[Vwdiesel] hard starting TDI solved ?

[Val Christian]

I've had an 03 TDI which was hard starting, especially when warm.
Checked the usual, including a load test on the battery three times
(once in warm weather, and twice when it was between 15F and 20F).

The interesting thing about the hard starting, is that with the 
glow times extended (via vagcom), the starting was actually
better below 30F, than when it was warmer.  At the warmer temps
I'd sometimes crank for 30 seconds to get the car started.

Today it was 5F, and since I was home, I decided to play with the
hard start problem...which sometimes does not show in the cold.
I cranked for about 8 seconds and the battery was then nearly dead.
So I hooked up the charger.  It charged for a couple of minutes
and indicated full charge, with a 12.4v reading.  Cranked for a 
few more seconds.

Decided to buy a battery.  Even though the old one tested fine on load
test, there was just enough intermittent performance to suggest that
there could be a problem.

Put the new battery in, and it started within 3 seconds.

So now I'm letting the battery chill, and I'll try again.  It's up to
10F, but the new battery should cool down reasonably quickly with 
the 30 knot winds.  (I love working on cars in the winter.)