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Battery or Alternator issue??

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PEmrk6

New member
Hi all,

Back in February, I bought a 09 MK6 GOLF, The car was running fine for a while, then one day it wouldn't start. I put this down to the battery not being charged enough to get it running as well as putting the cold weather as a factor. So, I got the car jumped and it was running fine again for a few weeks. I went on a holiday and came back to the car not starting. I thought ok I just need a new battery, I went to Halfords to get a battery and the guy working there said the battery is fine it just needs to be charged so I drove the car for 30 mins up the motorway. That was fine, the car was working fine again.

Now during lockdown, I haven't been driving much and the car has now failed to start three times as I was going to do food shops should I be having these issues this frequently?

I talked to a friend and they said it could be the alternator or even the starter motor, I'm just looking for advice here before I bring it to a garage.

All replies will be appreciated
Thanks :)
 
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1ashchuckton

1ashchuckton

Autocross Champion
I have no way of knowing for sure, but you don't know how old the battery is. My money would be spent on a new battery. Modern cars use electricity even when they are parked. Leave one sitting long enough with a dodgy battery & it isn't going to start.
 
R7s

R7s

Passed Driver's Ed
As @BudgetPhoenix mentioned; Check the voltage and see how much power all the components are drawing. I'm not sure what the voltage should be, usually some searching around and seeing diagrams could give you an idea. That would be the easiest place to start and it could help narrow down the issues you are having. Now you mentioned 09, and MK6. Is it the TSI motor in a MK5?
 
Joe_Mama

Joe_Mama

Autocross Champion
Get a new battery.
 
B

BudgetPhoenix

Autocross Champion
R7s said:
As @BudgetPhoenix mentioned; Check the voltage and see how much power all the components are drawing. I'm not sure what the voltage should be, usually some searching around and seeing diagrams could give you an idea. That would be the easiest place to start and it could help narrow down the issues you are having. Now you mentioned 09, and MK6. Is it the TSI motor in a MK5?
Click to expand...

MK6 debuted in 09 for the rest of the world.
 
T

tzd

Ready to race!
Is your fuel gauge showing accurate fuel reading? My 2010 Mk 6 2.5L earlier this year started showing incorrect reading for the fuel gauge (shows close to empty even when fuel is overflowing out the tank). Eventually the fuel pump failed and car died in the middle of the road, had to be towed.

The towing company/workshop who has no experience with VW said that it's the alternator that failed, and offered to replace my alternator. I knew better than that and told them to tow it to my trusted VW workshop and they correctly diagnosed it to be fuel pump. Car works fine now with only the fuel pump replaced.
 
P

PEmrk6

New member
1ashchuckton said:
I have no way of knowing for sure, but you don't know how old the battery is. My money would be spent on a new battery. Modern cars use electricity even when they are parked. Leave one sitting long enough with a dodgy battery & it isn't going to start.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply :),

Ok, it was just the car failing to start so frequently made me question if it might be other things in the vehicle. Today I put the battery on the battery charger for 10 mins and it started fine so it must be the battery. I'm going to get a new one ASAP as well as a service.
 
P

PEmrk6

New member
tzd said:
Is your fuel gauge showing accurate fuel reading? My 2010 Mk 6 2.5L earlier this year started showing incorrect reading for the fuel gauge (shows close to empty even when fuel is overflowing out the tank). Eventually the fuel pump failed and car died in the middle of the road, had to be towed.

The towing company/workshop who has no experience with VW said that it's the alternator that failed, and offered to replace my alternator. I knew better than that and told them to tow it to my trusted VW workshop and they correctly diagnosed it to be fuel pump. Car works fine now with only the fuel pump replaced.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply :)

The fuel gauge is fine no issues with it, glad you got your issue fixed. Would you only get work done to your car at VW workshop?
 
T

tzd

Ready to race!
PEmrk6 said:
Thanks for the reply :)

The fuel gauge is fine no issues with it, glad you got your issue fixed. Would you only get work done to your car at VW workshop?
Click to expand...

Yes, in the USA it seems like only workshops that specializes in VW & Audi know what they are doing with our cars.
 
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