Hot engine won't start

[Annaksmiles]

Help! If I stop after a drive in my beloved 2000, 2 litre petrol Beetle, it won't restart straight away. If I wait for about 30 -60 mins, the problem is solved and the car starts. This has happened about 10 times now, with the car always starting eventually.
It means that I can't stop off on the end of a trip as I may be stranded and one day it may not start at all!
I have taken it to my local garage and although they ran it for an hour, the car always started for them- so they didn't have a problem to fix! Is a visit to my local VW garage the only answer or are there any solutions that my local garage could try?
Thankyou for any advice -much appreciated.

[sr-performance]

Hi Anna,
How does your car start when cold? does it start straight away?
I't may be your fuel pump,
when you start car from cold make sure radio etc are turned off, open door then start engine, listen to rear of car and see if you can hear pump start for few seconds. it will stop after system is primed.
If you cant hear it it may be faulty, any decent garage can check if the pump is working quite easily and cheaply. :beerchug:

steve

[s4-matt]

Had a very similar problem with a previous Audi. It turned out to be the temperature sensor. The sensor was telling the ECU that the car was cold even when it was hot, thus the car wouldn't start, as the fuel etc was out. If you let it cool down it would start fine and from cold. Any decent garage with diagnostic should be able to confirm what it is. Hope it helps.

[sr-performance]

Hiya matt,
your right could be any number of things really.. best with a diagnostic check. ends all guess work then. :) :beerchug:


steve

[Annaksmiles]

Thanks for your help. It always starts absolutely fine when cold so I don't think it is the fuel pump. Also I can hear the whirr of the fuel pump (I presume it is that) when I turn the ignition on.
Maybe you are correct about the temperature sensor - it does make sense as it seems to start when a length of time has elapsed as if nothing is wrong. The problem is that sometimes that time is 10 minutes, sometimes it is an hour -which is most inconvenient!
Is replacing a temperature sensor an expensive job?

[sr-performance]

Hi,
no it's very cheap and easy to replace, so wont cost you much.. :beerchug:


steve

[mjoisrad]

I am having similar problem to Anna's. I have a 1999 2.0 lt. New Beetle. This has been going on for about a month and a half. It started that my temp light(blue) would stay on until the car"heated up". Then it would turn off.
Then one day I was driving the car was stopped at a light and when the light changed I tried to make a turn, my car gave a chug then my check engine light & temp light(red)came on and my car stopped working(It was like someone just turned the key off.) I lost power steering and all. I glided into a near by parking lot and had to wait 20-30 mins to start it again to get it home. I have since replaced the fuel pump, fuel pump relay, engine coolant temp sensor, crank shaft position sensor & catalytic converter. I have taken it to my mechanic and it will run for them so they can't find anything wrong with it. Now it will drive for a while again(after changing the catacon last evening) but then ceases to work and you have to wait for it to cool down again before driving it.
The battery died while it was in my driveway, we jumped it. Then it seemed to do ok. Today we took it to an autoparts store and they checked the battery and alternator and they both came up fine.
Please help, my hubby and I are at our wits & wallet's end!
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide,
Marci

[Annaksmiles]

Sorry to hear about your Beetle troubles.
In the end, my "hot engine won't start" problem was fixed. It was the "crank centre" or "crank sensor" - (was told by phone and wasn't sure which phrase was said!)
My mechanic discovered the cause when I drove the car for a while then took it straight in. The usual problem with starting happened to him, so he was able to connect the diagnostic testing equipment to the car and figure out what wasn't working properly.

(previously, I had the temperature sensor replaced but it didn't cure the problem)

I hope this information helps you with your car - Good luck!

[mjoisrad]

Thank you for your response! I wonder if the Crank Shaft position sensor is the same thing... we did replace that. I've read other places on the internet that it may be the coil pack...I think we will try find a used coil pack and see how that does. Have a great day!

[pon]

As Steve from SR performance said earlier get a diagnostic test done. It saves on guess work and needless money spent out.

[mjoisrad]

We have had the diagnostic test run several times. And the codes that come up have been addressed. Just posting on here to see if anyone else had a similar problem and/or a solution. Thanks for your input.