Mk3 Will Not Start No Spark From Coil

[winterracer]

OK as the title says my 1.4 mk3 is playing up, for sometime now its had problems starting, it can take over 20 turns of the ignition to start it or sometimes it can be the first time, the only thing i have noticed is that when its not going to start the four red lights one the dash (oil, handbrack etc) don't light up but when its going to start theylight up uptill it fires.  Problem is its getting longer and longer before i can get it to start and even run down my battery before it will fire.

Any Ideas??

[Fubar]

I had the same prob with my polo before i bought my Golf. ?I say patiently and went through the same probs you are experiencing for about 2 months before i bit the bullet and took it to VW. ?It ended up being the heat sensor which didn't cost much to replace and then it worked fine!

Does it take longer to start when it's cold as opposed to say the summer months?

[winterracer]

To be honest i'm not too sure only had it about 4-5months, where is the heat sensor located on a mk3? anyone?

[mrwotto]

Sounds like a dodgy coil to me

I had the same problem on my mk3, but mine died altogether on me,  replaced the coil and away I went

Paul

[winterracer]

yeah just replaced that and its still givin me grief

[audiquattro]

When you say no spark, do you mean no spark from the coil or no spark from the distributor?

[chink]

We had the same problem, bought a new set of glow plugs for ?14 and cured the problem instantly, in the end it got to the point it was taking that long to start it was killing the battery doing so. We thought either coil or glow plugs, went for the cheapest option first and all sorted now! Also fitted them ourself for nothing although its a bit tricky.

[audiquattro]

Since when does a diesel have an ignition coil? 

[ridgers]

Have you checked the glow plug relay is working correctly?