Gltaun

hi all, my WJ will not start sometimes in the mornings for its first start. its always when it gets cold, but i live in Texas so its not like it really gets that cold. and my Diesel Jetta would start up just fine in this weather. It only gets down to 30 at night and was 58 when i tried starting it this morning. and its only ever the first start. once it will start there arent any issues. ive tired making sure she was in park and starting her in neutral. ive also had the battery tested and charged up, tests said the battery was fine. and all the lights and dash comes up. im not sure what the issue is

rgr4475

Need more info. What engine? And does it crank and just not start or do you get nothing when turning the key?

Gltaun

its the V6 and i get nothing. no crank. no noises. the guages dont go crazy. Im thinking it has to be something with the Colder nights, because this morning at 0700 it was 55 when i tired to start it and got nothing. at 1300 when i tried again it was 73 and it started right up. and thats how it normally goes

rgr4475

It's an Inline 6, not V6. Hmm, I'm sure others will chime in but the first thing that comes to mind is the NSS (neutral safety switch), CPS (crank position sensor), starter/selenoid or bad battery. But the temp part is throwing me off a little because 50 degrees isn't that cold.

Also worth mentioning that bad grounds make these 4.0's do weird things. There are several of them in the engine bay. Try cleaning them up with a wire brush (including battery terminals). Free and easy to do.

Gltaun

my bad thought i put I-6 lol.
my only reasoning for not thinking its the NSS is it wont start in neutral or Park and making sure its in park doesnt help.
Ill check on the CPS, not sure why i didnt think about that.
im not sure about the starter/selenoid because its never an issue unless its colder out. and it starts right up everytime otherwise.
Thats what is throwing me off too. because its really not that cold. and my Diesel Jetta had zero issues in this weather and youd imagine a Diesel enfine to have cold issues before a gasser
i cleaned up the terminals. ill check the rest of the grounds also

dave1123

Nothing when you turn on the key tells me it's ignition switch related. Do the courtesy lights come on when you open the door? If not, it's main power supply related. Do the headlights work without the key?

There are 2 red wires that come off the battery cable end. The big one only supplies the starter for cranking. The smaller one supplies power for everything else and goes to the PDC (fuse/relay box under the hood.) Many times that wire gets corroded inside the cable clamp and won't carry any load. This connection could be temperature sensitive.

My advise, if you still have those molded lead post clamps, is to cut them off and install bolt-on ends. This worked for me.

BTW, with a bad CPS, it'll crank all day but won't fire.

Bugout4x4

I have had worn out starter brushes do this too. Worn to the point where they will barely make contact with the armature when warm, but not make a good enough contact when cold because of the armature contracting in diameter just enough because it is cold. lol

dave1123

Yes, but he's getting NOTHING! no dash gauges, chimes, nothing.

Gltaun

well, i get power to everything just fine. Interior lights come on when opening the door. all the lights, come on and work when putting the key and turning it on. but when going to crank, nothing happens. Headlights and all work with rhe Key turned on

dave1123

Maybe it's the starter solenoid then.

Bugout4x4

I didn't say it... And the words were indeed cryptic and needing "reading between the lines".

dave1123

This is a case where a little more info to start with would have been more helpful! My crystal ball was cloudy today.

Gltaun

ill look into the Starter Solenoid!
ywah my bad. i had a long day of replacing the Thermostat, and exams when i posted this

dave1123

I didn't mean to dump on you, but sometimes it's not very clear what the symptoms are, what it's doing, and what it's not. "Nothing" to me means no warning lights, no gauges, no chimes, nothing. If you've got all that, but no crank, it's probably the starter, starter solenoid, or neutral safety switch. If the whole gauge cluster goes dark when you try to crank it, that's a power supply problem, dead battery or bad connections.

It's very difficult to diagnose anything with a keyboard, if you get my drift.

Gltaun

yeah my man i got ya! plus it can be hard to explain everything over the internet! and im just a 21 year old kid who is still learning alot about cars! and just about everything im familiar with is on a Inline 4 front wheel drive Diesal Jetta. now im transfering that to a Inline 6 4x4 gasser lol. but im learning! its funny cause the guys at my local Firestone and Harbor Freight know me pretty well because im always popping on for a question or buying a tool to work on her!