aclwalker

Hi, is that a VR6? I'm interested that you managed it with just jacking it up. I'm going to have to do my alternator again as it has shorted out and it's only 3 months old but stuck in a side street. Would rather not remove the bumper this time. Any more details on how you did this would be appreciated. BTW, forgot to answer your earlier question about the VW plugs. I reckon you could get them from the dealer. I know you can get repair wires and terminals. You can also get some of them here: http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-onlinestore/connectors/housings.php

I think the other pin is for a rev counter, but it's not connected to anything. There are other ways of measuring revolutions. It's sometimes known as the W terminal. As for changing the alternator, I did it by removing the bumper and fron panel. Not too hard once you've done it a few times before! You don't need to remove the radiator or anything.

Well, finally got a break in the weather today, so disconnected the alternator and reconnected the battery without sparks. I was able to start the car fine and it ran normally. I didn't run it for long though as it's not a good idea with the alternator disconnected. As soon as I reconnected the alternator, car not running, the sparks and smoke started again, so it looks like my 3 month old alternator has shorted itself. I've checked all the wiring, and taped parts of it where I thought it could possibly have shorted but it still does. Anybody heard of this before? I suppose the good news is that there doesn't appear to be too much damage apart from the alternator wiring which clearly can't cope with the current draw.

Thanks for the offer. I think I'll need to take the starter back though. It's only 2 months old. It's not too difficult to get the starter off, but there are bolts and things in the way that can be a challenge. Also, you need to support the engine as you remove it as one of the bolts goes through the front engine mount. Is it a manual transmission Golf Mk III? (Automatic uses a different starter I believe.) What year? I'm beginning to think that the positive lead from the battery is maybe touching the case of the solenoid. I noticed that the terminal at the starter end is a square with a hole in it, rather than the usual circular. I guess it's possible that this has rotated when I've tightened it up and is touching against the sort of divider post between the two terminals. I wouldn't have thought that this was earthed, but maybe it is. I've got some continuity testing to do tonight to try and diagnose the problem, but I think ultimately I'll need to get the starter out again, which I'm not looking forward to, on the public road (although in the side-street now), in winter, in Glasgow, in the week before Christmas! The good news is that my old battery, even at 11 years old, has recovered admirably. I've only had it on charge for about 3 hours now (don't trust it enough to charge in my flat while sleeping or out!) and it's approaching working voltage, having been totally flattened in a fraction of a second. It will at least do as an ECU-saver battery when replacing other batteries!

Well, tried to fit a new battery, and got massive sparks again with no ignition or anything on. I've checked the wiring as much as I can (in the dark, without taking anything apart) and it all seems fine. I saw a wisp of smoke coming from near the starter motor, so it's looking like maybe it has an internal short. Could a dodgy ignition barrel cause this? I've been having a bit of difficulty recently with the key not turning the barrel easily, but I assumed it was just because the key is worn. The starter is a refurb, only fitted 2 or 3 months ago. It's not as good as the old one was (occasionally fails to start), but I accidentally snapped the terminal off the old one. Anyone heard of an internal starter/solenoid short?

Got a new Bosch Silver S5004 (075 size) for £59.98 from Costco. A lot of the online battery places said the S5005 (027 size) was for the Corrado, but the Bosch catalogue in Costco said that the S5005 was for the Golf VR6 and S5004 for the Corrado VR6. I guess this is a common mistake. To be honest, I think either would do. The only differences seem to be that the S5004 is 61Ah whereas the S5005 is 63Ah, and the S5005 is 1.5cm taller. I'll be checking the earth strap tonight and hopefully be back on the road shortly.

Thanks for that. Any idea where the main earth is on a VR6? Somewhere near the gearbox/starter maybe? Overnight my battery has recovered to 10.5 volts, which would suggest one cell is dead. I'm going to try and get a battery today, but I'd like to check this earth anyway as I've never done this before.

Had an interesting problem today. 50 yards into my journey, my VR6 lost all power, came to a halt and within a few seconds the dash display went totally blank. I'm pretty sure I saw a flash of light from under the bonnet and there was an electrical smoke smell briefly. I was stuck at an angle on the main road, and after getting help to move it out the way, I started investigating. The battery was showing zero volts on my multi-meter! The battery is 11 years old now. Having taken it out of the car, it seems to have recovered a bit to 8 volts, which is obviously still no use. I'm worried that there's some sort of short somewhere, but the wiring all looks good. I recently replaced the starter, so I'm hoping that this hasn't shorted itself somehow. Is it possible for batteries to short internally? Anybody got any idea what's happened here? It's a pretty spectacular end to my battery. I'm just worried that if I put a new one in that another fault I've not identified could kill the brand new battery. Any advice appreciated...

This post might help. There's a thinner bolt that allows extra adjustment, but the online ETKA is showing this as obsolete, and saying that the original thick bolt is the replacement! Might be worth trying to order it anyway. The part number is in the post below. http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?49945-Camber-adjustment&p=642609&viewfull=1#post642609

I just replaced mine and it was a 90A Valeo on mine originally. GSF couldn't supply me a replacement, but Unipart could, and the price was decent (£120 exchange). If you can determine whether or not it's a Valeo or Bosch then it should be easy enough to work out the original part number from that. Give me a shout if you need help with this. As others have said, make sure it's the 7 rib version. I believe that you can substitute later 6 rib alternators and change the pulley, but that justs add to the cost. If you can work out the original part number then rebuilds are available from the likes of Unipart and Wood Auto. (BTW, if the markings have faded then it sounds like a Valeo! Bosch numbers seem to be marked properly and last but my Valeo just seemed to have a paper sticker, where the writing had faded. Ridiculous really.)

Useful document about "plus" suspension, and torquing procedure... http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?76800-VR6-hub-nut-torque-plus-suspension-useful-instructions

Hi, A while ago I posted about the VR6 hub nut torque: http://the-corrado.net/showthread.php?42892-Can-we-clarify-VR6-hub-nut-torque-then-sticky-please Anyway, I just thought it would be useful to post a document I found recently that gives a decent explanation of "plus suspension". It's about the Passat VR6, but is applicable to our cars. It more or less confirms the conclusions in the thread above. The problem I have is that my car is now eating bearings on one side, although the other side has been fine since doing it a few years back. I reckon either my torque wrench is out or maybe my wheel bearing housing is distorted. Anyway, hope people find the attachment useful. A b4_40-02 (plus suspension).pdf

Hi easypops. Thanks for the offer, but I think I've finally found the problem. I agitated the wiring for the MAF quite a bit in frustration a few weeks back and the car has been running great since, so I think I must have a broken wire, right near the plug. I had a broken wire in the past, which I repaired, but maybe the repair has failed. Lots of electrical gremlins in these cars. My courtesy light won't go off as of today!

Hi, I've had it on VAG-COM before but no codes. I've got VAG-COM, but my computer is broken now so I can't re-scan it right now. New computers don't have serial ports any more! I've cleaned up the MAF plug before and I actually replaced one of the pins ages ago because it was splayed open and caused even worse problems then. This repair made the problem much better but it seemed to come back. The second-hand MAF I'm pretty sure is working. Even with the hunting it's running better than the old MAF. It's the 6 pin MAF (well 6 pins but only 5 connected). ---------- Post added at 12:51 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:48 AM ---------- Hi, it's the older hot-wire one, but it's 6 pin (only 5 pins used though). If I unplug it while it's running the engine stops. I can unplug and it and replug it very quickly and it'll splutter but catch again, rev quite high and slowly come down and the hunting and poor running will be gone for a short time. I'm really beginning to think I've got a wiring issue. I had a duff pin before which I replaced and it made the problem better, but maybe some of the other wires are failing. I always think the MAF connector seems very close to the bonnet. I sometimes wonder if the engine pushes the connecter against the underneath of the bonnet, stressing the pins, especially if the engine mounts are worn. ---------- Post added at 12:52 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:51 AM ---------- Yes, I think I'll try moving the plug and/or wire while it's running and see if I can detect a break. Unfrotunately I can't do a full ECU reset just now because my VAG-COM computer is broken now. I've done the battery disconnect ECU reset, but I guess it's not as good doing a proper one. Sorry, not sure what you mean by original air filter. It's a 222000+ mile Corrado, so it's had it's fair share of filters! :) If you mean air box, then I think it's all original. I haven't replaced anything, but I know my oil filter housing is from a newer VR6 engine (large bore element rather than smaller one), so things have been changed on the car before I got it, although it's standard as far as I can see. No induction ktis or anything.

Got a strange one with the VR6. I know there's loads of MAF/hunting/poor idle threads but I've never seen this problem. My car hunts when I first start it and also does the famous nearly/actually cutting out at junctions etc. However, I've noticed that if I simply unplug my MAF then reconnect it, the car runs beautifully, immediately, without me having to do anything else. The power is great, the idle smooth and it's a joy to drive. After a while (a week maybe) the problems start over again, and I repeat the cycle. I thought my MAF was dodgy, so I sourced a second hand one, and it still does it (it generally runs a bit better on the new MAF however). This 'reset' procedure works whether or not the engine is running when I disconnect/reconnect. If I do it quickly enough when the engine is running then it will splutter, but not conk out. It'll rev quite high for a short while and slowly lower. It's almost as if this process resets something in the ECU. It's a bit of an IT Crowd solution, I know! Any ideas what's going on? Any ideas for a more permament solution? I've ruled out the coil pack (got two coilpacks), the HT leads, the spark plugs and now, I think, the MAF itself. I'm wondering about a loose connection in the plug, or an ECU issue? Thanks for any help guys.

That's funny, I thought mine was the order of £26k, but I admit that's from memory. I thought I saw a 1994 price list years ago and it was £24k for the VR6 with £2k for full leather interior. Maybe I'm totally imagining it! Clarification: I bought it at 8 years old, so it's not like I forgot paying £26k for it!

Not been on for a while, but just thought I'd document the nightmare I had with my door handle repair. My driver's door handle gave way in the -20C weather at winter so 6 months of getting in the passenger side was riding my luck on the unknown state of the passenger handle! The passenger handle always felt worse than the driver's but I guess it's no surprise that the driver's failed first given the extra use it gets. I had the repair kits from the forum waiting for this eventuality. I'd just like to say what a great kit this is. However... ... I had incredible difficulty with the extraction of the pin. Corrosion seemed to have bonded the pin in. I blunted every one of the self-tappers in the kit trying to get them to bind. Eventually I got one to bind after widening the hole slightly with a drill. But disaster struck. The head of the screw came off when I was trying to extract the pin. Then the screw snapped flush with the moulding! To cut a long story short, I had to drill out the screw head, but still could not extract the pin. Eventually I resorted to the Dremel, and ground away the remaining piece of striker plate, right through the pin until it was sufficiently weakened that I could hammer out the crumbled pieces. Then I was able to remove the remaining piece of pin with a drill. I saw a youtube video where the guy extracted the pin with a drill straight off. I'm not sure if I'll try it this way straight off for the other side, as I don't fancy getting another screw snapped off. Unfortunately I have slightly enlarged and ovaled the hole because of the snapped screw, but it still seems to hold the new pin. I'm hoping that it doesn't work itself loose over time. If you have to Dremel, then you need to take great care not to cut the spring or the moulding of the handle, but you can get surprisingly deep into the striker arm with this method. Then you can hammer the sides inwards with a screwdriver and crumble it away until it comes off. Hammering inwards on the remains with a nail can help to crumble the weakened striker until you can withdraw it. I'll try to upload some pictures later of the remains of my old striker. Any ideas why I had such difficulty? Any alternative methods of pin extraction on old corroded handles? I'm not sure drilling would have worked like in the youtube video. That seemed to be a nice new handle anyway. My new handle works very well now after I greased it up. I also got my central looking back on that side with liberal use of carb cleaner (left my switch cleaner at home).

No. The steel sumps usually leak as a result of over torquing the bolts. They literally only need 11lbft or something, just nipped up. Kev, I'm looking at the online ETKA and there's a part labelled "23a" (but not listed in the part numbers), that looks like a tube of sealant. I can't get access to the real ETKA right now. Is this a sealant for the gasket? Or is this for a previously supplied gasket?

Thanks for all the comments guys. Looks like a standard sump from the dealer it is.then. I think I'll get a few extra bolts in case I damage any. With the age of them, there's bound to be a few that will round off or be badly corroded.

Hi, My sump is leaking on my VR6. I've done a search and found some discussion about R32 sumps but I think I prefer to just put on the standard sump, but I've got some questions: 1 Is a 'standard' sump available from anywhere other than the dealer? I can't see it listed at GSF or ECP. 2 What kind of gasket does the dealer supply? Is it cork? 3 Should a sealant be used alongside the gasket to prevent weeping? If so, what kind of sealant is suitable? 4 How much is a new oil pump, and is it sensible to replace this at the same time? I'm reluctant to touch it really as I think it's working fine, however, my mileage is 210,000 now and I don't know the history of the pump. I would the sump looks original though. Is pump replacement cheap and easy? 5 Is it worth buying new bolts? I usually do buy new bolts but there are rather a lot of them on the sump. Any help appreciated. Thanks

Saw a nice purple (sorry, not sure of correct name colour) VR6 in a village half way between Haverfordwest and St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Couldn't get the name of the village. Car was parked up outside a house. I slowed down as I went past to get a better look. I drove 400 miles from Glasgow to Pembrokeshire and only saw this one.

I think I see what you mean. The number without the K25 is the 'parent' number if you like, and sometimes you get choices underneath that of the bulb colour. But each car will only normally have one bulb colour, I guess, but any colour would be electrically and mechanically compatible.

That's right, it doesn't come out! The bulb is permanently attached to the holder, so you need a new holder too. If you try to pull the bulb out it breaks it, leaving the lefs of the bulb still in the holder! It's not a vital part, of course, but I don't like things not working. Two of the first 'repairs' I did on my Corrado when I got it were to renew the incorrect interior bulbs which were dimmer than the most distant stars and a new bulb and battery in the key so I could find the lock in the dark!

Yeah, that's confirming what I'm saying. The two parts seem to be for the same part but it's not clear what this "K25" version is for. I think the first one is the right one. I'll try to remember to ask what this means when I order it at the dealer.

Does anyone know the difference between the following two parts? 357919243A 357919243A K25 Both are described as ashtray bulb holders with bulbs and specified as being green. What does the K25 mean? I think it's the first one that I need, but I don't have the old one in front of me right now.