Volkswagen: intermittent starting, fuse panel, vw gti

Question
1996 VW GTI VR6 manual

Mr. Dempsey,

  I've been experiencing this lately: I turn the key to start the car and instead of the starter engaging I hear a groaning/clicking noise coming from the area behind the headlight switch/above the fuse panel.

   Used to be I could try again and it would fire right up. 98% of the time now the starter will never engage and I'm stuck pushing it.

   I've been told it's most likely the starter relay- but I can't find mine. I don't really know how to remove the headlight switch without breaking it to look back there. Besides, looking to purchase one only turned up one for an automatic. I've checked all cables for tightness/cleanliness to no avail.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice,

Aust


Answer
Your car will not have a starter relay. go under the bonnet, locate the starter. Once you find it, find and unplug the small wire / connector (not the thick one that is bolted on) and short the terminal to the battery live. (make sure it's in neutral aswell before doing this) if it still fails to crank over, then the starter will need replacing. if it does crank over then it may need an ignition switch and possibly ignition barrel, or re-wiring from the switch to the starter.