if your boyfriend is handy with cars then he should be able to jump start the car and check to see if the battery is being charged or not,let it run for a while (or to stay legal) take it for a run,let the alternator charge the battery up and take it from there.

cheers gold spanners... i'm glad he maybe knows a little bit then!

the car started tonight no probs... bleeding pain in the buum car!!!!

angel00079

How long did it take to cut out? Just wondering if it is the immobiliser. There could have been a bad connection on the dash and relocking sorted it. On a few occasions my Corsa cut out just pushing the dash sorted.

I found that our car wouldn't start on cold mornings but was fine in the afternoon. I am guess that it was not as cold so the weak battery had just enough juice to start.

hewhoisnotintheknow

my brand new golf has electrical fits, hightlights include new ecus, brakes not responding quicly, windows opening, lights not working radio refusing, remote central locking not working, you get the picture!

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers!

lovethymini wrote: »

I thought that when I first start my car all the oil is in the sump, so letting it idle for a couple of minutes allows the oil to come up to it's correct operating temperature and circulate thoroughly around all the parts of the engine

The oil will be fully pressurised and ready in seconds. The oil will not get hot until the engine gets hot. The engine takes longer to get hot if you don't drive it. Hence idling when cold - engine wear.

lovethymini wrote: »

Also, aren't the tolerances on engine parts much greater when the engine is cold, therefore, driving on a cold engine is likely to cause premature wear.

Quite correct, however the engine will be warm within minutes if you drive it. If you idle it, it will take half an hour.

lovethymini wrote: »

Another reason for allowing your car to warm up before driving is that a cold engine requires a higher percentage of petrol to air. This has the effect of "washing" the bores and reducing the effectiveness of any oil.

Not really.

(Land_of)_Maz

hewhoisnotintheknow wrote: »

my brand new golf has electrical fits, hightlights include new ecus, brakes not responding quicly, windows opening, lights not working radio refusing, remote central locking not working, you get the picture!

VW's are a pain for electrics... we've known cars with similar faults! seems if you get a dodgy one then it's prone to problems, yet others will be fault free for years...

this V6 also recently developed a problem with the boot, totally locked solid, haven't been in my boot since october!! lol!

Also temp gauge can read -45degrees for a while and then beep and revert to correct air temp outside... very wierd...

Other niggles like trims that are loose or come off when you pull them not very hard, permanent air bag fault on display,checked out by garage, diagnostics reset and just came back again....

i think if you get a wrong un, it just gets to you, and all sorts of craappy unrelated niggles come up!

This is my first Mk4, had 2-3 mark3's and never had these kinda problems, i just think this Mk4 isn't as well finished or as sturdy..