I have two keys - a main key and a spare. I have had intermittent problems with the car starting fine some days and refusing to start again when it is stopped after a journey. Sometimes I can wiggle the ignition barrel and it will start - sometimes it will start after 2 hours - sometimes it wont.
It's driving me absolutely mad because when I want to replicate the problem to try possible solutions I can't and when I think it's not going to reappear it leaves me stranded. I haven't yet ruled out the possibility of the chip going in the main key as I haven't had the spare on me when the immobiliser symbol flashes and the car wont start but as it's an intermittent fault it seems unlikely to be the main key is at fault - am I right in thinking that when key chips go they simply go? Is it possible to have an intermittent key chip fault?
This leads me to think it is the immobiliser reader coil which reads the chip in the key - am I right in thinking that on 9n polos this cannot be removed from the ignition cylinder without being cut off? As it is held on my an internal circlip? Or is that VW trying to put the fear of god into me? The battery by the way is fine - 12.3v. fault codes come back as weak key signal and an intermittent coil reader fault. But it could be either because one influences the other. If this was a problem with the immobiliser box or the ecu this wouldn't trigger either of the above fault codes would it? :/
A local garage says that If I take an individual, new coil reader to them they can remove the current one and put this one in without changing or re-programming any keys, but the vw dealership say's that this cant be done and the only solution is a whole new ignition barrel and reader at £130 + vat for parts and £80 an hour labour. I dont have that money and the car was listed for sale just a few days ago so this is really doing my head in
Any help or solid info like 'no keys dont have intermittent faults' and 'no you definitely cannot remove the reader from the ignition barrel' etc. would be much appreciated and would help me work out the best way to go about this bugger of a problem.