Why won't my VW start?

Winter is the season you want your car at its most reliable. Sadly for many, it is also when the electrical gremlins start to show up. "Why won’t my VW start" … That's a phrase muttered by many an enthusiast over the years. Don't panic though, here are a few helpful hints to try and fix your woes and get you one step ahead of the problems.

Three things to make it go...

There are a number of reasons why your beloved Volkswagen might be refusing to start. Going back to basics you will need fuel, ignition and compression for your engine (providing it is petrol-powered) to function. But before all of that, you’ll be needing the power to turn the engine over to get the pump pushing fuel and the distributor sending sparks to the plugs.

Check for power

Turned the key but nothing has happened? Check your battery is charged by flicking the wipers or turning the radio on. If your VW (or Porsche) fails this test you’ll be needing jump leads or a new battery to get you going. Follow up this quick test by putting a multimeter across the terminals, to see how bad the voltage situation is.

I have power but my car still won't start

If you have decent power to those components you may presume the starter motor has failed. However, it might just be that age has caught up with the wiring between your ignition switch and starter motor solenoid. Your starter motor could well be fine, presuming you haven’t got an immobiliser installed that is complicating matters further. Fact: Starter motors are one of the most returned items in our warehouse with supposed faults... We test each one, and almost all of them work fine!

How to fix a faulty starter motor

To fix the problem we suggest installing our Hard Start Relay kit and the good news is you don’t need to be an electronics whizz to fit it. These kits can be fitted to any older vehicle, not just a classic VW or a vintage Porsche. The way it works is by taking the load away from the ignition switch and the associated wiring loom, leaving it to simply trigger a relay which passes the power directly from the battery to your starter motor.

Hard Start Relay Kit Customer Feedback

Don’t just take our word for this though. Here are a few insightful reviews we have received over the years. “After experiencing intermittent starter problems this gizmo seems to make the starter motor much more gutsy and responsive to turning the key in the ignition switch. Try it before buying a new starter motor as well as cleaning up the gearbox/chassis earth strap” said Heritage customer John Chaplin. We've also had a number of anonymous reviews too. "Came with full instructions, fitted without too much trouble or time, worked first time and solved a long-standing ignition issue. Very pleased now that this is in place so we can enjoy the motoring with less worry." "After 3 years of starting problems, I met an American Vanagon Owner on a campsite in Europe who told me about this solution. Starting problems solved. This is a MUST DO on any Vanagon."

So.. next time your classic car fails to turn over, give this gadget a go before splashing out on a new starter motor, it could save you a few pounds… In fact, you could install one now and skip the heartache later on! Andy