fla

OH BTW, forgot to mention that I took the battery out for charging - next day when it strated immediately may have been due to the ECU being reset? If so, could it have un-reset (???) itself again? I'll disconnect the battery again and see if i get any joy at least to get it to a garage with VAGCOM.

Mike, Sent a note to their forum - meanwhile I'm getting that sinking feeling...hope its something simple, otherwise i may be looking at a manual conversion. even that is going to be major bucks at the mo...Once I get the car to start(!!!!!) I'll get it checked on VAGCOM.

Cheers for that Storm. Car's only done 50k (verified) with two previous owners (one was a doctor) so presuambly it wasnt thrashed senseless. I picked up the car about 2 months back and had it serviced immediately. Generally everything seemed okay and it ran perfectly until a few weeks back when it rained like shite. Did you ever adjust (or get adjusted) the kickdown cables, and if so whereabouts are they? I need to get it on VAG COM soon but as its not starting I'll probably need someone in the the area to come over. Kebab tokens waiting- i dont do beers!

Stevemac, no probs before the service, just since its been standing for a while. Just wondering if the kickdown cable might need adjusting. Meanwhile, is there anyone in the Middx area with VAGCOM? I've just downloaded the shareware version but of course i'll need the leads. Is this version of any use?

ok, back to square one, it died on me after 5 seconds and i didnt even get it out of the drive. fortunately i was in Park so i could push it back into the bay. the missus was NOT impressed, to say the least. Anyone with VAGCOM in the area - i'm in middx? thanx

OK sorted - just a question of using a small minus screwdriver to open the slots a bit and the circuit board can be gently pressed through via the pins. After removing the board, I've dremelled the holes a bit so teh board just slots back in. Be careful with the pins as one of mine has broken off and is a PIA to fix back on again. Done and dusted, mods please lock.

air inlet to the blower is a fiddly one - but its easy enough to check. With the glovebox removed pour some water from the top of teh vent area and you will see it drip into the footwell. I've used some gutter seal all round the air intake - usually the seal goes, so change that and seal up the whole area with bitumen. easy enough to use if a bit messy. Bear in mind that water can track across the plastic cover above the air intake and find its way into the cabin. HTH

I've just ordered a set off ebay - they're "standard" whatever that means, so hopefully they'll fit ok. Have a look on ebay, theres loads and it depends how bling bling you want to go. Worst case, you might have to force fit the pins in order to get the threads to match up.

Cant say too much about the old switches but I'm gradually changing all the bulbs in my dash (94 VR) to blue leds which I got from Ultraleds. Most switches provide 5V so you can simply desolder the bulbs and replace with the colour of your choice. Some are actually 12V and I blew a couple of leds as I don't have a local power source handy. If you've got a meter then fine, otherwise open the switch, clip into dash and manually hold the leds across the terminals to check which way round to fit it. The guy at Ultra sent me the appropriate resistors to allow the leds to be used with 12V - give him a call he's quite helpful. Best bet is to count how many you need (most switch leds are 3mm, with the dash ones 5mm) and double them to be safe otherwise you'll end up short. It takes about 30mins per switch but the effect is, well, leagues better. I've put filters in my clocks but the colour is crap - LEDS mate is the best way to go. HTH

Oil last changed about 500 miles ago (service) and the car has done 50k. Its not the torque limiter is it?

Bit of a weird one this. The car's been standing for a while, and i took it for a spin on some open roads. On kickdown it drops down but then almost immediately changes up again with a slight whine or wheeze after the changeup. I let the engine temp get up to about 90 or so before giving it some welly. It also feels a bit sluggish. Dont know if it just needs loosening up again because of being stationary for so long in the damp weather? Would welcome any ideas. Thanks

Seems like it was something to do with the crank position sensor - i removed this and gave it a wipe, although tbh there was only a drop of oil on it, nothing else. Left the battery disconnected as per Kevs note for about 5 mins (not 15 as he said!) Anyway, I also gave some of the connectors to the electronic ignition a bit of a spray with contact cleaner and wayhay the 6 cyls fired up after a single crank of the engine. Maybe a combo of all these but a result finally! I'll get back if the problem arises again. Now to the next problem....auto box whine! (on another thread). Thanks a lot for the tips.

A slight step back - can you check for a spark the normal way by pulling the lead off the plug and checking it against the block or would this fry the electronics? I dont have a spark tester at present.

Guys, Blimey, sounds like someones got into the ring with Mike Tyson. Okay, the engine is turning over and seems to be turning over fine (speedwise), but there's no ignition. I'll check if I'm getting a spark tonight, light permitting. There is the fuel pong that accompanies a cold start (that's another story and I've got to go over the fuel pipework soon) so i guess it is being primed okay. Having said that, it has cut out one or two times in the past and refused to start for a while, just as I have pulled in to the drive. Apart from that I'll follow Kevs line of taking off the crank sensor. BTW Kev, what would cause it to fail in the first place? Its a 94 VR. Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions chaps.

last time i cranked it over it took about 4 turns before it fired up. However, previous to that it took about 12 turns. Bear in mind its been standing for about 2 weeks, so maybe theres some moisture in the electrics? Cam position sensor - where is it and how do i check it? thanks

Cheers dazzyvr6. How do i check whether the immobiliser is (maybe) at fault? Fuel pump is okay because i can hear it humming. Dont think it would be blocked as the car has only done 50k.

Thanks for the info Henny. What should I be looking for - TBH I havent got a clue where to start.

I removed the earth cable connected to the bonnet, to resolder, as the wire was almost out of the cable grip. The car has been standing for about 2 weeks and when i tried to start it, it turned over but didnt fire. Even the tacho didnt register that it was turning over. I havent got round to resoldering the earth but in any case would this affect the ignition? I would have thought not. Be grateful for any tips. Cheers all.

Hi all, Just in the process of changing the green leds to blue ones on the dash and switches -bit of a prob with the window switches - after taking the cover off the driver side switch (houses both driver & passenger switch) I cant remove that circuit board to desolder the existing leds. On the passenger side switch I've sort of forced the led into the slot but havent checked to see if it works yet - too much rain and the car is a little way away! Not really a solution i like TBH. On teh plug side of teh switch the pins are located in two banks - one side have been rotated clockwise and the other ani-clockwise through the slots - if you've done this mod you'll know what I mean. BTW I've got a 94 VR new style switches. Also, is there any way to replace the ash tray bulb with an led - I've removed the green paint, put in a blue filter and some foil in the housing but its still blocking the light too much to get the right blue. Thanks for the help

Oakley, Quite easy - take off the leather trim on the door handle to access the large cross-head screws holding the handle on. Take the handle off. There are a couple of screws on the lock side of the door that you will need to remove. At teh bottom of the card there are some plastic clips into which the card sits and you just need flick these down. Then carefully remove the door card by lifting it up and out. You can then take out the switch for the mirrors and clean up the contacts as JimsG60 says. Check the door for any loose bits that may have fallen and see if the teeth on the spur gear that move the miror have broken anywhere. In any case try the mirror without replacing the door card. Oil the gears lightly before closing up and when you close everything up it will also be nice and quiet. Think that's about it. Its quite a straightforward job - good luck!

Just noticed that my drivers side door seal does not sit completely in the frame. I've moved the locking pin in as far as poss but there is still a gap, so the solid thunk like I normally get from the passenger side due to the good seal, sounds more like a tinny rattle. Fortunately no water leakage into the car - YET!!! Any ideas how to sort this one? Ive recently lifted the door (sagging a bit) with some spacers behind the hinge. Thanks in advance *mod edit - Double thread removed - Henny *

Does the VR also allow you to check the engine speed thro' the MFA? - I know you can on a G60? If so, how? Thanks for the help.

Just been a bit too clever and removed the needles from the tacho and speedo to change to white dials without finding the resting position. Now that I'm reassembling it I'm not sure about how far below the needle rest the "zero" position is. I'm guessing that the speedo will probably be pretty close to where 0mph would be, but are all speedos/tachos the same? If so can anyone tell me the resting postion for both clocks? BTW, used Andi's white dials (cheers Andi) and they look, well, leagues better than the old black faces and crap number fonts. Blue filters going in soon, as well as the MFA - just need to find a bit of time

Cheers for that Henny. What would you suggest for the heater controls?

actually I did it the lazy way by loosening the bolt half way and slotting two n-shaped shims in between. Otherwise, it would have been a bit of a job with the tonnage of those bloody doors. Anyway cheers for the tip Kevhaywire. BTW, any ideas on the hissing I've posted on another thread - temp got up to 114C in traffic yesterday so I want to get this sorted?