Polo 6n2 intermitent non-start

[John24]

Hello,

I've been having issues with my Polo 6n2 1.0L 2000 not starting. It would sometimes start on the 3rd/4th go or even on first attempt but that's rare. To go over the basics:
Battery - quite strong, plenty of charge tested on other cars and starts them up no issue
Starter motor - it's literary brand new
Cranking - car cranks fast and strong

I've checked grounding issues by running a cable directly from battery negative terminal to casing of the starter motor, checking VCDS does not show any error codes.
What's interesting is that the car starts 100% of the time when being pump started, once you lift the clutch in second gear the car fires up straight away! Once the car has started it turns perfectly without any issues.

Using the starter motor I tested for spark and it does not have any until you turn off the ignition. So as you turn the key to stop the starter motor you can see a small spark before cranking stops.

Would I be right to assume that the issue might be caused by faulty ignition switch?

Thank you.

[John24]

Well after testing bad earth and finding nothing I bit the bullet and bought a new ignition switch. I unplugged the cable from the old into the new one and using screw driver turned it and the car fired up!!! tried it two more times and car starts every time.

BUT my biggest problem now is how to get the old switch out? It looks like it was cast into the key barrel

[alexperkins]

Its a steering wheel off job. you then have to pull the steering knuckle off and withdraw the steering lock/ignition switch housing so it can be extracted. Its quite an involved job - if you havent got the tools, id suggest a local specialist.