2004 VW Beetle issues

andystephens

Morning all,

After some help. I am a little mechanically minded but needed some advice.
I've got a 2004 1.6 petrol beetle. Sometimes it struggles to start, and when it does there is no power for a few moments then all of a sudden the power comes back. I have read the codes which were stored and it said that it is something to do with the engine temperature sensor. Is this easy to replace? Also while driving this morning, there was a lack of power and the battery light flickered a couple of times. What could this be?

Thanks all

DUTR

You don't mention when it was last serviced (old cars need servicing too) , at that age, could be a fuel filter, coil pack intermittent, loose battery terminal to name 3.

andystephens

It is due a service, wasn't sure if that would cause the trouble starting and loss of power

AdrianC

If it means the coolant temp sensor, then that could very easily be causing the symptoms you describe - effectively, it's not pulling the choke out - and then probably not pushing it back in again, just going with a "I don't understand, so I'll go with a default that's probably least-worst".

Depending on access, it's usually a quick and cheap fix.

"Servicing" isn't just an occasional oil change every blue moon and a set of pads and tyres under protest in the face of an MOT fail.

Ectophile

I wonder how many drivers now even know what "pulling the choke out" means these days. The only car I've had with one was a 1971 Ford Escourt.



When a car engine is cold, it needs to be run rich to keep it going. That means adding extra fuel. But that's less economical and produces more pollution. So as the engine warms up, it can be run leaner - less fuel and more air. The engine becomes more efficient and produces less pollution.


If the engine management system can't read the engine's temperature, then it doesn't know what to do. It's probably running the engine too lean.


The battery light flickering on means the engine is running so slow that the alternator can't generate enough electricity. If it goes away after fixing the cold start problem, then don't worry about it.

AdrianC

Ectophile wrote: »

I wonder how many drivers now even know what "pulling the choke out" means these days. The only car I've had with one was a 1971 Ford Escourt.

Manual chokes were still fitted to some cars in production into the 1990s.

magicboy

I had a similar Bora 1.6 for a while -coolant temp sensor was replaced once under warranty and again at 4 years old. With mine, the sensor thought then engine was still cold and supplied too much fuel once it warmed up, so it loses power as it's effectively flooded the engine and trying to stall. Long term won't do the catalytic converter any good and you'll get much worse fuel mileage.

parking_question_chap

andystephens wrote: »

I have read the codes which were stored and it said that it is something to do with the engine temperature sensor.

Reading the codes might pick up on a fault with the temperature sensor, but that doesnt necessarily mean that its the temperature sensor causing the power issues. The faulty temperature sensor might not be causing any noticable problems.

I used to run a VW that got to be about that age and experienced something similar to what you are reporting. Turned out to be a problem with the alternator and I had it rebuilt. The fact you have got power issues and a battery light flashing probably isnt a coincidence. I would suggest going to an euto electrics specialist to get the battery and alternator properly tested. Might be that one or the other is goosed.