Start gone

[Tom Mullane]

Folks,

Two days ago, after sitting for a week, the 200 turned over very slowly
before firing.  In a hurry at the time, I assumed the battery would charge
up on my drive to work and all would return to normal.  I was wrong.  When I
got out of work and went to start the car, I got dash lights, but nothing
from the starter; no turn, no click, no nothing.  I pop-started the car in
the parking garage and drove home.

Investigating further, I have plenty of power; enough to run the wipers.
lights, rear defogger, etc; clearly not a battery issue.  I assumed that the
cable splice in the passenger's footwell was to blame.
http://members.aol.com/c1j1miller/electrical.html
I almost started by tearing apart the interior, but decided to have a look
at the starter connects first.  Everything looked OK...until a touched the
fire that connects the solenoid to the starter motor.  I just feel to the
ground.  Hmmm.

I had an old VW Quantum starter laying around, so in 20 minutes, the car was
back in working order.  What did I learn?
I learned that, while this forum and associated websites can be
indispensable, there is no substitute for diagnosis.
I learned that VW Quantum starters fit 20v turbos.
I learned that I have a small coolant leak somewhere by the t-stat (Joy!)

Tom Mullane
91 200Q
91CQ
99A6Q