Car guys, I need your help!

[ChunkyMonkey]

Call Chris aka bavarian auto aka tmleader here.

[GT3RS]

It could be bad coil plugs, vw and audi have had a problem with this

[BPTactical]

I blame the onions

[ChunkyMonkey]

^^ Again, do not trust the friskie licker.

[Ronin13]

Well here's what she just emailed me explaining exactly what happens:
"just keeps cranking, sounds like it's not getting gas, but yet if you step outside you do the smell the gas, which is why I thought 'the flooding issue' and the fact if it sits for an hour+ it will start."

We jumped it this morning after letting it sit at Big O all night... She was just afraid the battery was dead after trying to crank it last night. It started up fine today, but she's worried that since this has happened twice it may happen again. I think we'll replace the plugs and run sea foam (I do that about once every other month in my car to keep the injectors and what not clean ).

[BPTactical]

Injectors are stuck open.
Yup, replace the plugs after replacing the injectors.

[Great-Kazoo]

FWIW: outside the starting / flooding issue when was the last time you ran a can of B&G 44K through the system for cleaning the injectors?

[Danimal]

First off there are a couple things that I would do. I would run the tank really low then fill up on Premium and then add a bottle of Fuel Injector Cleaner. This will clean out your fuel system real good and also make it a little easier to start for the time being.

Second I would replace or re-gap the spark plugs. If if is getting to much gas an flooding, it wont start. Conversely if it is not getting hot enough spark to fire then it could cause it to flood if the injectors are dirty. I would attack both possibilities at the same time.

Then if you are still having too many problems after the tank of gas has been run through and the spark plugs replaced then I would look at spark plug wires and replacing fuel injectors. That is going to be pretty expensive if you have someone else do it for you.

The battery could be on its way out and not cranking well enough to start the car. You will have to replace the battery if this is the case. But while troubleshooting this problem do not allow your battery to fully go dead to the point of needing a jump start. That will kill the battery really quick and add to the cost of the repair. If it looks like it is not going to start, stop cranking before the battery dies and get a car there to jump it if that helps it. Batteries are super expensive right now with the cost of lead spiking up so high. I just had to pay $139 for one the other day.

[Ronin13]

FWIW: outside the starting / flooding issue when was the last time you ran a can of B&G 44K through the system for cleaning the injectors?

I don't think she's ever done this... The hierarchy of automotive knowledge in our family goes as such (From most to least):
Me
Mom
Dad
Brother
I told her I'd yank the plugs tonight and see what we will see- we might as well just replace them, and get something like 44K, Sea Foam, or some other fuel system cleanser- then see if the problem still persists we'll probably have to replace the injectors. The problem is, she wants to take it to a VW mechanic next week and have them diagnose and fix the problem- I see this as potentially being expensive.

[Ronin13]

First off there are a couple things that I would do. I would run the tank really low then fill up on Premium and then add a bottle of Fuel Injector Cleaner. This will clean out your fuel system real good and also make it a little easier to start for the time being.

Second I would replace or re-gap the spark plugs. If if is getting to much gas an flooding, it wont start. Conversely if it is not getting hot enough spark to fire then it could cause it to flood if the injectors are dirty. I would attack both possibilities at the same time.

Then if you are still having too many problems after the tank of gas has been run through and the spark plugs replaced then I would look at spark plug wires and replacing fuel injectors. That is going to be pretty expensive if you have someone else do it for you.

The battery could be on its way out and not cranking well enough to start the car. You will have to replace the battery if this is the case. But while troubleshooting this problem do not allow your battery to fully go dead to the point of needing a jump start. That will kill the battery really quick and add to the cost of the repair. If it looks like it is not going to start, stop cranking before the battery dies and get a car there to jump it if that helps it. Batteries are super expensive right now with the cost of lead spiking up so high. I just had to pay $139 for one the other day.

Thanks for that- good advice right there... I told her about an hour ago how we should attack this problem. I hadn't thought about seeing the spark plug spacing...