Slight stutter under acceleration

[4eyes2wheels 0]

Took the C out for a drive on Sunday, after a two or three miles of slow roads (so starting to warm up nicely) I got on the motorway and accelerated through the gears. There was a feeling like a slight stuttering all the way through the rev range on acceleration but this stopped when I was at the desired speed. But when pushing the accelerater it was there each time. No loud noises or lurches. It's just had a new crank sensor, plugs, oil and all the filters as part of a service. The garage did say the HT leads looked a bit manky . . . so I'll get them changed soon. Is this the most likely? or is it any one of a hundred things?

[swiftkid 1]

I'd be interested in the answer to this, mine has a strange stutter as im cruising but not as bad when accelerating. its like driving along a bumpy road so is barely noticeable but when on a smooth road its quite easy to tell.

[The_Dude 0]

Has the MAF connection been knocked about at all? Take it off and push it back on again. Don't twist it about though, same way you took it off, put it back on.

[4eyes2wheels 0]

Mass air flow connection - where's that then? :?

[The_Dude 0]

'Tis a rectangular plug affair after the airbox, before the throttle body on the pipes. Has 4 wires going into it iirc. I used to get rough running and this helped a lot, it used to wiggle loose after a while.

[4eyes2wheels 0]

Thanks Dude - I will have a look. I guess the garage might not have put it back on quite right.

[4eyes2wheels 0]

MAF Connector seems to be on properly and still got the slight stutter.

 

Car needs to go back to the garage for the following

 

Bit of suspension
ABS Sensor
Exhaust needs fixing / replacing
HT Leads need replacing
Look at this problem

 

Another case of open wallet surgery :gag:

[Toad 0]

Cracked or arcing coil pack maybe. Clean it off and spray with WD40 and see if that helps.

[veedub16v 0]

old ht leads can cause this, id try this first

[4eyes2wheels 0]

It was fine before they serviced it (plugs, oil, filters etc) so I think maybe the old leads are not working so well, maybe . . .

 

anyway I will ask them to review it after they have changed the leads

[joely7634 0]

Please let me know about this when you have swapped the HT leads, mine does exactly the same thing and is also a vr6 1994.?.

 

J

[volksworld13 0]

if its just had plugs, and it started after this, it may be the saprk plugs ar incorrectly gaped ,even triple core plugs when dropped or damaged can cause this, and like toad sed , possibly ht leads, do the cheap stuff 1st, try checking the leads at the plug ends for arcing, white lines tracking down the inside of the lead, where it goes onto the plug, failing that try substiting a coil pack with a known good one!! :D hope this helps

[mrbeige 0]

Had the same problem with our Golf VR. Turned out to be HT leads being poop. As Tom says, could be the Coilpack as well. Go out no, open the bonnet, start the engine, and give it a bit of a rev up and if the coilpack is indeed arcing, you will see it, as it's dark :)

[killahdan 0]

My valver does this only it's not just a slight stutter its more of a small jerk. Like when you stall a car becouse it's in too hirer gear and your going to slow for that gear. It does it when lifting off and accelerating through the gears. Put new plugs and leads on it, earth strap, isv and checked the vacume pipes. Still no joy. So i'd like to know hoe to solve this problem too. :shrug:

[joely7634 0]

Cheers Guys,

 

Im gonna check the HT leads and see if they are looking a bit tired then might look at the spark plugs and coil pack, I have a mate who might look at it luckily! trying to look after the pennies after xmas!! ggggrrrrrr

[millerman 0]

i would go down the ht lead route as ive had a coil pak go and you dont get a stutter you get a complete loss of a cylinder or 2

and that does not feel like a stutter more like a 2cv :lol:

[thermal 0]

Mine did the exact same thing,

 

i replaced all the vacuum lines, and now it is perfect ;-)

[4eyes2wheels 0]

Ahhhhh! Right that sounds like a low cost fix and something to defintely investigate. Thanks.

[4eyes2wheels 0]

Update from the garage (Volkspeed in Ashtead, Surrey)

 

They said the new HT leads they got delivered were pretty average and the ones I had on there were not that bad to be repalced by these new ones (a bit odd but very honest!). Of more interest was that there is an air leak which they failed to track down in the time available but is not SO bad to be a problem but may well be the cause of the stutter (which hasn't been apparent for a while anyway). Exhaust is blowing at the from so a new gasket there and will get them to sort the air leak at the same time.

 

ABS sensor changed and light out and ABS working again plus from suspension arm replaced.

 

Another 200 quid for the privelege of driving the finest handling front wheel drive car of the 1990s . . . . .

[mrbeige 0]

Seems a bit weird that the new HT leads were 'average'?? If they were new genuine VW, then they will be better than the used ones on the car, surely? Also, issues with HT leads will be more evident in damp conditions as opposed to dry.

[bigbroony 0]

I've also recently gone through this with my 16v.Whilst fiddling under the bonnet I got a kick off the distributor cap.On Sunday popped down to Halfords( ECP shut ) and bought new cap, rotor arm and plugs.They didn't have any leads but the literature suggested changing every 3 years.Anyway, back to the plot the car now runs cleanly and goes like a stabbed rat!

A few years ago the car stopped with a bang and wouldn't start again.After much fiddling and swearing I got it home,popping and banging.It was diagnosed as an airflow meter problem, so one was duly bought( still smarting) and fitted. No difference; the car would start and run fine for a couple of minutes then die.Time for professional help.I had it trailered to Hawktune in Ryhope in Sunderland ( the man's a magician; he'd have been burned as a warlock in the Middle Ages).The following day he rang for me to collect the car.The culprit..............rotor arm.He couldn't see anything wrong with it, it just didn't work when it heated up!

The airflow meter wasn't a total loss however as he reckoned over the years the mixture had been adjusted to take up wear in the metering.When he unadjusted it I noticed an immediate decrease in fuel consupmption.

Hope this helps.

Alan

[4eyes2wheels 0]

HT leads - not sure what the garage got in - VW, Beru or some cheap cr4p. Anyway his professional opinion was it wasn't worth the £61 plus labour to change them. Which was very honest of him.

 

I believe mine has a coil pack rather than a distributor . . .

 

It is really damp and nasty foggy weather around here at the moment and on the admittedly short drive home things were fine.

 

An early suggestion was to disconnect / reconnect the MAF sensor lead. I didn't disconnect it but made sure it was nice and tight.

 

Anyway seems to be running smooth.

 

It's nice to have ABS working and the ride / handling are better with the suspension arm replaced.