Pasat Battery Question
Out of context: Reply #7
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- monNom0
turn your lights on and have someone stand in front of the car, if they dim noticeably when you try to turn your engine over, the battery needs a charge/replacement (a jump-start may work, but if you let it run and your lights start slowly dimming, you may have an alternator problem and your engine will quit unexpectedly). If they stay strong and bright when turning the key, it's probably your starter, in which case you can have someone bang on the back of the starter motor with a hammer while you try to turn the engine over. This will usually get you started, for a few starts at least, and you can head on down to the mechanic to have a new one installed.
I know it sounds like total BS to hit your starter with a hammer, but it actually moves the worn brushes enough that they can again contact the commutator and get the motor going again.
if the hammer doesn't work, it might be the starter solenoid (the bit that moves the starter gear into place). Not sure what you can do about that other than replace it.
It may also be something to do with the wiring...in which case you need to set fire to it and wheel it off a cliff.
- *because you could spend well over the value of the car hunting down an electrical problem in a VWmonNom