1998 VW Jetta starting problems

[pj18674]

Carcarius, I have an 88 Jetta with the same problem but I'm not sure if I have a crank sensor or even a computer, and were these items expensive. I don't think I do. What about the air flow sensor plate. Please ck out my listing on 09/10/o4. 88 VW jetta gli - starting problems

[Jetta4Evah]

we all have jettas in our family...i started with a used 90, then got a 94...no problems until i got rear ended and the car was totaled....it saved my life! i now have a 98 jetta...my daughters both have 96 jettas, my dad has a 97 jetta...(my sister has a passat wagon)..i'll never drive anything other than a jetta...i had the starting problem too, especially in wet weather...changed the ignition coil, and it hasn't given me a problem since...my daughter experienced the same starting problems, especially in wet humid foggy weather...my mechanic checked it out and it needs 2 sensors....everything else checked out ok...probably $200 to fix...jettas are great cars...low maintenance (if you do your research first, like i do....)....i'm so happy with my jetta!!!

[jmira29]

Hey, if your vehicle needs a tune-up, get one done! Don't listen to this idiot, termitesgraffix, he obviously never looked at the engine. The way the engine is setup, a tuneup on this vehicle involves a lot of labor. Plus, plug wires are expensive. However, I don't think that your problem with not starting is related to the plugs and wires. I'd check your crank sensor first and check your grounds.

[Jetta4Evah]

Hello All! Thanks to everyone who responded with the same problem; it's comforting to know it's not just my car with problems...:-)...I find Jettas to be very dependable and generally any problems only require a quick and inexpensive repair...I ended up taking my jetta to a trusted mechanic...it turned out to be the crank sensor giving me my headaches. haven't had any issues since. All is well in my Jetta's world.
Best wishes to you all for a mechanics-free new year!

[usmcair23]

My 97 golf had the same problems. I just made a shroud around the distributor and wahoo I have no more problems. I still would like to know in more detail what it was exactly you did to your car to fix this annoying problem.

[killer57165]

My 98 jetta has the same problems as everybody else. I think my distributor could use better clips. The things falls off from time to time. The car could use a new coil and wires and i'm thinking of getting a new destributor for the car. Glad to know i am not the only one with this problem in wet weather.

[beven]

I have a 97 jetta that would not start when it was wet out. just keep a can of wd-40 with you. i just sprayed the ignition coil and distributer cap and she started up just fine.

[ThunderRoad66]

Same problems here. My car intermittently would not start. And wet weather definitely made it worse most times. I've owned my 97 Jetta for 9 years. I've put 170,000 miles on it, not counting the 20,000 on it when I bought it! I drive it hard and it's always been a willing accomplice. Reliable and fun to drive. I've driven it all over the USA and really like the car. Forgive the long post- I've had this car for a long time and know her ways. lol Hopefully it will help someone out there. Unfortunately the check engine light is a common occurence with this car- though it usually runs fine while on. Every once in a while in the rain the car will lose power very briefly and then run fine- the check engine light will usually stay on for 3 days then go off.

Sometimes it would not start even though it cranked fine. If was able to start it on a particular day it was always fine the rest of the day. Seemed not happy sitting at night, maybe dew? When it wouldn't start I could smell gasoline so I knew it was pushing gas and you can hear the fuel pump turn on when you try to start the car. This was worse in the rain or real humid mornings. Turns out that the coil on the firewall was the issue. I experimented by wrapping it in electrical tape (when it was dry out and warm from running), After I taped it up it was fine in the rain. Probably best to not run it toolSo I bought a new one and it didn't work. Put the old one in and it starts. Returned the new one and it didn't work either! Bosch part I believe (I try to stick the the original manufacturer parts and there's a lot of Bosch under the hood) Asked if they had that part made by a different brand (forget what brand it was) and they did and it worked fine. So that problem went away for a couple of years and was solid- starting every time.

One time I tried to start it and it just clicked when you turned the key-not turning over. Turned out the large guage wire running to the starter motor was loose. It's quite exposed and corrodes easily. It got so bad that the bolt was stripped where the nut had rusted making the electrical connection to the motor bad. Being a cheapskate I haven't bought a new starter motor. Instead I put another nut behind the stripped nut and tightend it real good and it was fine-until it rusts out again! WD-40 is awesome.

Another time it just clicked and it was just a loose battery connector. Always check that. If you can twist it by hand it's too loose.

Two summers ago it started (lol) not starting intermittently again. This time it was not starting after having been driven. I took to turning off the car when I parked it and then trying to restart it. 1 in 10 or so times it would fail and just turn over. I thought electrical- still moving gas. I unplugged most of the harnesses under the hood and checked the connectors. Some were slightly corroded and I scraped them clean with a screw driver (carefully!). I reconnected them and the car started every time. Keep a decen set of tools in your car and you can tackle many problems. My original 15 dollar Walmart set has paid for itself many many times over.

All was fine until May this year. I was having the same problem as above but worse. Once it wouldn't start I couldn't get it to go even after a while. So back to checking the wires...The only thing I saw was the large diameter wiring harness (shaped like a can) had somehow dropped onto the ground cable going to the engine block. It may have come loose from my explorations from the previous year. The bracket that holds the harness is easy to bend so I bent it back up away from the ground cable. Started every time fine for a while.

Then at Christmas this year I was driving home and the check engine light popped on. A few hours later the car started bucking badly and then it totally died. I wrangled it into a parking lot. None of my usual tricks described above had any effect. I even tried the old taped up coil with no effect. I tried for three hours and it only started once and immediately died. So it's been in two shops since then. Finally the second guy comes up with bad computer. I would think that it should have been found faster. But no after reading some of the above posts I will see if he knows how to determine if one of the sensors is bad before replacing the computer. I'll let you all know what happens. Poor ole girl has been away for over a month!!

[mitch_houser]

Have any of you thought to replace the ignition switch? My 98 would do the same once in blue moon it wouldnt do anything turn key nothing at all ,the warning lights came on everthing worked strong battery but no starter movement at all I thought it was a security problem but since I replced the switch it hits 1st time everytime

[nsu98]

Engine Coil....Engine Coil

From experience and a lot of repair costs if your car is not starting during wet weather (rain or snow) I would put replacing the ENGINE COIL on top of the list. I went to auto repair shops several times due to the car not starting during wet weather and the distributor cap was replaced at least 3 times, I burned the starter trying to get the car to turn over, had wires replaced but I still had the same problem. One weekend this happened in the town I was born and raised and the neighborhood mechanic who have never worked in an auto repair shop diagnosed the problem in 5 minutes...haven't had any problems with wet weather since then and it's been about 1 year now.

Unfortunately I'm having problems with the car not turning over during cold weather. The battery is good, the coil is good, so I'm hoping getting the ignition switch replaced will solve the problem. Update: Not turning over at all was the starter. But the issues in the first paragraph was the coil.

[carnotes]

I was having the same problem with my Jetta either stalling or not starting in wet weather or after washing. I took it to a VW mechanic who immediately informed me that it was a tiny crack in the ignition coil. Apparently this is a very common problem in Jettas. He showed me the crack and misted it water and sure enough the engine cut out. This is most likely your problem.

[randix1998]

Originally Posted by usmcair23

My 97 golf had the same problems. I just made a shroud around the distributor and wahoo I have no more problems. I still would like to know in more detail what it was exactly you did to your car to fix this annoying problem.

Well Boys ,

Same problem with my 1998 Jetta .

Won't make this a long explanation , but this is what I do . Some kid gave me this tip in a Canadian Tire store ...

I bought a can of Electrical contact Cleaner . ( for cars )
I also bought a can of Ignition protector .

I un-plug one wire connector at a time . I spray '' electrical contact Cleaner '' on both Male and Female parts of each connector . Then I reconnect the connector and move to the next one .

( I do all of the electrical connecters under the hood , no matter what it is )

Once I complete the cleaning , I then Spray some ignition protector on the spark-plug wires , and also some on the distributor cap as well.

After that is done , I wait atleast 10 minutes ... and 20 mins to the max.

Then I start the engine .

I turn the key and then .... Vroom Vroom .

It turns evenly , steadily .... and runs at the first crank of the key .

I don't even go close to the ignition coil. I don't spray it with either sprays .

Now ... guess what . It is on a Wet day . This keeps the car starting for a good year , then i repeat the procedure every fall .


or need it be if it happens during a rainy week during summer .

Hope this helps .

[mitch_houser]

MY problem was fixed for good when I ran a wire from the small wire on starter tapped into the wire in the ignition switch the nput a push button switch in the car you can hit the button every time and she fires you must have the key in though and turned on so the fuel pump will work but ever since I did this when it does happen I'm ready and theres no waiting around for the crazy thing to decide hey I won't to start

[dublstuf87]

This is exactly what was happenening to my car. I chose to swap out the crankshaft position sensor. Its been a couple days and everything seems to be checking out fine. I had an oil leak that my friend(retired VW mechanic) and I had fixed. After the fix he had asked me to spray my engine bay out. I did not want to do it but I figured that if he had directed me to do so and I covered everything he had told me to I would be fine. Clean engine but no go! This forum post helped me out the most, thank you Cacarius.

My mechanic friend did not want to do it because he was almost certain that the sensor was not the issue, and the location of it makes for a difficult and time consuming job. Well I read the entire thread about twice and decided that this is what I was gonna do. I found the sensor for $37. If you are any kind of mechanically inclined, and have a mildly advanced collection of tools, please save your money and do this yourself. This particular job flat rate pays 3 hours. In my driveway I was finished in and hour and a half.

Jack up your jetta so you're comfortable underneath(use jackstands please), find a 2x4 about a foot in length, place the 2x4 inbetween your jack and the oil pan. Snug the jack up to the pan so that the wood doesn't budge. The sensor is located behind the front motor mount. Take off the 3 bolts(I believe) so that it is free from the block. There is a bolt on the bottom section of the 2 peice mount, free that so now th mount is comlpetely free. The bolt securing the sensor is the same as the bolts that secure the coolant hose bracket and the fuel rail up top. Not the best metal.. Very soft! I suggest you spray a penetrant and go have lunch or something. Use a 5mm allen socket I believe, and gently back that out. I would have someone uptop making sure that the bolt turns with the rachet. A lot of heating up and cooling happens in this area. So it changes the game a bit when it comes to simply backing out bolts. When the bolt is backed out the sensor should be free. Disconnect the rest of the sensor on the starter and replace it. Motor mount/starter, lower jack from engine, remove jackstands, Remember to hook anything else you may have disconnected! Turn key and problem solved.

This job does not require you to pull the filter housing like I was told. No draining of the oil no unnecessary oil changes. Save 45 minutes. I'm no mechanic. I don't know everything about cars but if I can look at something I can usually figure it out. You don't have to be a pro. Just ambitious! Good luck! And thank you everyone who commented on the original post. In the begining I was ready to sell it

[audiofase88]

I recently had a room mate buy a 98 jetta automatic. I almost wish to use the word "lemon" there is already a button for starting after inserting the key but the problem lies with the key. I can turn the key but it does not stick in the position for lights, heater, etc... I can still start it regardless but obviously driving in the winter with no heat would suck. Same with lights at night. On a good day it only takes five minutes of repeatedly removing the key and inserting and turning until it sticks. WHY? Im assuming i need to just replace the ignition lock switch but my roommate is stubborn and a penny pincher so Im to find a different way.... I figured just add another switch but im not sure how and i dont want to rip under the dash apart and mess it up. I once had this happen with an older honda and that only took me 20 minutes. But Ive looked under the dash. Its a jungle. Any help or suggestions will win my undying appreciation and love.