94 JEtta does not want to start

- M
- Mauricio
  
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posted
20 years ago

Mon, Oct 13, 2003 3:44 AM

Ok, this afternoon I drove my 94 Jetta (MT) to the laundry and when, I got back to the car, it would not start. It felt like there was not enough juice in the battery to start the car (lights went out, clock reset back to 12:00, and so on). A friend came around and we jump started the car without a problem. Once it was on, it would run all day without complaining (well, it did feel it was hesitating at cruise speeds and rpms around 3K). But, if I stopped it, I would not start. Since I had another battery in my other car, I stole it. Car started up without a hitch. So, I drove back (and had no hesitation problems), did some errands, and got home. Now, I was going to drive the car again and the same thing happened. That would make me believe the battery was not the culprit. Could it be the bloody alternator? What else to check?

- W
- Woodchuck
  
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posted
20 years ago

Mon, Oct 13, 2003 10:52 AM

Te Alt is easy to check, with engine running voltage should be about 13.8 volts with a range of about 13.2v - 14.2v

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- Pencilneck
  
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posted
20 years ago

Mon, Oct 13, 2003 10:18 PM

Your battery very well could be the problem. I would have the battery load tested. Something that can happen is you get an open ciruit inside the battery when under heavy load (tyring to start the car). A weak weld inside the battery on a strip that joins 2 cells together can cause a poor electrical contact. When you try to start the car and a heavy current demand flows across that weld, it heats up, expands and loose contact, no more battery and the clock resets. You let off the key, weld cools right back down and make poor contact again. Once you have the engine running, there is no heavy loads on the battery because the alt is powering everything. A load test will give you the answers you need, Autozone offers them for free as I recall (and they sell a nice battery to boot).