Car not wanting to start occasionally

[andyp]

Recently I've had a couple of occasions where my car hasn't wanted to start, basically like the battery is dead, yet 2 secs on a jump start and its fine.  Obv the weather has been getting colder yet on one occasion it's had a decent run then left for a couple of hours and problem returns.  It's not every single time just the odd occasion.

I'm going to get a free check on the battery as I'm not sure how old it is,  but is it worth spraying a bit of wd40 around stuff to keep the damp out etc to see if that cures it???

Cheers

[th3_f15t]

WD40 is always good to force water out of components. You may find that if the battery is dying that topping up the water and giving it a slow, trickle charge may recondition it for a while longer.

Another post similar to this appeared which in the discussion it was suggested to depress the clutch when starting to ease the load on the starter motor.

[lukemk5gti]

Recently I've had a couple of occasions where my car hasn't wanted to start, basically like the battery is dead, yet 2 secs on a jump start and its fine.  Obv the weather has been getting colder yet on one occasion it's had a decent run then left for a couple of hours and problem returns.  It's not every single time just the odd occasion.

I'm going to get a free check on the battery as I'm not sure how old it is,  but is it worth spraying a bit of wd40 around stuff to keep the damp out etc to see if that cures it???

Cheers

How old is the battery?

Worth getting a new one as a preventative measure coming into the winter no?

I changed mine last winter as it was showing similar symptoms. Does the screen on the clocks flicker slightly when you turn it over?

As said above, I have also started engaging the clutch on start up since reading that previous thread also!

[dan_the_v8man]

Check the battery voltage for a start, get VCDS plugged in and make sure you have no errors for the cam position sensor

[andyp]

I got the battery tested and it was reading slightly lower than what it app should have been.  Chap said take it off and give it a charge overnight to see if that helps it.   I haven't yet as  had no issues since, and it has been warmer also early mornings.   But thought best get some advice anyways.   I actually think the battery is the original although I could be wrong.