2000 Jetta TDI electrical problem???

[nickc_11]

I stumbled across this forum looking for a solution to my problem, and I am hoping someone out there has seen my issue before. My car is 2000 Jetta TDI with 106,000 miles. When I was driving yesterday, the speakers made a niose like they had just got a power surge, then my radio turned off. The dash beeped at me three times, the ABS led lit up and the BRAKE led started flashing. The car drove normal though. I parked the car, when I started driving again, all was fine. I took it to my dealer because it was due for an oil change, and told them about the problem. They said they couldnt find anything wrong. I picked my car up, got about a half mile from the dealer and it did it again. Does anyone know what is going on??
A little more info, a few weeks ago, it did something weird too. As I was walking to my car, I pushed the unlock button, and the lights flashed and it unlocked. As soon as i turned the key to start the car, everything electrical died. I popped the hood and checked the battery cable(it was fine) and tried again, and it started right up and ran fine. It did this again later thet evening, but hasnt done it once since.
I would greatly appreciate any insight anyone has on this issue.

[mechy1barry]

check the ground cables where they meet the gearbox,also grounds to chassis.check live on stater motor .make sure all are clean and bolts /studs tight.

[nickc_11]

I will check what you have suggested. I assume by your reply that you are suggesting that I have a grounding issue? What exactly does the LED display I described before mean? Thank you for your reply.

[mechy1barry]

possible over/undercharge could create problem.also a poor ground would cause alternator to shunt volteage.hence your beeps and leds.

[greennike]

I am having the same problem with the abs/brake coming on. It is like there is a short or grounding problem. Dealer can not find anything. now a new twist. I went to start it and nothing. The battery is not dead, just acts like the clutch is not pushed in. In the 2 instances it happened we pushed ir about 20' into agarage and IMMEDIATELY tried it again and it started right up. Could it be something in the starter?

[nickc_11]

My problem ended up being the starter. My dealer called it a "really really weird problem" that was causing electrical problems in the starter. Aparently this was causing my battery to short out intermittently, and when the battery is shorting out, it shuts down. I replaced the starter, and everything has been OK for a few days going now. Thanks for your help, and good luck to all with the same issue.

[greennike]

I ended up replacing the wire on the bottom side of my started, it was corroded and seemed in poor shape. Ever since then I have not had a problem!