1999 VW Bettle shuts off when put in reverse, and is iffy if it actually wants to start?
So a couple weeks ago my car wouldnt start. When we jiggled the battery cable it would at least try to start. So we replaced the negative battery terminal that was lose, had the battery tested (it was fine). Whne that didnt fix it we pulled out the started, tested it, it was fine. Put the starter in and everything back together and too our surprise it started!!! Drove it to work the nexted day just fine, seemed pretty lucky.....Well the next moring it was having trouble starting. We losend the battery teminal and retightend it and it started. However I went to bak out of the garage threw it in reverse and the car immediatley shut off. Started it again (after playing with the battery cable), put it in reverse again, and it shut off (kinda like you shut off a car). Now we have trouble getting it started in general and it ALWAYS shuts off in reverse. Our mechanic is stumpped ...... Help would be much appreciated!
Cars & Trucks - Volkswagen - Beetle - 1999 Volkswagen Beetle
Answers & Comments
The problem with it not starting and what you described is most likely caused by the battery cables. You should replace the whole cable from each post on the battery all the way to where it connects to the engine. The part about it dieing in reverse could be related to the loss of ground connections on the computer.