Source
r/GolfGTI•
mcscope

Car won't start, dashboard lights won't turn off, key seems to do nothing

I have a 2001 Golf GTI and it's currently stuck at the liquor store.
Previously it's had this problem where it would not shift out of park when the engine was running, and I was doing a workaround where I would put the shifter between neutral and drive, turn the car on and then pull it into drive. That worked for about a week and now I got a new problem (not sure if related). Now it doesn't start, and it doesn't fully turn off - like it's stuck in the accessory mode somehow. A whole bunch of dashboard lights are on (check engine, break, airbag, EDC, low battery, etc) Like how they all turn on for a second when you are starting the car.
There's also a light with a picture of a key inside a picture of a car and that one is blinking. (sometimes)

All these dashboard lights are on constantly, like even if I remove the key and leave. If I turn the key, the radio turns on but the car doesn't attempt to start. I checked the battery voltage and it seems fine.
The remote key fob doesn't lock/unlock the car anymore.

Any ideas what it could be? I'm wondering if it's related to the shifter thing, or if it's the ignition switch or the security system or immobilizer or what.

Posted Oct 22, 2020, 4:53 AM UTC

29
nonotburton•

Not a mechanic, just happen to be awake

Gave you tried disconnecting the battery to see if a hard reset will do anything? You might just take some time to investigate under the hood. Last time I had crazy stuff like that, wildlife had chewed through some of my wiring and I had some electrical shortages cause weird faults in the system. Had to take it to a professional. Oh, but the good news is if it is something like that, your insurance should pony up for some of the expense. Call them before you pay for repairs, cause the adjustor might need pictures of the damage.

1
mcscopeOP•

Thanks for the reply. I just disconnected the battery for an hour and came back and it had the same symptoms, didn't seem like the reset did much. Also tried removing and manually depressing the break sensor and didn't get anywhere from that.
I got this car on craigslist and the odometer had been rolled back so who knows if that messed with the electrical.
Guess I'll see if I can convince any of the mechanics in my area to make housecalls... If only it had broken like this in my driveway instead of at the liquor store, I'd have had all the time in the world to mess with it

1
nonotburton•

Your insurance should have a towing option.

1
mozillatard'16 FBO GTI w/ PP•

Ghetto fix it again, throw a battery cutoff switch somewhere in there and just hide it well.

1
BierOrk•

That blinking light (key inside car) is the immobilizer system telling you that it is not unlocked.

Do you have a second that you can try and start the car?

1
mcscopeOP•

none of the keys I have work but I don't have the original key I believe, just the valet. I was wondering if that was getting activated from disconnecting the battery and wasn't the root cause of the accessory problem - afaict the immobilizer activated should crank but not start, or start and turn off, but I'm not even getting a crank. But maybe the immobilizer in this model golfs is different

1
BierOrk•

In conjunction with all lights lighting up on the dashboard even if ignition is off I suspect either the ignition switch or the head unit itself. It does contain the immobilizer unit.

1
mcscopeOP•

The head unit? I'm googling that and all I get is stuff about the car's radio. Is the head unit the computer inside the car or something? I've been thinking ignition switch too.

Anyway I'm thinking this car's a goner. If there was some kinda hotwire fix I'd try it but removing the airbag to get to the ignition switch is a pretty involved repair. If the car was in great condition otherwise, it would be another matter, but the end of it's life was coming pretty soon.

Thanks for the advice!

1
BierOrk•

My error during translation, I meant dashboard.

The steering wheel airbag itself is pretty easy to removed.

AFAIK you only need to remove the trim from the steering column. It's held on with a few screws on the underside. The steering wheel itself can stay attached

1