OT: VW Diesel having trouble starting

[kaschi]

Hi all:

I'm betting some of you guys are pretty well versed when it comes to auto mechanics so here's a problem we're having with my wife's VW 2000 Jetta TDI.

The car itself runs GREAT, gets good mileage and has been a reliable, trustworthy road card but getting it started can be a little tricky, especially in the colder months. For the record, she only drives 2 miles each way to work. Our mechanic, an outstanding VW guy with his own successful business, suggests that that alone is the reason for the car not wanting to start. He maintains the car's glow plugs draw a lot of juice from the battery and, as a result after a few days, there just isn't enough there to start it. If she drove it longer, this wouldn't be a problem he says. I trust him and his word fully but just wanted to get your take on the situation. Any ideas?

Just thought of a couple more noteworthy items to mention to help with the diagnosis:

Even though the car sometimes won't start, the lights still work. We can't determine if s/thing is draining the battery. At least we know that a dome/glove box light or radio are not the problem since we've already dismissed them as possibilities. What other items could drain a battery and how would a guy find them?

As soon as you attach jumper cables to it, the car starts immediately. It "turns right over" and is not sluggish.

I asked the mechanic if a block heater would help and he says it won't because he believes the issue is battery related.

Would a battery tender be the answer to the problem?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[williamranks]

Sounds like the battery has lost storage capacity.
Had a brand new one once on the BMW with the same problem. Without at least a 30 mile drive after start up it would only spin the V8 once.
When the battery dealer checked it with a load tester it showed good on the first test and a second test failed.

[Blaine]

Not too many choices. Bad battery, bad regulator, bad alternator, bad connections on any of those.....

[Modoc ED]

If the battery is older than 5-years old (probably 4-years old in a harsh climate), put a new battery in. AND get a good one - not an economy model off the bargain shop.

A battery tender is a good idea. I live in Northeast CA where the temps dip to -30º for a couple of weeks at a time and I use a battery tender on my tractor which sees snow removal duty and I need a fully charged battery to spin the engine up. I also use a battery tender on my truck that I keep a scanner and my cell phone plugged in at all times.

Regardless, a battery in good condition is uppermost on your list and of course your connections and supporting equipment as Blaine suggested but I'd assume that if your mechanic is as good as you say, he's already checked all that out.

[rogn]

You've just described the easy way to check the system. Trickle charge the battery overnight , then wait 24 hours--If it doesn't start then it needs a battery replacement. As they said don't get a nearly adequate battery.

[kaschi]

Thanks for those responses with the good tips. This is the first chance I had to sit down at a computer since my initial query on Sunday but I wanted to acknowledge them and give an update.
Since Sunday, there have been some pretty cold nights here in PA with temps in the upper teens. I connected the battery to the charger on trickle setting two nights in a row and the car started with no trouble on both occasions in the early morning. Then we did not hook the charger up for the last two nights and it started right up just as easily. By the way, the battery now in the car is an Interstate "high cranking" battery and is about one year old. It was the largest in size and most powerful battery that we could find to fit so it's probably not the battery's fault but getting it tested is on the agenda just to be safe.

The mechanic's diagnosis that the car is probably just not run enough seems to be the case and yesterday we picked up a battery tender for nightly hook ups!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

[wecsoger]

Consensus seems to be correct and you found a 'fix'.

So saying, two miles, one way? If you were in Southern Kali where a drive like that can take thirty eight minutes (no, seriously), that poor little car is not only never getting warmed up, but it's barely past the point of getting oil, water, etc., circulated at all.

Is there some way every Tuesday and Thursday you can get some twenty or minutes run time on there?

[flatnose]

2 miles per trip is not enought running time to replace the charge that was taken out of the battery to start it.
It takes about 20min driving to replace the charge. Cold batteries deliver a lot less power than the sticker ratings.

[Blaine]

Lock it in a lower gear for the trip?

[pdentrem]

An idea that could help, is a solar panel in the window. This assumes that you are parking in the sun of course. A 5 watt unit is about a foot square.
Pierre