1997 Jetta GT, only starts...sometimes

[remmyreel]

Hello everyone!

I've been thru the forums searching, found some similar threads but not sure if they apply directly to my problem.

Some mornings (I wanna say especially damp morning, but I can't be sure if that really has anything to do with it) my car simply won't turn over.

Ignition seems to be fine, battery is somewhat new and fine, fuel pump seems to be OK but I can't be sure. I've been told you can hear it when you turn the battery on, but I've never noticed it in the past. And I assume since I have (off and on) been able to get the car going, that the pump is OK. I have a hunch it's just my fuel filter.

What happens is: I turn the ignition, I let the starter run, give it a touch of gas and it simply will not turn over. I try a few more times until it's pretty much used up all the battery power then I give up. In some instances I'll give it a good try in the morning, then when I revisit it later in the afternoon it'll start without a problem.

In most instances, since I live in San Francisco, it'll happen when I've been parked facing up or down a hill for a few days. But this time I've been parked on a flat surface for only a couple days, and it just hasn't fired up at all. It got very close to turning over tonight, which leads me to believe it may be a fuel thing as it has been sparking fine in recent short trips I've made with it. Oh also, once it starts running, it runs like a champ, no stalling whatsoever.

If I can get it up and running, I want to take it in simply for a diagnostic. But if anyone could possibly give me a couple ways to diagnose it myself, I would greatly appreciate it. I'm not a mechanic by any means, but I'm relatively handy.

Should I just pull the filter, give it a blow, and see what that does?

[chop shop]

i am a certified vw tech it sounds as if the coil is going out

[remmyreel]

I've been reading up about that in other threads as well. Would it be the entire Ignition Coil, or possibly just a partial fix?

One more helpful detail, it fires up OK if I'm able to get someone to give me a jump. The battery may not be as new as I'm thinking. If it's starting up fine with a jump, would you say it may just need a new battery?

[remmyreel]

So, that simplest solution, it was. Took the battery in for a test and it was almost completely shot. Got a new battery and it's starting up better than it has in a couple years.

Battery was 7 years old, so it's a little embarrassing that I didn't know that...but it dawned on me last night that 7 years ago I had this same issue, and a new batt was the issue.

Thanks chop for your help!