Newbie with an Edition Blue non start

Discussion in '8-valve' started by Richard Gilberd, Dec 23, 2018.

  1. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    so I have bought an edition blue 1991 8v non runner (i have no history and no idea how long it's been sitting) thinking it was going to be as easy as rebuild the engine wiring loom (earth problem) and we would be good to go but no!. I've remade the wiring loom for the engine making sure that all is properly located with the help of my boss who is an auto leccy so i'm thinking i'm good on that side, i have good spark (although i have now mucked up the hall sensor somehow, by pulling it off it's mount to the dizzy) but anyway before that good spark when i pulled a plug and put it next to the open cylinder hole i was getting ignition ( fireworks!) and i could see the petrol misting out of the cylinder, my belief is that somehow i have a fuelling problem, whilst turning over it wants to start maybe on two cylinders but doesn't quite catch, could this be old fuel?, i took all the injectors out and tested them they all have good resistance and spray a good format, I am new to Digifant and Golf's and am only geussing at what could be the problem, i know there's a load of people on here that know these systems in and out and i'm hoping someone has an insight as to why it won't start, i've statically checked the timing and seems to be o.k although when we're on tdc the rotor points at no.4 but changing that around to no.1 i get even less firing sounds! (in theory 180 degrees out shouldn't be a problem? or not i don't know).
    if anyone has some useful insights i'd love to hear them, i was thinking maybe somnething to do with the fuel pressure regulator? i have checked the fuel pump it does as it should it primes and pulses on the impulse the only thing i haven't checked is if the injectors are pulsing as i don't know how to do that (but i'm geussing a led diode may be the answer there?)
    any help greatly appreciated,

    many thanks,
    Rich.
     
  2. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    just a quickquestion (yet another!) on the right hand side of the fuel rail is an electrical connector (two prong) which doesn't have a mate does this have any relevence?
     
  3. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2003
    Likes Received:
    3,298
    Location:
    Bracknell
    Just stumbled upon this thread! Do you still need help with it?

    Any pictures of the 2 pin plug you mention? if its mounted on the rail itself then it sounds like the pressure switch you find on G60 golfs, they aren't fitted to PB code VW but possibly used on the PF?

    with timing if the ignition distributor is 180 out from the camshaft then you wont get it running, so you need to make sure the cam and dizzy are both timed up together. the crank spins twice for every single rotation of the cam & dizzy, so its possible to see them 180 degrees out from the TDC marker on the crank, if so just spin crank round again to get them lined up.

    Also its possible to fit the cam sprocket on backwards so pull rocker cover off and check cam position vs timing marks, my digifant troubleshooting guide has the timing procedure in more detail plus a fair few other bits you can look at:
    https://clubgti.com/forums/index.ph...ose-and-tune-your-mk2-digifant-gti-8v.124949/
     
  4. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    Hi John,
    thanks for the reply, i've been away for the last month so have not got any further with this, also i've come back to Snow and the car is somewhere under it! so it will probably have to wait until the big melt before i can go any further! i will have a good read of your thread in the meantime and try and get a photo of the plug coming off the rail, thanks for your thoughts, i'll let you know how i get on.
     
  5. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    Hi all,
    well it thawed out enough yesterday to get in and have another look at the car, i pulled the dizzy and bench tested the hall sender and It seems to be knackered not making any pulses with an led hooked up to it, it was working fine but seems to have given up! can anyone confirm to me that the sender should be getting 12v when plugged in as i have read in the manual that it should only be 5v? and if this is the case what would be the cause of 12 volts coming out of the ECU?,
    i have two more places i'm going to check next for my non start issue (once my dizzy comes!) it will be setting up the timing and to check for pulse at the fuel rail as I have a feeling this is a fuelling problem as i was getting good spark before i buggered the hall sender!
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
  6. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2003
    Likes Received:
    3,298
    Location:
    Bracknell
    Think its 12v for a digifant, it was 12v on my ABF anyway
     
  7. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    well it's good news the golf runs, not well but it runs! i used Rj's thread on timing and my motor seems quite interesting as it has the plastic belt cover with the timing marks on top but an older style sprocket with the point on the back so with the help from the photo from rj's timing thread it turned out that the rear marker was the right one, I maybe still a tooth off as the cars not idling and runs pretty poorly ( no power and stalls if left), i can't seem to see any marks on the gearbox for the rear marker so i set the pointer basically in the middle, does anyone know if that is correct? I will also order a new distributor as i'm still not sure if this one is at it's best.
     
  8. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2003
    Likes Received:
    3,298
    Location:
    Bracknell
    ok so your cam sprocket is either a pre-88 type for metal belt cover, or perhaps it has been swapped with the intermediate shaft sprocket in the past durign a rebuild? either way the rear marker is perfectly fine to use, line it up to head surface and you are good to go.

    on the gearbox you need to remove the green bung then you line up the TDC punch marker with the arrow shape in the casting, or exactly in the middle of the hole if this isnt there for some reason.

    once thats setup then you'll want to check the ignition timing as per the guide, big diamond lined up with engine rpm held around 2.25k rpm once that is set then you check base idle and co. If distributor isnt genuine or bosch make i would suggest replacement anyway, as the pattern ones can have the trigger windows made in the wrong locations
     
  9. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    Thanks for the reply,
    i've come to realise that i also have the wrong dizzy cap on it so i've ordered a bosch distributor and will see if it comes with a cap if not i will have to get a new one, interesting that it fired at all with the wrong cap but no1 is perfect , 2and 3 firing a bit and no4 still has rust on the cylinder!!, i found the pointer in one of those oh there it is moments!, i don't know why but the timing seems to be going out when starting, i think it's probably from backfiring and with the old cam belt on that it's skipping, will see what happens with the new dizzy, thanks again.
     
  10. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2003
    Likes Received:
    3,298
    Location:
    Bracknell
    hmm. the fact the sprocket might have been changed, and fact timing slips makes me think maybe woodruff key is missing on the cam. worth a check anyway, grab a late type sprocket & key from mk3 in scrappy to make life easier timing it up in future :)
     
  11. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    thanks John for your help,two curious heads are better than one!!, the woodruff key is there as i had the cam sprocket off to investigate it closely!! as it had me confused! it's possible that i didn't check the belt tension after a couple of hand turns and on the occasion that the belt had slipped as it was loose but it's something to keep an eye on, i'm still very happy that it runs and am pretty sure that i'm that much closer to it running right, i think it's been sat about 6 years so to get her running again would be really great, it will be interesting to see what sort of condition the motor's in, it's only got 170 km on it so hopefully not too bad, this week i will run a compression test on it and see how it fares
     
  12. Richard Gilberd Forum Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2018
    Likes Received:
    1
    so i've started doing body work, would love to make a thread on the rebuild of this car (it's going to be restored apart from different suspension), what do i need to post pics?
     
  13. rubjonny

    rubjonny Administrator Staff Member Admin

    Joined:
    Oct 31, 2003
    Likes Received:
    3,298
    Location:
    Bracknell
    You should be able to upload attachments now :)
     
    Rogelio likes this.
  14. Rogelio New Member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2018
    Likes Received:
    0
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice