car trouble

[rowdy]

hello orgers got a bit of a problem with the wifes car, it's been cutting out as if it's running out of petrol. It's a 1990 golf mk1 cabriolet with a 1.8 carb engine. I bought it privately for her about 15 mnths ago and changed spark plugs, leads, dizzy cap, rotor arm air filter fuel filter, the oil and filter having been changed just before I bought it. It started playing up about April this year with us having only covered about a thousand mile or so in it. We took it to a mechanic that we know and he looked at it and said there was a vacuum pipe that had come off under the carb so we went and picked it up and it cut out again on the way home so we took it back for him to have another look. We then picked it up again after he had cleaned the carb out, road tested it and said it was fine, but it conked out on the way home again. We phoned the AA and a man came out and looked at it and came to the conclusion that the carb was knackered. So yesterday I spent a good few hours taking off the old pierburg 2e2 autochoke carb and replaced it with a new weber 32/34dmtl but it is still cutting out, although with the new carb(manual choke) it has stopped idling as if it was running on three cylinders. Just wondered if anyone out there has any idea of what to try next.

Petrol and match!!!!

Sorry I ain't more use to ya!

Not able to help directly but what about posting your q on a car site like www.pistonheads.com? They have a VW section. http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&f=86

Trace

So you think its fuel related? Fuel lines and filters - fuel tank itself - drain and clean....?

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by phil24_7

Petrol and match!!!!

Sorry I ain't more use to ya!

Don't think that that hasn't crossed my mind lol. It's too good for that really, when working on it yesterday I got two people commenting on what a lovely motor it was, which happens pretty much every time we go out in it, and it was parked next to our Impreza wrx (03) which they didn't seem so interested in.

have you checked the coil packs? they do go on VWs u know

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by 600+

have you checked the coil packs? they do go on VWs u know

Was wondering if it could be the coil as this happened on a mk3 golf driver (1.8 sfi) we had a couple of years back. It will sit on the drive and tick over all day long, it's when it's being driven it plays up so not sure if it's the coil.

Originally Posted by rowdy

So yesterday I spent a good few hours taking off the old pierburg 2e2 autochoke carb and replaced it with a new weber 32/34dmtl but it is still cutting out

First of all, install the original carb again, that way you don't have to debug two problems at the same time. Unless it's a very high mileage car, it's unlikely that the carb needs replacement. Most carburation problems are due to vacum leaks, so make sure that ALL vacum pipes are sound before you start messing with the carb itself. Also, the flange that the carb is mounted on can crack and cause lots of problems. It's not always easy to spot this.

What happens when it "conks out"? Does it stutter and then dies, or just dies without warning? If it dies without any warning, it's probably not fuel related. I suspect an electrical problem. I used to work at a VW dealership for five years, there are a few well known problems with these engines. The coil can cause intermittent problems, suddenly the engine dies and it won't start again until the coil has cooled off. There is also a Hall effect sensor (for the ignition) in the distributor that can cause the exact same problem. I've replaced loads of these on the old 1.8 engines.

It's highly likely that either the coil or the Hall sensor is the problem on your car. Unfortunately you can't be sure until you've replaced them. I suggest replacing the coil first, as it's the cheapest part. If this doesn't help you should replace the Hall sensor. Unfortunately not all VW's use the same distributor, and one some distributors it's not possible to replace the sensor. In this case the entire distributor must be replaced.

If it stutters and then dies you might have a faulty fuel pump or fuel pump relay, this is also a relatively common problem with these cars. When the car conks out, try pulling the fuel line off the carb and see if fuel is coming when you attempt to start the car.

Originally Posted by rowdy

Was wondering if it could be the coil as this happened on a mk3 golf driver (1.8 sfi) we had a couple of years back. It will sit on the drive and tick over all day long, it's when it's being driven it plays up so not sure if it's the coil.

Can still be the coil, but most likely the Hall sensor in the distributor.

[rowdy]

Originally Posted by skumlerud

First of all, install the original carb again, that way you don't have to debug two problems at the same time. Unless it's a very high mileage car, it's unlikely that the carb needs replacement. Most carburation problems are due to vacum leaks, so make sure that ALL vacum pipes are sound before you start messing with the carb itself. Also, the flange that the carb is mounted on can crack and cause lots of problems. It's not always easy to spot this.

What happens when it "conks out"? Does it stutter and then dies, or just dies without warning? If it dies without any warning, it's probably not fuel related. I suspect an electrical problem. I used to work at a VW dealership for five years, there are a few well known problems with these engines. The coil can cause intermittent problems, suddenly the engine dies and it won't start again until the coil has cooled off. There is also a Hall effect sensor (for the ignition) in the distributor that can cause the exact same problem. I've replaced loads of these on the old 1.8 engines.

It's highly likely that either the coil or the Hall sensor is the problem on your car. Unfortunately you can't be sure until you've replaced them. I suggest replacing the coil first, as it's the cheapest part. If this doesn't help you should replace the Hall sensor. Unfortunately not all VW's use the same distributor, and one some distributors it's not possible to replace the sensor. In this case the entire distributor must be replaced.

If it stutters and then dies you might have a faulty fuel pump or fuel pump relay, this is also a relatively common problem with these cars. When the car conks out, try pulling the fuel line off the carb and see if fuel is coming when you attempt to start the car.

Hi the car has done 115000miles. I checked the rubber mount that the base plate bolts to and this appears to be in good condition. Was wondering if it was the distributor, as when a friend and I checked the car over before getting it seen to by the mechanic it was ticking over lumpy and when the plug lead to the cylinder (gearbox end) was taken off it seemed to make no difference, haven't tried this yet with the new carb but deffinately idles a lot better. The car was just dying, and when i put my foot on the clutch it would rev up ok again until i let the clutch out then it would die again. This indicates to me there is enough petrol getting through for it to tick over but when you try and make it drive it seems to be starved of fuel, but then there is also a strong smell of petrol. Was wondering about the fuel pump also, and have also been told that a leaking exhaust manifold may cause this. I am not going to put the pierburg back on as these are known to be problematic pieces of s***e.