abf running problems

hi fellas,

can you all please point me in the right direction with what a possible cause could be, im hoping its timing.

symptoms are: takes say 5 to 6 turns before starting, now dont no if thats normal but i got the impression it should be about 2 to 3 turns? on idle it misfires every now and then? it doesnt rev easy if you no what i mean, like its an effort and feels week? plus when i do rev it and let it drop back down it will drop past where it should stop then rev back up again, like its bouncing?

hope you understand what i just tryed to describe

thanks, lee

 

most mk3 16v start on one turn, some are two or three (like mine) something to do with a relay or switch losing power whilst cranking

yours sounds like it has a few more issues than that.

id bet a small wager it is to do with vac pipes. check for broken or missing ones, or replace them all for the sake of 10

there is one from the throttle to the ecu, one to the fuel pressure reg and one to the pcv.

on the servo vac hose, make sure none of the nipples are leaking

 

cheers matt, there is defo something not right as it feels quite slow.

if you dont mind going into abit more detail of what and where to check these vac pipes would be a big help?

 

the red ones need to be checked incase their broken or leaking or missing.

the green one is the servo has and further along to the left it has either more hoses (if you have air con) or blanking nipples. check for leaks there too

 

matt your a legend! thats a big help thanks and i will check them tomorrow.

lets just hope i find something which is the cause. the problem with a problem like ive got is it can be a number of things which can get expensive trying to solve....

 

whilst youre at it, id pull the spark plugs out and see if theyre sparking properly too

what work have you done to the car already?

 

ok will do.

so far ive changed the fuel filter, spark plugs, cap and rotor arm, put some injecter cleaner in, air filter,

next week my mate is fitting cam belt as it 15000 over due, cam chain, water pump and thermostat. plus will be doing sump gasket and oil change.

is there anything else i can check whilst im at it? thanks

 

if youre doing the water pump id get the water flanges too. cost about 8 each and the old ones warp with age. do the water pump one and head flange as they can leak with age. worth doing when its in bits.

as for the spark plugs, considering youve changed all that its a pretty slim chance thats the issue but worth a look

 

ps get a vw termostat

its 83*... the aftermarket ones all seem to be 90*+. i put a febi one in last year shortly before i went ot the ring and saw some pretty damn high oil and water temps

 

sounds like a good idea, as for the thermostat ive already ordered it from a garage. its 18 quid plus vat so id hope its a vag one!

i will find out tomorrow tho as car is going in for a mot god help her.. i no its going to fail straight away tho as both abs and hand brake lights are on.

 

Very sorry to thread hijack.

Matt thats some nice samco that you've used to replace the inlet boot with. Given the amoutn the engine moves on cranking (even on new mounts) has it never been wrenched loose? I ask because this is all thats putting me off doing something similar.

 

thats way OTT. i think the VW one is 8+vat

as for the handbrake light, that could be the brake fluid level sensor

as for the abs one... that litle cluster can be unplugged

 

nope, never ripped it out once

 

thats what i thought as well, i just hope he ment 8 plus vat the buggers! i did find out its a vw one tho so good news there. but car failed on rear brake disks and pipes plus abs light being on.

quick question with the brake fluid sensor, does this look normal? never seen one with this thin bit sticking out?



as for the vac pipes, i had a very quick look this afternoon after work but it was pi**ing it down so couldnt have a proper look but will tomo if weather ok! but does this look ok as it doesnt to me.





thanks.

 

right well ive replaced the vac pipes and no difference.

what else do you guys think it could be and what can i check?

 

There's suppossed to be a cap on the top of the Brake fluid cap. Can't get spares but you can get one from the breakers. Make sure you get the right type or the plug wont connect right. The last pic for the vacuum tube is a open pipe which is a large vacuum leak. plug it or connet it up where its supposed to be. Use 3mm id silicon tube. from ebay.

Also i had this problem with turning over lots of times. Check the colour of the spark from the HT lead to the engine. Weak spark is yellow/orange. Could be a coil fault.

 

cheers all, im gonna take a trip to the scrappy this weekend and try find another cap so hopefully sort that. but saying that im sure i herd somewhere on hear that if the abs light is on it can cause the brake light to come on too?

im having big trouble with the abs system at the mo and cant get the mot because of it, please have a look at my post in the electrical section. thanks.

so do the coil packs go often? can you explain exactly how to test it? thanks.

 

This is how you test it. You need a multimeter.





Test between 15 and HT was low on mine 2500 ohms. before i got a new one from the scrappy, i checked them and the highest i found was 3200 ohms.

 

tshirt2k= that is a great help, i havent a multimeter but can borrow one from work tomorrow. i will post up results not long after testing it tomorrow cheers.