polo not starting after clutch change

[ltwolf]

Hi everyone, so ive been trying to work out where ive gone wrong. i changed the clutch on my polo gti since it was toast and ive double checked the ground wires are attached to the starter motor. one to the solenoid and the other to the gearbox mounting bolt. double checked that i havent missed any plugs i disconnected and when i try to start the car i get lights and can hear the usual relay noises from engine bay but no cranking or anything.

ive checked the plug to solenoid is getting signal with test lamp and ive checked the starter motor runs.

Any help will be much appreciated because my parents want it off the hoist asap

[tek199]

you may try tapping the starter motor selonoid in case it isnt throwing out to connect the main contacts. Failing that remove starter motor and try it outside the gearbox?

[simon k]

that's a bit odd - I had mine apart last week and there are only 2 fat cables and 2 connectors down there... pretty hard to get it wrong

- you have permanent 12v at the 8mm terminal on the starter motor
- you have 0v on the body of the starter motor
- you have 12v across the pins of the starter solenoid plug when turning the key
- the starter turns when you put 12v and 0v on the respective pins of the starter solenoid socket

yeah?

[ltwolf]

Thats what i thought especially since the plugs dont fit each others hole. i even plugged the starter motor in with it not installed in gearbox to see if it gets signal but as soon as i add power the horn went off and i heard the starter spinning.
im heading home this weekend so i will get out the multimeter and check those volts.

[JTop]

If the starter motor is spinning, there might be some other restriction inside the flywheel/clutch housing preventing it from moving. If you doubt that because you are certain you've done a proper job then could be something else. Could also be that the engine is pure caked... Take a spark plug out and check if there is nothing sitting onto the cylinder(oil/fuel/coolant :O). Hope you have a scanner to check the computer, might tell you exactly what's wrong..

Unsure how it's possible to mess up the starter motor cables as there are only the few and they are all different... make sure you have it plugged in with the two pin connector, that tends to go missing.
Hope this helps a bit

[sambb]

yeah maybe chuck a socket on the crank and see if she'll turn over easily. To do up flywheel bolts etc you didnt use a chock for the flywheel and accidentally leave it in there did you? other than that fuses as the pos lead may have touch down on a part of the chassis before you connected it?
If it is trying to crank but there's no firing there's a plug bracket down the front of the engine under the oil filter that gets in the way sometimes when you do a box. If you'd unplugged those to move it out of the way, one of those is the crank angle sensor from memory and may be unplugged?

[ltwolf]

To add to the mystery i scanned the car today and the following powertrain data bus missing messages came up. 18043/p1635 (ac controller) 18045/p1637 (electric load controller) and 18107/P1699 (steering wheel electronics)

would this be a grounding issue or something. I am considering pulling the gearbox out and having another look.

[simon k]

sounds a lot like something is disconnected...

the battery terminal that is closest to the motor (can't remember if it is pos or neg) has a wire going to a screw terminal on top of it - did you put that back on?

[ltwolf]

sounds a lot like something is disconnected...

the battery terminal that is closest to the motor (can't remember if it is pos or neg) has a wire going to a screw terminal on top of it - did you put that back on?

the fuse tray ontop of battery cover is connected to the pos terminal yes.

[simon k]

the fuse tray ontop of battery cover is connected to the pos terminal yes.

grasping at straws... you've checked that the fuses didn't magically crack themselves? when I got my Polo the fuses all had hairline cracks and were only just making contact...

[JustCruisn]

Can your roll start it ?
Is battery level good ?

[ltwolf]

grasping at straws... you've checked that the fuses didn't magically crack themselves? when I got my Polo the fuses all had hairline cracks and were only just making contact...

f3 looks cracked so im ordering replacement but f3 is power steering so shouldnt stop the car starting. ive tried grounding the negative terminal to starter ground and also to gearbox to rule out grounding issue which didnt solve it yet

[simon k]

You're right, that won't stop it from trying to start... it's very odd but still sounds like something isn't connected properly. Did you check for voltage across the starter connector when trying to start it? Even more grasping at straws and going back to Sam's question, have you tried taking the starter out of the gearbox and sitting on top of the gearbox with wires all connected and trying to start?

[sambb]

i'll have a look tomorrow but wondering if there's a gear selector signal for reverse that might be high/on (incorrectly) preventing cranking. I think there is a small 2 pin plug that goes onto the box somewhere and if thats not connected it could cause your drama.

[simon k]

i'll have a look tomorrow but wondering if there's a gear selector signal for reverse that might be high/on (incorrectly) preventing cranking. I think there is a small 2 pin plug that goes onto the box somewhere and if thats not connected it could cause your drama.

Nah, that's just the reverse light switch... it's normally open so if it's not connected all that happens if it's not connected is no reverse light when reverse is selected