1G Car sometimes doesn't start.

[12sec92Tsi]

I have been having this problem on and off ever since I've owned this car. Sometimes I will go out to start it up and it just clicks when I turn the key. It will always eventually start, it has yet to not ever start.

It doesn't matter if the car is cold or already warmed up it just does this whenever. Sometimes it will even go away for a month or two but lately I have had problems with it every day.

Once the car does decide to start it fires up fine and runs like normal. Any ideas what this could be?? Thanks.

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

Battery
Starter
ECU
Igntion wire
Battery wires and terminals

I would inspect the ECU, have you done so? Ever, I mean? How long have you had the car?

Have you ever had the battery tested? How old is the battery? Have you ever put the battery on a charger to see how charged it is typically?

Could you possibly include some details with your questions?

 

[12sec92Tsi]

Well the battery is less than 1 year old and holds a good 13 volts constantly. (can see using my TT) I just replaced the wires back in April so they are good. How do I go about checking the ecu or the starter?

 

[12sec92Tsi]

I have had the car for a little over a year now. Battery is almost 1 year old as is the alternator. Plugs and wires were replaced in last 3 months. When the car sat for awhile waiting for a clutch the battery lost charge and I took it to autozone and they charged it back up in about an hour. Haven't had problems with it since. I have never even looked at the ecu since i've owned the car. Everyone keeps telling me it is the starter solenoid going bad but I don't know. I'm going to try cleaning all the terminals and connections off this weekend to see if that helps any.

 

[Bostedquest]

You could also have a bad spot in the Starter.
If it tries to start spinning from a certain spot it kinda drags, then speeds up. But if you start outside of that spot it is fine.

Seen it many time on many different cars.
Also, if you have never inspected the ECU DO IT ASAP.
Just better to catch a problem before it becomes bad. Damn piss poor factory ECU caps... and that from a country that does 90% of the worlds electronics too? go fig...

 

[ddavisaf]

Yeah, inspect your caps. It's a 30 minute job pulling the ECU. (And that's with a couple smoke breaks AND coffee breaks)
Also, plugs and wires are kinda a pet peeve of mine. Just because you replaced plugs 3 months ago, doesn't mean they're still new. I've seen plugs replaced a week before go bad. I'm not flaming, I'm just informing. Don't ever assume when troubleshooting. There's always a step by step procedure to follow when confronted with any problem. Go down the list, don't skip steps. We've all done it before though. And we can all testify. Overlook one small thing, and that's what the problem is. Like a fuse, or a plug.

Wow, sorry, I wandered......
Catch your ECU caps before they go boom. The caps are maybe 5 bucks including shipping.

The clicking when you try and start it. That sounds like a bad connection. Go over the connections to your battery and starter and make sure they're clean and secure.