engine starting then cutting out

[Finchy71]

hi,

hoping for a bit of advice/help. My '08 Octavia 1.9tdi will start but then cuts out almost immediately. Glow plug warning light (yellow) starts flashing as does the car & key symbol. At a loss as to what has happened as the car started and drove perfect a few days before (been parked in driveway for 4 days).

[MikeTheThinker]

Can you unlock the car using the plip?

Edited 22 October, 2022 by MikeTheThinker
clarification

[Finchy71]

yes, everything is normal until the engine cuts out literally about 5 seconds after its started.. I've seen a couple of comments on other threads suggesting it could be the immobiliser

[mac11irl]

definitely immobiliser..

 

do you have a second key, and does that one also have the same issue?

[Finchy71]

only have one key 😕

[Guest]

I seem to recall the transponder pickup in the ignition barrel assembly, its connectors or bad solder joints in the instrument cluster are prime suspects.

 

Before you go investigating try thumping the dash above the instruments forcibly and try starting, remove the key after each attempt before retrying.

[StevesTruck]

MicMac is spot on with that. It's almost always going to be a poor solder joint in the dash cluster. Don't swap it for another cluster though because it contains the immobiliser data. 

 

The other bodge around is to put a chipped ECU on with an immobiliser delete.