Starting problems on 97 gti

[winston75]

Hi Board. Was wondering if anyone could give me some help / advice ??

Problem is as follows : Went to start my car (97 golf gti) yesterday and when i turned the key in the ignition all i got was a clicking noise from the engine. Spoke to a friend who told me to take battery out and clean the terminals, did this and now when i turn the ignition i don't even get a clicking sound, i also don't get anything on the car stereo, all the lights on the dashboard come and lights, heaters etc etc work. My remote central locking does not work off the key fob. Any ideas on how i get the engine turning ?

Best regards
Winston

[Christo77]

Hi, welcome..

I think you can safely say that you need a new battery!  You may have noticed it struggle to turn the engine over in the last few days but they can fail pretty quickly..

Christo

[winston75]

The last time i used it (saturday) there was a slight change / drag when i started it up. Thanks for your help. One last thing, you don't think it could be immobilser related ? Seems strange as well that my remote fob won't work.....or is that car battery related ?

[Christo77]

Hm..a second read helps, maybe not so simple, sorry.. yes it could be a dodgy connection somewhere..possibly a related fuse even..some good chap here will suggest better i'm sure,

Christo

[Christo77]

Hi..yes well i read that all your lights seem to be working etc..so it might not be the battery,
As for the immobiliser if it's an aftermarket fitment then yes they can take a whack out of the battery if the vehicle isn't used often/long enough.. Again though mentioning that your Immob was dead also pointed to a dud battery.
As it happens the previous owner of mine had the alarm completely stripped out as it ate batteries! apparently anyway..

[winston75]

The car is used every day. I haven't changed the battery in the 3 years i've had it. I'm stumped

[Christo77]

The clicking from the engine you mentioned on trying to start it and then nothing at all sounded just like a dead battery, was exactly the same with mine.
Not completely straight forward is it due to the other items working.. however, if you suspect the battery then by all means replace it.
It might be worth checking the actual leads and earthing points..

Stick with it..you'll get there ok

[winston75]

i don't suppose you know where the earthing point is located ?

[Christo77]

Good question!  In all honesty i don't..not sure of your model but you can trace the leads off the battery and have a look at the connections, if you have a manual then you should be able to locate the body/chassis earth points..also keep searching on here, you'll find lots of valuable info..
I've heard of ignition barrels being a problem area but it's just guessing from here really..
Maybe..if it was me, with a 3 year old battery that i had doubts with i'd probably replace it as a means of elimination to the problem anyway,

[VR6_Wherry]

Have you tried jump starting it yet? That would have been my 1st try