The clicking is most likely coming from a relay that is receiving power from the battery when it should not be doing so while the ignition switch is off. The relay does not need much current to activate and when the load is switched on by the relay, the battery voltage drops, the relay no longer works and clicks off making the noise you hear. As soon as the battery voltage recovers, the cycle starts again and eventually discharges the battery so the car will not start.

If you have some electrical experience, tracing the faulty relay is not difficult and involved removing all the fuses then replacing them one at a time until the clicking starts. Then you need a wiring diagram to identify what relays are on that circuit and the probable cause of voltage being continuously live to the relay. At this point it probably becomes a job for an auto electrician or VW service centre.

Another possibility is a faulty alarm system which is shorting to ground somewhere and the clicking is electronic "noise" coming from the alarm speaker.

 

Elctro-Mechanical Light

Thanks for your reply. We finally got the car to start but it's showing the electro-mechanical light is on... what does that mean?

 

Sounds like a dead or dying battery....have the battery and alternator checked......I bet one will not be right.

 

I agree with you and put my money on the Battery.

 

Agree with others, Battery.

 

I hope people are still paying attention to this my car is making that clicking noise and wont start but at the same time it's not getting any lights on the dash the info center has nothing displaying the radio doesn't come on the top won't move the batteries were dead so I charged them and they're both holding at 6.2v but still nothing it sounds like a ticking time bomb I parked the car for a while I had to do some work to the rear end i got that done went to start it and now this i really don't know i checked every single fuse not a single one is blown if anyone out there knows what's going on I'd really appreciate your help please and thank you

 

Do you have a VR6 and thus have two 6 V batteries??

IIRC, VW recommends charging them in series, treating them like a 12V cell.

 

You need a voltage under load test of each battery - a simple voltage test is insufficient as one or more cells maybe incapable of contributing the amperage and voltage necessary for proper functioning of the vehicle electrical system.

A diagnostic test might also help indicate faults that are associated with your problem - unless you have the experience and knowledge to do so, you need help from a VW specialist.

 

Battery voltage doesn't always mean much. You can have a dead or broken battery which gives the correct terminal voltage but what matters is if it stays at that voltage on load. You really nead a big load to do a battery test like the sort battery and tire shops use. If you can wire a couple of halogen headlamp bulbs together, try putting those across the 12 volt combo and re-measure the battery with that (small) test load. If the bulbs won't even light, you have a dead battery. If the batteries are older than 4 years you should consider replacing them anyway.

 

Try Andrew pages, they will do a free battery test
I had same issue and battery cells were dead, battery had lasted 7 years so not bad