[T3] Mystery No Start

[Jim Adney]

On 1 Nov 2016 at 23:47, J. Jonik wrote:

> > '71 Sqbk FI Std.
> > 30 mile trip in rain, wipers and lights on.=A0 Turned car off to unload =
> things at home.=A0 After 2 minutes, car wouldn't start...like no battery..=
> .only noise the FI relay thing. But headlights were fine.=A0=A0 Pushed car=
>  into slight down-hill parking spot.=A0=A0 Snugged up all relevant wires, =
> moved and re-tightened pos and neg on battery (and neg to ground), and gra=
> vity test had battery being ok.=A0=A0 Still dead. Luck had it that a neigh=
> bor, very soon, said he had a battery charger....or "booster"...the kind, =
> about size of a toaster, that you just need to clamp to the battery to jum=
> p it.=A0=A0 Miracle device...never used one before. (His thing also could =
> do air for tires.)
> > 
> > Car started right up.=A0=A0 Started again (without help) a few hours lat=
> er.=A0=A0 Started again the next day and all six days since then.=A0=A0 Au=
> to Store ran battery test today. Battery good.=A0 But, when will that oddi=
> ty happen again?=A0 A once-in-lifetime fluke?
> > 
> > So....what happened?=A0 Can a fault in wiper motor, with (or without) li=
> ghts on, do some dirty trick?=A0 Is there a way to test if wiper or lights=
>  are messed up somehow?
> > A clue to something?=A0 Just before that 30 mile return trip, for a brie=
> f moment, the wipers got Very Slow, almost stuck...then returned to normal=
> .=A0 But car started ok after that.

It won't have anything to do with the wiper motor. If you hear the 
solenoid thunk then it's a starter problem. If you don't hear the 
solenoid, it's the starter or the ignition switch or the battery or 
the wiring in between.  

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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