Pasat Battery Question
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- mg33
Anyone have or had a VW Pasat and ever have a battery problem? I'm searching the web but thought I'd check here as well. Theres still some juice in the battery because the lights turn on, and dash/interior lights, but when I try t turn it on, it just makes a sort of digital cranking sound.
Want to try jumping the battery but not totally sure if that's the problem. Any ideas?
- horton0
i'm no VW driver but sounds to me like a good old fashion dead battery... ?
jump das beitch.
- vw always have electrical problems. Trust me, I had a 99 cabrio for 10 years.antagonista
- horton0
unless...
- aanderton0
Use jump leads and try it out. Its possible that your starter motors gone. I don't know too much about these modern vehicles. If you owned a pre 80's VW I could be of more help :P
- akrok0
usually (on any car), you would have a bad alternator. unless the battery is really old.
- Just about to suggest the alternator as well.ETM
- < This, I'd say.Continuity
- 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
- aanderton0
What was it in the end mg33? I'm curious to know.
- babaganush0
Problem!?! Problem!?!...it's obviously Greenpiss sabatage!! (isn't that right @coldarchon?)
- *sabotage...before coldarchon gets out the speak n spell...babaganush
- vaxorcist0
Old thread... but I have a friend with a Passat who started having odd electrical issues, then a strange transmission clunk when taking his foot off the gas while coasting at 30-40mph.... it was the beginning of the weird gremlins where all sorts of random electrical shit starting acting wierd... he sold the car and got a mini cooper, after talking to a mechanic friend who said VW electrical oddness is a black hole of unpredictableness.....
- ********0
One summer a friend lent me her '79 VW Rabbit Convertible while she was gone for the summer.
It ran well for an old car except for this one day when I parked and turned off the ignition but the car just kept running. I took the key out but it wouldn't shut off. Pretty funny.
- aldebaran0
Measure the voltage to the battery while the car is running to determine if your alternator is putting out enough current.
It should probably be around 13volts while running. Anything less will not charge the battery while you're driving.
- mg330
Turns out we needed a new battery. My fiance actually bought a battery at an auto parts store for $100 and took it to the VW dealership where the car is and told them to install that one, not the same one they'd charge $250 for. LOL!
- Dealer = Stealer accordng to my mechanic friend....vaxorcist
