My GTI doesn't start!

[APinto]

Hi there!

I know I sound a bit enthusiastic, but this problem is actually worrying me... My 2.0 petrol GTI Mk2, P registration, has been consuming a bit more fuel than usual in the last few months. A couple of weeks ago I took it to a friend mechanic that found a small split in the air intake pipe. He mended it by cutting the split section of the pipe, and putting a temporary replacement pipe in place.

Last Saturday when I tried to start it, nothing happened. Not even the starter came on. I immediately suspected of the immobilizer, that sometimes acts weird. When I opened the bonnet I noticed that the section of the pipe that my friend put in was missing, as you can see in this picture:



Now, I don't know if this is related or not, but a missing pipe is something to worry about! When I turn on the ignition I can hear a "click" sound in the engine, but nothing else. The dashboard has a few lights on:



Do any of you have an idea of what might be going one here? Is it the missing pipe, the immobilizer or something else? Thank you very much for your attention, best regards,

AP

[mk2bal]

The click sounds like dodgey batt terminal connections, flat battery or immobiliser.the fuel pipe can't be the cause-jus coincident timing. Oh and p reg means its mk3 not mk2.  Hopefully some other peeps will have some other suggestions for ya!

[mk2bal]

Meant to say intake pipe not fuel pipe!

[APinto]

The click sounds like dodgey batt terminal connections, flat battery or immobiliser.the fuel pipe can't be the cause-jus coincident timing. Oh and p reg means its mk3 not mk2.  Hopefully some other peeps will have some other suggestions for ya!

Thank you very much mk2bal. Indeed, it's a Mk3! The sound is not the battery terminals, it's something in the driver's side of the engine compartment, from what I can tell. Cheers,

AP

[mk2bal]

I didn't mean the noise would be coming from the terminals, it would come from the starter motor solenoid (on the starter). If your terminals are loose that could cause this, as could a v flat battery...I'd have thought the immob wouldn't even click the starter, it would break the circuit alltogether? Unless its on the fuel pump circuit instead..  Also check the wires on the starter (2 small trigger wires and the big 1 from batt) in fact check all wires in the bay- give em a wiggle

[tech1889]

this needs to be moved to mk3 section not mk2

[rubjonny]

does the fuel pump prime when you turn the key 1 click? on the 1st click of key you will hear a clicky/buzzy noise from the throttle body which is normal. its well worth cleaning out the throttle body while you're under the bonnet, can lead to stalling and idle issues if dirty.  that pipe is cheap to buy from vw, i believe it is now a redesigned setup with a hard plastic line to the block and only a short section of rubber pipe to hopefully stop this happening again. a ton of tape to hold the ends together will be fine in the short term, just to seal it up.

try jumping the chunky red/black wire terminal on the starter with 12v direct from the battery, if car cranks over you know the starter itself is ok, the issues are with the ignition switch or the alarm or aftermarket immobiliser. the factory vag immobiliser would allow engine to start then cut the ignition after a couple seconds so its not down to that.  the factory vag alarms will immobilise the starter feed if playing up though, as will some aftermarket immobilisers depending how they were wired in.

[APinto]

Hi rubjonny, thank you for the detailed help.

This morning I asked a friend to check the engine while I turned the ignition on. On the passenger side, in the front-lower part of the engine, a big spark and considerable smoke occurs. I think it's the starter, am I correct?

Thank you again, cheers,

AP

[rubjonny]

thats certainly the area where the starter is, the fact it smokes with the ignition on isnt right though, id only expect it to do this when you turn the key to the 2nd click position if there was a starter issue. id be looking all round the engine for wire damage, see if you can find any wires shorted to the block.

[APinto]

thats certainly the area where the starter is, the fact it smokes with the ignition on isnt right though, id only expect it to do this when you turn the key to the 2nd click position if there was a starter issue. id be looking all round the engine for wire damage, see if you can find any wires shorted to the block.

Thanks again rubjonny. I didn't explain myself correctly: it only smokes when the key is in the 2nd position and while I keep it there. Cheers,

AP