[Vwdiesel] TDI non-start

[S. Shourds]

So I've been having sporadic trouble starting the TDI lately.  It'll 
crank with no smoke out the back.  If I played with the return fitting 
on the fuel filter, it'd start right up.  Until today.  A few blocks 
from work, it didn't start up at a gas station.  I had suspected that it 
was the seals on the fitting allowing air in, so I had a friend get me 
to the dealer where I purchased one.  Unfortunately, that didn't fix 
it.  I topped off the filter, cracked the injector lines until the fuel 
was running down the front of the engine.  Still no start and no smoke 
out the back.  I tried hooking up the VAG-COM up but for some reason, it 
didn't recognize the controller.  The little LED showed green which it 
normally does when hooked up, but the computers weren't talking.  I 
ended up getting a tow home.  I had checked previously when it had been 
slow to start and there had been no unusual codes.  Anyone have any 
leads I can follow up on?  I'm not sure where the computer thing enters 
into this, but in my mind that's trained on IDI engines, if you have 
fuel at anywhere near the right time and the pistons aren't slapping in 
the bores, you should have at least some kind of fuel coming out the back. 

-Shalyn

'00 Jetta TDI