Bora 2.0 1J (2001) dead dashboard car shuts down after starting!

**rodcla** · 28-07-2011, 10:55 PM

Hi guys, great forum btw. I have made the journey to a VW for the first time and bought a 2nd hand Bora 2001, I fell for this car the moment I drove it as it is really nice and smooth to drive and loving the fact it's a manual.

To cut a long story short I have had the car for about 2 months (private sale) and the first "signs" of troubles was a couple of weeks ago when the car lost some power and was shaking a lot, the problem was the spark leads, two of them, one was previously repaired with tape and the second one had the metal jacket exposed. A new set of leads brought the car back on the road and restored my confidence in my decision to get an European car against some friends advice to stay away as part and repairs are expensive.

Not even a week went past and last Monday as I get in the car and turn the key to accessory I immediately notice something was horribly wrong, the dashboard lights were off (Red lcd in the middle, odometer lcd, no oil, airbag or other indicators) thinking it must have been the cold weather I started the car, it ran for about 3 seconds then it dies!!

I had to make arrangements to travel to work but I organised an auto electrician recommended by a friend to come over and have a look whilst I was away. when I spoke to him to find out what the problem was I started the cringing process, he connected something to the on-board computer through the testing terminal and it gave 3 errors, 1 abs, 2 Air bag and 3 ignition switch, he told me that logically 1 and 2 should not affect the power to the dashboard so he dismantled the steering bits to get to the ignition switch and what do you know? it was OK, he came back after getting advise from one of this mates and cleared the error codes but the problem still persist, they don't want to touch this and I had a recommendation to buy the car book that has the electrical wiring so he can trace things rather than guess.

Unfortunately the car is facing the wall so I may have to push it around and try to jump start it to see if that helps as I have been reading around a similar issue and it is a possibility that the battery is at fault, the alternator workshop light came on whilst driving a couple of times but went away, and logically I believe it is not the alternator as it had been charging the battery all this time.

The technician checked all the fuses inside and they are all good. I have also been told to disconnect the negative cable to the battery to reset the ECU and that "may" fix it but I think this has gone beyond that. The car has the factory fitted immobilizer and alarm connected to the horn, there is not other modifications that could have affected the electrical system.

Has anyone in this forum experienced something similar?

I would really appreciate if you have any ideas or comments that may help my beautiful black Bora back on the road, even recommending a good place to take it to in Sydney so I can have the nrma tow it.

Many thanks in advance!

Rod

**dylan8** · 28-07-2011, 11:38 PM

Not knowing what they plugged in to check it with, id suggest getting someone with a proper VW scanning tool and some knowledge of the cars to check it.

Disconnecting the negative for 30mins or so may do something. I used it a lot when my MAF and o2 sensors died. cleared logged faults and made the car drivable for a while.

Welcome to the forum also! The bora is a great car. I have driven my 2lt for 110,000km now and I love it