# Car Won't Start, no power anywhere, until battery "sparked"

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** jetta, volkswagen\
**Created:** [October 3, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806 "2012-10-03T23:29:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![TexasTwoStep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@TexasTwoStep](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TexasTwoStep)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806/1 "2012-10-03T23:29:40Z")

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Our 2000 Volkswagen Jetta will sometimes not start, no lights/power on dash or anywhere, battery seems dead. But when we hook up jumper cables (only to itself) and spark the wires by touching the loose ends together, power is restored and the car starts and runs normally.  
Ghost in the machine??  
How do we fix this?  
Thank you!

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**Author:** ![Big\_Marc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@Big\_Marc](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Big_Marc)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2012, 11:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806/2 "2012-10-03T23:43:08Z")

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sounds like you need a new battery. how old is the ine in the car at this time?

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**Author:** ![TexasTwoStep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@TexasTwoStep](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TexasTwoStep)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806/3 "2012-10-04T00:02:09Z")

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the current battery is 4 yrs. old – it’s a 75 mo. Interstate “MegaTron II”

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**Author:** ![Triedaq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Triedaq](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Triedaq)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806/4 "2012-10-04T02:00:04Z")

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It’s really not a good idea to short the battery via hitting the clamps of the jumper cables together as you might damage the diodes in the alternator or cause other electronic problems. However, if this procedure starts your car, then as has been suggested, your battery is defective or there is corrosion between the terminals and the cable clamps. When you hit the jumper cable clamps together, you cause a big current flow which temporarily reduces the resistance of the corrosion. Pull the cable clamps and clean the terminals and the inside of the cable clamps. If this doesn’t solve the problem then try a new battery.

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**Author:** ![TexasTwoStep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3bc359/32.png) [@TexasTwoStep](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TexasTwoStep)\
**Post date:** [October 4, 2012, 6:17am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-wont-start-no-power-anywhere-until-battery-sparked/74806/5 "2012-10-04T06:17:09Z")

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ok will do – thank you!