# Diagnose this '99 VW problem
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [November 24, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521 "2004-11-24T20:24:13Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/1 "2004-11-24T20:24:13Z")
My family has owned a bazillion Volkswagens. If it goes wrong in a VW, I know exactly what it is and what it will cost to fix.
This problem, at 125,000 miles on a '99.5 automatic Jetta, has me flummoxed. Is it the battery or something far more sinister? It will go to the garage on Friday, of course. In the meantime …
Yesterday in a parking lot the car wouldn’t start. It wouldn’t even cough. No headlights. No dashboard lights (Check Engine, Emergency Brake, ABS, etc.) AAA jumped it, after some fiddling. On the way home, a dashboard light (ABS [Antilock Brake System]) flickered. The stereo speakers popped. I pulled in to the garage and cut the engine. The interior lights flickered madly – ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka, and so did everything (digital odometer, clock) on the dashboard. The remote lock/unlock system didn’t respond. I’ve had dead batteries before, but never THAT dead. I can’t recall whether this is the original battery.
This morning, the car was in a coma.
Friends? Thoughts?
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### Author:  [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2004, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/2 "2004-11-24T20:28:29Z")
Start with the battery. Make sure it’s properly charged. Check all connections. Make sure they are clean and tight. Move on to the alternator.
Look for the obvious: damage to wiring harnesses or connections to the fuse panels.
Electrical problems are a major bitch to run down sometimes.
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### Author:  [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2004, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/3 "2004-11-24T22:08:04Z")
Could be the computer too. Do you have your Haynes manual handy? (You _do_ have a Haynes, right?)
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### Author:  [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)
#### Post date: [November 24, 2004, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/4 "2004-11-24T23:47:00Z")
For VW’s a Benchly is the better book. A battery going bad can cause many strange problems. Let us know what did happen to your car.
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### Author:  [@Contrabass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrabass)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2004, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/5 "2004-11-25T03:30:52Z")
> [@MercyStreet](#):
>
> My family has owned a bazillion Volkswagens. If it goes wrong in a VW, I know exactly what it is and what it will cost to fix.
>
> This problem, at 125,000 miles on a '99.5 automatic Jetta, has me flummoxed. Is it the battery or something far more sinister? It will go to the garage on Friday, of course. In the meantime …
>
> Yesterday in a parking lot the car wouldn’t start. It wouldn’t even cough. No headlights. No dashboard lights (Check Engine, Emergency Brake, ABS, etc.) AAA jumped it, after some fiddling. On the way home, a dashboard light (ABS [Antilock Brake System]) flickered. The stereo speakers popped. I pulled in to the garage and cut the engine. The interior lights flickered madly – ticka-ticka-ticka-ticka, and so did everything (digital odometer, clock) on the dashboard. The remote lock/unlock system didn’t respond. I’ve had dead batteries before, but never THAT dead. I can’t recall whether this is the original battery.
>
> This morning, the car was in a coma.
>
> Friends? Thoughts?
Wow. First of all, my sympathy. I had a '99.5 Jetta that had some odd problems over the years, as well. When it was running perfectly, it was great. And then it would have a $400 problem out of nowhere.
Anyway… Out of all the problems I ever had with that car, yours was never one of them. I would agree with all the electrical advice above, though. It seems like it could be the battery connection, since while it was running it was almost OK; once it’s off there’s no getting it running again. So as mentioned earlier, I’d check for anything obvious, such as the wiring harness and fuse panel visual inspection. Failing that, I’d then prepare to shell out some serious cash to have it diagnosed by a decent pro…
Good luck! Right at the outset of a holiday weekend, too. These things never happen at a convenient time, do they?
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### Author:  [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2004, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/6 "2004-11-25T05:29:12Z")
Batteries generally don’t just go dead. Something killed it. My money is on the alternator (though it could just be a loose connection, damaged wire, etc). Typically if you jump a car with a malfunctioning alternator, the car will drive using whatever charge is left in the battery. If the battery gets low enough, then things in the car will start giving out, usually the lights first, then the more serious stuff like the ignition system. This matches perfectly with your flickering ABS light and other symptoms while you were driving home.
Quite often when you replace a dead alternator you end up replacing the battery as well, just because the battery gets run down too far and chemically self destructs.
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### Author:  [@MercyStreet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MercyStreet)
#### Post date: [November 25, 2004, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/7 "2004-11-25T16:15:08Z")
I’m leaning toward the alternator, too. Fortunately this isn’t too big an inconvenience. I’m within pleasant walking distance from work and Mr. MercyStreet stands at the ready with his car. Which I can’t drive. Because I’m stickspastic.
**Contrabas** s, I’m assuming you went through the endless oxysensor nonsense with that 99.5? Effing VW.
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### Author:  [@Contrabass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrabass)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2004, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/8 "2004-11-28T16:58:32Z")
> [@MercyStreet](#):
>
> I’m leaning toward the alternator, too. Fortunately this isn’t too big an inconvenience. I’m within pleasant walking distance from work and Mr. MercyStreet stands at the ready with his car. Which I can’t drive. Because I’m stickspastic.
>
> **Contrabas** s, I’m assuming you went through the endless oxysensor nonsense with that 99.5? Effing VW.
Yes, that was just _one_ of the problems… As a VR6 owner, I also had the coil pack problem. Twice. Several other stupid things you never seem to hear Toyota or Nissan owners complaining about. As the tired old saying goes, “don’t get me started!”
So frustrating, too, since so much was _right_ about the car. They just didn’t give a crap about reliability, cheaping out in a few key areas. I’ve read that the next-gen Jetta/Golf have a greater emphasis on quality reliability. (I’ll let someone else test it first…)
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### Author:  [@DWToml815](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWToml815)
#### Post date: [November 28, 2004, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/9 "2004-11-28T23:32:47Z")
Had the same prob, but not on a VW. On mine it was the hot wire from the battery to the starter. Only a loose connection. I could jiggle it and it’d start and run fine for a few, then look out. I think I finally fixed it on the coldest day of the decade. Good Luck with yours…
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### Author:  [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)
#### Post date: [November 29, 2004, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/diagnose-this-99-vw-problem/276521/10 "2004-11-29T02:31:54Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#):
>
> Batteries generally don’t just go dead. Something killed it. My money is on the alternator (though it could just be a loose connection, damaged wire, etc). Typically if you jump a car with a malfunctioning alternator, the car will drive using whatever charge is left in the battery. If the battery gets low enough, then things in the car will start giving out, usually the lights first, then the more serious stuff like the ignition system. This matches perfectly with your flickering ABS light and other symptoms while you were driving home.
I had the exact same thing as the OP’s problem happen on my '99 VW Jetta. It turns out it was exactly what **e\_c\_g** describes – dead battery caused by a bad alternator. I had to get both replaced.