I think my starter took a crap...

[8v-of-fury]

The car is a 90 jetta, 1.8 auto.

The starter is in the most assanine place! Behind the motor.. in between the block and a heat shield... where u cant get to it at all...

I have a guy that rebuilds starters locally for a real good price.. so i figure instead of replacing it i will take it down to him My question is, how do I get it out? what all needs to be done? I have a book for the mk1.. but not yet for this newly acquired mk2..

all your guys help is appreciated I need the information by monday as that is my only day off for a while!

[8v-of-fury]

im pretty sure it is the starter, because i have pretty much verified its not the battery, ignition witch or starter relay.. Boosting doesn't help, and I can hear and feel the starter relay click.. so that rules out switch and relay. Only thing left is connections at starter and starter itself.. and it needs to come out for both

i wish they were in the same accessible spot as the manual trans....  VW dropped the ball there lol

[catlin_cava]

ON THE BACK OF THE MOTOR!!! my gasser right now is on the front. and my MK2 was on the front...If you hear only clicking and it doesn't do anything else. it is likely the starter. But just incase check to see if the motor is seized....

[burn_your_money]

Hit it with a hammer (lightly)

Easiest way is to remove the passanger side axle. The proceedure is the exact same for mk1 and mk2 so give it a read. Make sure to disconnect the battery.

[catlin_cava]

Hit it with a hammer (lightly)
 

I tapped one with a hammer lightly and it broke all the magnets in starter

[8v-of-fury]

its completely temper mental. Bought the car, started fine for the guy, started fine for me to get it home, started fine for me to get it to the girl friends house, then didn't start at her house after i got there... started the next morning... then all that day till that night wouldn't start again.. started all the next day... then all yesterday! till last night when she got to my house... what a frigging piss off i tell you. I don't think its the engine being seized.. she was just driving it and shut it down for a few.. and wouldn't start.

And yes on the backside of the engine.... underneath the exhaust mani... and behind a heat shield! lol what a PITA

[jack's lack]

could it be a short in the terminal 50 wire that goes to the starter? or the positive battery strap itself? Seems like that could cause the temperamental behavior you are describing. Everything that goes wrong with my car seems to somehow be related to a wiring issue. 

[rabbitman]

I'd check the fat wire that runs the starter, the little solenoid wire can click the solenoid all day but you gotta be getting juice down the fat wire. Make sure the ground is good too.

I've heard those auto starters fry sooner since they're closer to the exhaust......

[Vincent Waldon]

The auto starter has a known issue with heat soak... partially fixed with the additional heat shield it sounds like you noticed,  but still common, so if you're finding it starts fine when the engine is cold and then misbehaves when warm/hot the problem is mostly fixable by plumbing in a high-capacity relay to deliver solid current to terminal 50 straight from the battery.

A quicker thing to try than replacing the starter... and you might find a new starter only lasts so long before this crops up again if the issue is pure heat-soak.

[jtanguay]

its completely temper mental. Bought the car, started fine for the guy, started fine for me to get it home, started fine for me to get it to the girl friends house, then didn't start at her house after i got there... started the next morning... then all that day till that night wouldn't start again.. started all the next day... then all yesterday! till last night when she got to my house... what a frigging piss off i tell you. I don't think its the engine being seized.. she was just driving it and shut it down for a few.. and wouldn't start.

And yes on the backside of the engine.... underneath the exhaust mani... and behind a heat shield! lol what a PITA

the oil level is fine right??? my dad had the same problem on his '92 golf 1.8 auto.  cylinders flooded with so much fuel that the engine would just shut off while driving, and it wouldn't turn over... like the engine was seized.  wait a few hours, come back and start it, and she runs fine.  worst pos engine management system that VW ever built IMO

[burn_your_money]

Yeah if it's only acting up when it's hot then it's probably the solenoid not getting enough amps. Like Vince said, a relay will help immensely there.

You should do a voltage drop test on all the cables in the starting system

[jtanguay]

usually just taking the starter and cleaning up the terminals and soldering them fixes the problem. that liquid electrical tape works wonders 

[8v-of-fury]

it doesn't just do it when Hot though lol It could do it even after sitting all night.. and still start perfectly fine after driving it all day.

when it doesn't start Hot or Cold. Hitting it with a good weighted pipe (only thing u can reach it with) while turning it, will fire it up. Im pretty sure the solenoid is sticking. just needs a rebuild i suppose

[burn_your_money]

Check the wires, they can cause that problem. Basically the solenoids don't have enough power to get the starter turning. When you hit it you are reducing the friction and then she has just enough. 15 minutes with a voltmeter and you'll know if the wires are to blame.

[jtanguay]

Check the wires, they can cause that problem. Basically the solenoids don't have enough power to get the starter turning. When you hit it you are reducing the friction and then she has just enough. 15 minutes with a voltmeter and you'll know if the wires are to blame.

1x... solenoids actually rarely fail... its the connections that corrode and people just replace the whole starter.