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My daughter-in-laws 99 Volkswagen beetle has a problem ...
Sent to VW Experts April 27 11:01 PM

My daughter-in-laws 99 Volkswagen beetle has a problem starting. The volks stalled at her workplace with a dead battery. When we replaced the battery, we noticed that the brake lights remained on. So we towed the car home. We replaced the brake light switch and it fixed that problem. However, the engine cranks and starts up, but immediately dies off. Could it be a vacuum leak somewhere maybe?
I looked for hoses that may be broken or disconnected and found one near the fuel rails, (looked like a hose from a diaphragm) taped it up temporarily, but still didn't change anything. It seemed strange that the car was running fine, but now it won't start.
I also checked the fuel pump pressure at the fuel rails and the pressure gauge showed 44 lbs at rest and 39 lbs when the engine was cranking. I also checked the distributor for spark and found spark on cylinders, 1&4 and 2&3. I'm stumped. Will this problem register on the trouble codes? Any information you can provide will be

 

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1999 Volkswagen beetle 2.0

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My daughter-in-laws 99 Volkswagen beetle has a problem starting. The volks stalled at her workplace with a dead battery. When we replaced the battery, we noticed that the brake lights remained on. So we towed the car home. We replaced the brake light switch and it fixed that problem. However, the engine cranks and starts up, but immediately dies off. Could it be a vacuum leak somewhere maybe? I looked for hoses that may be broken or disconnected and found one near the fuel rails, (looked like a hose from a diaphragm) taped it up temporarily, but still didn’t change anything. It seemed strange that the car was running fine, but now it won’t start. I also checked the fuel pump pressure at the fuel rails and the pressure gauge showed 44 lbs at rest and 39 lbs when the engine was cranking. I also checked the distributor for spark and found spark on cylinders, 1&4 and 2&3. I’m stumped. Will this problem register on the trouble codes? Any information you can provide will be greatly appreciated. Tks

Customer (name blocked for privacy)
Status:  Closed   Value: $15
Answer
April 27 11:04 PM (2 minutes and 56 seconds later)
         
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One of two things has happended, one being that the throttle body just needs to be readapted. the other is that the low battery voltage killed the throttle drive control unit, which is built into the throttle body. The only real way of knowing is to have someone with a VW Type scan tool readapt the throttle body to the ECM. If this errors out then you will need to replace the throttle body. Just for info it does not need to be a dealer, but can be a shop with the proper software and scan tool.

David DeLeon, VW Master Technician, Ontario VW

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April 27 11:20 PM (16 minutes and 17 seconds later)
         
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PictureDavid -- VW Master Technician -- 99% Positive Feedback on 552 VW Accepts
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