Not much info to give you at the moment , i tried to start the car this morning cranked pretty hard 5 or 6 timesbut wouldnt start not even a cough or splutter, she sat for a few weeks but went for a good drive yesterday.
1gb 1992 tsi fwd.
What should i check first? Im at work now so i will have to look when i get home.

What's your coolant ratio? Is the temperature sensor good? If not that will cause a long start.

First see if you have spark and fuel.

It got to about -20 with the wind chill last night, would frozen coolant stop it starting? My bets are on the sensor only because when i first got it the start was erratic and i had to give it a small amount of gas otherwise it would stall, thoughts on that?

Could be a quick resistance test can confirm the sensor. Could also be wiring at sensor. Do you have anything to log with?

Yeah that sounds like my car when my sensor's wires were bad. Frozen coolant shouldn't stop it from starting but it would definitely make it hard to start, especially if your waterpump can't turn.

What reading should i get with the sensor?

At 32°F (0°C) 5.9K Ohms

At 68°F (20°C) 2.5K Ohms

At 104°F (40°C) 1.1K Ohms

At 176°F (80°C) 300 Ohms

Just a side note, inorganic objects are not affected by "wind chill".

LOL I was going to mention that too! Depending on how fast it might affect your driving though!!

Are You trying say My Talon isn't alive? No but seriously he is correct. But still -15 makes lots of cars not wanna start.

Lol im not used to the way you describe cold temperatures i'm from England where it gets to -5 lol,I assumed wind chill was how cold it gets when the wind is hitting something, you know how it feels colder when your facing the wind compared to it being still.

Anyways back to point, how loud are our fuels pumps can you usually hear them prime once you turn the key?
Just trying to rule a few things out so im out in the cold as little as possible when i get home.

The fuel pumps do not prime when you turn the key on.

You also won't be able to hear it while you are idling, unless it has been replaced with a noisier one. Pull a spark plug to check spark then smell each of the cylinders after checking spark as the fuel will just be sitting in there.

Will do figures i just got the brakes fixed Sunday maybe she just wants to hibernate :'(

Jesus...

It started yesterday, but didn't start today right?

How is the battery voltage? Did you know your battery can drop down to as little as 9V when cranking? If you tried cranking it 5 or 6 times, good bet the battery is low on juice.

Try boosting it.

Funny story to go along with this.

A local drifter was drifting at Shannonville when all of a sudden his car lost power, sputtered, kaffed and died. The guys spent 2 hours swapping parts, try this try that.

It ran out of gas.

Stop over thinking it. Chances are the plugs are soaked from all the excess fuel. Pull them out, let them dry, charge the battery and try again.

It was cold out, the ECU dumps fuel like a mother fracker. If your car ran like sh!t when it was warm out, it's going to be a bitch to start when its cold.

Yeah started first time after been left for 2 weeks with zero hesitation, i even gave it a "dashboard pat".
The battery felt good cranked the starter and turned the engine over 5 or 6 times before i stopped trying, but I will check the voltage.

The only machine that is alive is Johnny 5!

I have nothing else to add to this as Ryan, Bryan, and Stephen have covered a lot if not all possible points.

I just went thru this an hour ago. car would start fine yesterday.... Today just cranking! Its your coolant sensor. I unpluged mine and plugged in one I had sitting on the bench from a part out.. Started right up. So I swapped the sensors. runs fine now.

Is it the top one or bottom one.

The one on top is for the A/c. theres 2 on the bottom.. its the one with 2 wires. You can get at it with a 17inch line wrench or the open end of a normal wrench...Dont use the box end of a normal wrench... it may round it off.

I dont think you can deffinetaly say it is the coolant temp sensor without actually testing it. Jay was lucky he had a spare one but to just purchase a sensor in hope it will fix your problem is kinda silly.

I am not saying it isn't the sensor, but how do you know. No start diagnoses it pretty straight forward. If it is flooded the plugs will be wet with fuel then you have no spark or bad fuel control ie.. sensor input or leaky injector or bad ecm could even be poor compression but doubtfull on that one( not saying it is those but basic need to be checked first)

If you have dry plugs it is a fuel issue.

Unfortunately for you it is bloody cold outside.

Ya but a coolant sensor is only about 20 bucks and if you plan on owning the car for several years you will need one eventually. I would start with that first. Those other possabilties could be the problem , but they all usually slowly get bad. Coolant sensor just dies...especially when its really cold.

If you check.. most dsm posts looking for no start fixes end up being coolant sensors.

Do not ever throw money at a problem until you diagnose it. Just because one thing worked for one person doesn't mean it will for another.

Case in point:

I was an apprentice at the time, but one mechanic at a shop I worked at had a truck come in with boost problems. He, based on his prior experience, figured the turbo was done. We ordered the turbo and I installed it. The turbo did not fix the problem. After doing diagnostics on the truck, and trying a few things to rule out problems, it turned out to be a clogged muffler.

Experience would tell you that you diagnose and rule out suspicions before throwing money and replacing parts willy nilly to try and fix a problem.

Not saying you are wrong Jay, but before throwing money at it to fix it and replacing sensors that may not need to be replaced, it's best to diagnose (in this case, using an Ohmmeter) the sensor. If the sensor is to blame, then perfect, but if not, you cannot return electronic components once installed, period. You've just wasted $20 on a sensor (depending on brand).

I had the same issue happen to me in Sudbury. I cranked and cranked and nothing. It was -25 outside and my car was stock right to the airbox. It was fracking cold outside, and even after trying to boost it, it would not start. I fouled the plugs from soaking them in fuel. These cars when cold DUMP fuel into the cylinders, almost 20% more than a decently warm start. With a weak battery, old plugs, weak wires, it is EASY to foul plugs in these cars.

The end result was new plugs and a warmer day, it ran like a champ.

My sensor is still factory, and going strong.

My temp sensors is 22 years old and still going strong.

Sound like it wasnt fixed if you needed the warm day to start.

To start diognosing a bad temp sensor.. you have to remove it and place it in differant tempuratures and record the readings. And hope yer doing it right. Or just buy ye dam sensor and swap it. either way if it starts problem fixed.. if it dosent.. well you know your temp sensor is good. DSM stands for something in the world of stick with what works... and the cts IS the most common reason for dsm problems. While yer at it check yer plugs for wetness.

Ryan.. a beer says im right... Steve Im in kitchener all the time.. same deal! you dont need to be a licenced mechanic to know how to fix cars!

You don't need to remove it to test it, If ambient temp is a certain value and your resistance is not in spec, it fails. If you can't ohm out a 2 pin sensor you really shouldn't be working on your car in the first place.

I am not saying you need to be a tech to fix your car but you need to test before replacement.

If your every in Kitchener come by for a beer I would love to meet another DSM'er you could probably teach me lots of things.

Check the wires if they aren't good then fix them, if that doesn't work then I would do the sensor replacement.

Steve we should get together and take pics of our cars since there identical!

I think everyone is missing the point of why spend money trying to diagnose when diagnosing the right problem will save you money.

A while back, I thought I had a sticky tstat. I didn't go out and spend the $13 replacing it, I tested it in boiling water and it opened and closed normally.

Turned out I had a pin hole in a water line coming off the throttle body. And I had spare hose, so that fix was free.

Just another "case in point"...(I like that term, I may steal that )

Almost identical. Mine is stick. Anytime man. I also want your interior when you sell her.

No way man thats my cheasy 80s porn interior! As some one once called it!

sorry back on topic.. Kirk.. check your plugs too see there wet! If they are not then it may be your fuel pump that is dead. If your plugs are wet(after cranking it over) Then go buy a coolant temp sensor. Sometimes simplicity is worth 20 bucks. If you swap the sensor and it still dosent start, ill buy the sensor off you. I need one for spring anyway.

I had a look today got cold, swore at it went inside. My buddy is starting the part out on his TSI this weekend and since I'm buying the shell (AWD :)) I can have my pick of non aftermarket stuff so I can diagnose via replacing stuff.
After cranking a few times should I be able to smell fuel just by removing the spark plug lead, or is it generally sealed in by the plug.
I'm not being lazy BTW but it really is too cold, even for a thick skinned Brit.

So your pump is working. Well if you flood you motor.. you will smell gas. Keep that in mind that the more you crank it over the more it dumps gas into the oil. Proll a good idea to change the oil when you get it running.

I couldn't smell gas but all I did was remove the plug lead for a quick whiff after cranking it 4-5 times.
Hopefully tomorrow is a little bit warmer but we will see.

What part of England are you from? I know it is off topic but I am first gen canadian my father was born in Croydon and alot of his family is still there. Don't be shy to test anything there are alot guys here although with different opinions that can lead you in the right direction.

No, you will not smell fuel by removing the plug lead. If you can smell fuel by removing the plug lead, you'd also be losing compression.

Someone stole your spark plugs

The gas smell in your spark plug holes may be from cranking it so much that youve got a good mix of gas in your oil now and its seeping thru the valve cover gasket.