Hi
My 95 Passat VR6, auto, wont start if parked outside during a heavy rain.
After almost draining the battery, it started in 3 0r 4 cyl. After a long warm up,it did fire on all six. Where should I begin to looks for a short or bad electrical component?
Another funny thing, when the air temp goes below 20F, the doors latches won't work, and sometimes the door key will lower or raise the back windows while opening the car. I live in Chicago, so it is below 20F for several weeks a year. Any ideas?

 

As far as the starting goes I bet your distributor cap is cracked. So take the spark plug wires off the posts one at a time (so they don't get mixed up) and look for cracks or any other damage. If it is bad, make sure you replace the rotor in the distributor while your up. The latches are just frozen when that happens. Now, the door key is interesting. You could try reprogramming your key fob. Just look at my post in general tech. If that doesn't work you can try resetting the ecu by disconnecting your battery cables and holding them together for a couple of minutes. Let me know what you find.

 

Thanks. It makes sense. I will try it and report back results.
Great site!

 

Spray WD40 or some other spray lube on the contacts in the cap, the rotor, and any connections you have the opportunity to take apart and put together in a German. For some reason they all seem to develop leaks which cause electrical problems at some point in their lives. Spraying the contacts when dry prevents them from shorting out if they get wet since the WD makes a barrier between the contact and the water. I spray it on the contacts of any electrical part I install in anything auto related now. Triflow works too. I discovered this because I washed the motor with it turned off, once, and it would not restart. I was told to spray the cap and it started first try.