2007 Jetta 103kw PD won't start

[IBN]

Greetings to the clever folk out there!
My sister's Jetta has decided to take a holiday and not start. All well until this morning when the beast would not awake. The engine cranks over just fine, but there is no sign of the engine firing. Cranking continues until the oil warning comes on and the MFD indicates STOP.
Try the process again and the same sorry tale.
I guess it's a fuelling problem, but is there something obvious that can be checked before we call a man in?
The obvious thing would be to scan the beast, but that is not an option at the moment. Maybe after this I could start justifying a new toy.
Cheers,
Ivars

[ian]

I had the same problem a few months back with my 125 kw, i even called the NRMA twice because the first one that came just shook his head,but the second one instructed me to keep cranking even with the oil warning light coming on ,eventually it fired up after a few minutes of cranking and has never did it since. it could of been water in the diesel but who knows , any try it you have nothing to loose.

[gldgti]

Could be a glow plug problem. Does the glow plug light come on for a few seconds when the ignition is switched on?

[IBN]

Thanks for the replies. The glowplug sequence seems to be fine - light on, light off, ready to go. I guess that that is not a true indication, but there you go.
I'm intrigued by the NRMA suggestion to crank continuously. Wonder what the thinking could be behind that.
Have started trawling through the TDIClub trouble-shooting forums.
Head hurts.
Thanks again,
Ivars

[Greg Roles]

I agree it's a fuel thing, but perhaps not fuel flow per say. I know the crank angle position sender plays up on these TDI's, it;s a little sensor down between the gearbox and the engine, a bit of spilt oil down there and you get a bad contact, gave me woe for a bit. I'd suggest starting a thread to see if anyone nearby has a vag com cable, pays to eliminate that first, as a lot of errors get logged even though they don't show an obvious CEL light on the dash.

Any recommended mobile VAG mechanics is melbourne guys?

[IBN]

Shame I wasn't on site, so 2nd hand info.The man in the van came along, hit something with a hammer, then disconnected a hose, primed some fuel into the line and got the Jetta going. It's been left at the menders and we'll see what they say. One of the fuel pumps maybe? I'll be interested to find out.
The TDIclub self help forums make interesting reading though - Car won't start troubleshooting - TDIClub Forums
Thanks for the replies,
Ivars