Questions and Answers

Volkswagen Passat Hard To Start Q. Hi Vincent, I have a 1996 Volkswagen Passat GLX VR6. 5-speed with 89,000 miles. Recently my check engine light came on. Also a few days after that seat belt light started to light up sporadically while I was driving. I always wear my seat belt so this happens while my belt is clipped in. Shortly after that, my car has been very difficult to start.

The car is slow to turn over. I need to try a few times to get it to start. If the car stops turning over and I turn the key back to the off position I get a weird whirling sound coming from my dash and my trip meter resets to 0.0 and my clock resets to 1:00. One time my alarm went off while trying to start the car.

I have a fairly new battery and if I put the key in the on position my radio works fine interior lights are bright and there doesn't seem to be a noticeable draw on the battery with these accessories on. Could it be the starter sucking the life out of the battery on turnover. If so why would my check engine light come on and why would my seat belt light come on randomly? Chasing electrical is no fun task and can get costly.

Thanks For your help!
Angelo

A. I would first suggest that you thoroughly inspect and service all electrical grounds on the vehicle. This includes the main ground for the battery, engine to body ground and any harness grounds that you can locate. Ensure they are clean and tight and taking the time to remove the fasteners, clean them and coat them with either di-electric grease or anti-seize compound will possibly solve this electrical problem and even if it doesn't will rule out grounding as the cause.

Subsequently there's an open blade 50 amp fuse in front of the battery, just behind the headlight that often loses it's plastic cover and becomes corroded and intermittently loses contact. This could cause many things to happen including the CEL flashing from time to time and seat belt light coming on.

If this fails, I recommend that you get your codes read and also have a starter draw test performed.