t4 non starting

[34hotrods]

hi guys new here hope you can help a 2002 t4 2.5 tdi just had it a few weeks and battery run flat last week after not in use think its the cd player but thats not my problem took battery off to charge now it wont start thought immobiliser but vw garage said no now been told chip in key will need reprogramed as battery was off is this the case thanks oh! if it is how do i need to go about this asthe van isa long way from a garage thanks again

[DoctorM]

Cannot help much, but a thought drawn from experience. We had problems due to being sold a T4 with a leisure battery (brand new, so probably fitted as a cheap get-it-going-and-flog-it fudge). You really do need a heavy duty battery for this machine, not only does it take a lot of effort to turn over a 2.5L diesel, but whilst waiting for the yellow light to go out the glo-plugs are taking about 40-50 amps. Result with a light-duty battery is that, unless it is in excellent condition and absolutely fully charged, it may well die when (or even before) you pull the starter. We fitted a heavy-duty, 700 cranking-amp battery and it was fine. Also, rather obvious now I fear, charge the battery in the van without disconnecting it. If the immobiliser key code does need to be reset, my understanding is that it requires van and key to be taken to a garage with the right (specialist) equipment, but I am not sure, so you need to get advice on that from someone rather more expert than I am. Anyway, best of luck!

[34hotrods]

thanks for that doctor m i'll try phoning garage tommorow and see .