1995 Sherry Pearl 8V

[James. 7]

You're welcome. I'm still laughing about the aerial though. Not sure whether it's genius or sheer stupidity.

 

By the way. Earmark that bumper steel and grey parcel shelf for me. I'll shoot over and grease your palm with silver when you're back next.

[Big Adam 0]

You're welcome. I'm still laughing about the aerial though. Not sure whether it's genius or sheer stupidity.

 

By the way. Earmark that bumper steel and grey parcel shelf for me. I'll shoot over and grease your palm with silver when you're back next.

 

Judging by the quality of his soldering, of whch there was non i would suggest stupidity!

ill be back next weekend for a wedding........the joys.

[James. 7]

Well what a couple of days. Fixed one issue and jumped head long onto another. Removed the dash board under trays last week. Looks like when they've gone back in, the screw that goes up and in the middle of the tray has tapped into the full beam power cable. Wasn't a problem till I got near home and flashed someone out. Stereo flickers on and off and dashboard goes a little crazy. Alright then I thought, best check that when I get home. A few minutes later I'm on the drive and try to re-create the issue. Straight from the off, there's smoke pouring from the front of the dash board.

 

Seconds later, I'm sprinting into the garage, to retrieve my socket set to whip off the battery connector.

 

All plugged back in and now the car now won't start, so have to push it the few yards towards the garage. Remove all the trays/covers etc. There's a big melty hole in the loom where the screw went in and caused the short.

 

Fair to say at this point that I was shaking like a leaf.

 

Replaced the blown indicator fuse and patched up the melted/exposed wires (red/yellow wire from the fuse box being the worst). Car now all lights up with a jiggle of the key, but won't fire up. I've ordered a new ignition switch, which I'll put in on Saturday. Anybody any suggestions if they think I'm thinking in the right / wrong direction then answers to the usual address on the back of a postcard or sealed down envelope. Or just post on here if it's easier...

Edited April 19, 2012 by James.

[Jim 1]

Jesus - talk about bad luck! :| You've not had a good relationship with Corrado's and fire mate. Good luck sorting that out :(

[KIPVW 0]

eeeek! Glad you caught it in time James, i feel a bit sick now :(

[RW1 0]

All plugged back in and now the car now won't start, so have to push it the few yards towards the garage. Remove all the trays/covers etc. There's a big melty hole in the loom where the screw went in and caused the short.

 

Not good at all but at least you got to it before it got serious.

 

In the photo, that black tape doesn't look like factory and there are some thick black wires I wouldn't expect. Not the alarm by any chance? One of the thick black looks as though the screw burnt through the insulation. Not upset the alarm and its preventing the circuit to complete on what ever it controls to inhibit starting?

 

.

[Portent 0]

Ouch. Lucky escape. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[davidwort 0]

Does look like a classic hacked-into loom for alarm/imobiliser, my 8v has about 6 inches of the main loom to the ignition switch just chopped out, so without some major rewiring the aftermarket immobiliser will have to stay, fortunately I manged to extract the alarm unit.

Aftermarket alarms are really the worst thing to screw up car wiring, not only can the crimped connectors or soldered joints be dodgy or dangerous (sharp solder spurs cutting through insulation tape) but as you have found, the re-routing of cabling can often rub on other fittings, but being placed exactly where a screw taps through that has to be the worst I've seen!

[yacobwood 0]

I think Ben had an alarm put on it a fair few years ago now (6 or 7 me thinks) and it was fitted by Secure A Car (words cannot describe how useless they are!!). I wouldnt be at all suprised if they messed this up

[James. 7]

As you've all spotted, it looks like the loom has been chopped into and was left resting in the dashboerd undertray support. The black cables are alarm based and there's cables chafing, at full stretch, and jointed cables piercing through insulation.

 

There's a reason why the loom wasn't routed that way !!!

 

I'm absolutly seething. Yet again a botchit and scarper alarm fitter has screwed over another good car.

 

I'll have a go with the Ignition switch. Failing that, Im out of ideas, pennies and enthusiasm.

 

Watch this space.

[James. 7]

Well, as I thought, the ignition switch was kaput. It had been "loose" and was looking at changing it soon, so it wasn't so much an annoyance. I would have just liked it to be on my terms.

 

Got the switch out without too much drama. Put the new one in and it burst into life. Tried it a second time and it started running really rough. Seemed as though it wasn't getting fuel, so swapped over relay 67 and it made a marked improvement. Needed to be left running for a while. After about five minutes it settled down.

 

Wipers, washers, fog lights, rear screen heater and ABS still don't work, but it's not blowing fuses anymore. Which is nice. Relay 18 (load relief) relay is on back order till Tuesday. Hopefully it won't rain between then and now (though I'm not holding my breath).

 

So that's the last link in the chain. With any luck the number 18 relay will fix up the other issues and we can put the past few days behind us.

 

Until next the next thing breaks...

[fla 9]

glad you got it all sorted. How much is a new ignition switch out of interest, need to get a replacement for mine too.

[James. 7]

glad you got it all sorted. How much is a new ignition switch out of interest, need to get a replacement for mine too.

 

Me as well, cheers. Ignition switch rushed me £24 (normally £27). Ordered it on the Thursday morning and picked it up on the Friday. Relay 18 is £13 but on back order till Tuesday. Hopefully it won't rain between then and now.

 

Like I said before, It needed changing, and the difference is significant, so well worth doing. It's not as hard to do as some make out as well.

 

Just been out and given the loom a last inspection and to tidy the car up. Zip tied it all in place. I'm still not happy with the way it's been routed, but short of spending a good day at stripping it all back and rewiring it'll have to do.

 

Just in case, I've left all the trim and cowling off. Holding a couple of spare relays/fuses in a pot in the boot. You just never know with electrics. One second you've fixed it. The next, you're sat in a side road fumbling round on your back (Like my courting days !).

 

Work tomorrow. Let's see how it holds out.

[James. 7]

Well the car has run very well over the past couple of days. Slight issue with fueling that seems to have resolved its self.

 

Popped in to Corkills VW about an hour ago and the relay I ordered had arrived. They even pressed the bearings out of my Vr6 knuckles to be shot blasted (cheers chaps).

 

Little snippet of info though. Looks like relay 18 has been superseeded. It's now relay 644, and it's green !

 

To be fair, I don't mind what colour it is, as long as it works. And work it does.

 

Rain away oh ashen sky, for no longer do I fear thees watery laden threats...

[bmwcompact 10]

Glad to hear all is sorted. I have been reading your tale of horror-its enough to stop a guy picking up a spanner/screwdriver!

 

Since my last post Ive lifted the drivers door with a washer in the top hinge and fitted 2 new door lock pins. The car doesnt rattle as much now over potholes. Ive sorted out my aerial so now have radio. My camshaft oil seal replacement didnt fix my oil leak so all was dismantled once more and crankshaft and intermediate shaft oil seals were replaced-it looks like this has sorted the problem. All in all I'm getting there-the car is now a flying machine since I replaced the timing belt and at last I can understand why the Corrado has such a following.

 

I have a hairline crack in my exhaust manifold. Ive found a replacement and have all the gaskets and copperised nuts to do the job. I intend using a dremel type tool to remove the nuts (if necessary) and avoid broken studs: I dont want to have to remove the head to extract broken studs!!!

 

Good to see the V6 is also progressing well.

[James. 7]

Thanks Alan. Great news on the timing and made up that it's driving up to par. 16 valves really do run like the wind when held up in the rev range.

 

Lots of repeat dousing in penetrating oil over the course of a few days should see the nuts free off. I had to intruduce a little heat to mine, but a little patience won the day.

 

You'll have to be careful. At the rate you're working, you'll have run out of jobs by Christmas !

[James. 7]

Well, the old chap is ready for a bit of summer 8v lovin'. So over the last twelve months (can't believe I've had it just over twelve months) I've amassed some parts that were on my radar for change, along with parts that are past their best.

 

Yes I'm waiting for the "Always OE" brigade to chirp up, but to be honest, I find these parts perfectly acceptable for the kind of mileage the car covers (3K P/A). I also drive like Miss Daisy so expect these to hold up well enough. That and the fact the Campaign is also sipping gently from my wallet as well.

 

So tonight on the conveyor belt we have :

 

Timing belt kit - Continental

Front and rear discs - Pagid

Front and rear pads - Pagid

Front suspension struts - Sachs

Front bump stops - Febi

Front ARB bushes - Febi

Front Drop links - Febi

Front ball joints - Febi

A cuddly toy

Oil - Valvoline

Oil filter - VAG

Air Filter - Mann

Fuel filter - VAG

 

Coolant I'm going to get from Tatton park. As last year I got G12++ for £5 a bottle.

 

And whilst we're on about Tatton Park, it looks like the 8V will be reprasentin' this year. Have been tickling away and plan a bit more detailing in the coming weeks.

 

This week i got whizzed off with condition of the body plastics. I've tried all sorts to bring them back to life:

 

Heat gun

Auto Glym

Meguiars

Peanut butter (smooth)

Groundnut oil

 

But they'd stay (kind of) black for a day or so. Then trip back into the grey dullness I came to see daily.

 

So on sunday, I masked them all up (Ariel base, side strips and door handles). Keyed them with a scotch pad and dusted them over with primer and good old satin black spray paint.

 

They're now better than ever and hopefully should stay black a darn sight longer.

 

Whilst on a roll, I switched my attention inside. I found all my old Cerwin Vega speakers in the garage a few weeks back, so decided to put it all back in. Thanks to a second hand shelf from Adam, I peeled back the cover and installed some 6x9 speakers. They're really well hidden and sound a lot better. Time will tell if I start to sag though. Upfront I also installed the direct replacement speakers. The small tweeters I decided to install into the upper door triangle of trim. They weren't for sticking on, so half an hour with a hole saw and a bit of trim jiggery pokery and hey presto, they look almost OE now.

 

Can't have a daily without quality sound now can you !

[James. 7]

What a difference the front suspension overhaul made to the steering. It's transformed. I had to replace the track rod ends as they then became the "weak link" up front, but that's no hardship.

 

Sent him off for laser camber/tracking alignment last Friday which once more helped no end.

 

Saturday I set to giving him a good going over (read: battering with the Harley wax) in preparation for VWNW at Tatton park on Sunday. I love this show. Really laid back, lots to do and see. Friendly people and great cars to get power from.

 

Loaded the car up the night before, parked him in the garage next to his sister and set off for VWNW at half seven in the am. We all had a great day (Oscar got inked up as well) and encourage anyone wanting a great show day out to mark it on their calendar for 2013. Fingers crossed we might be back in the Campaign by then.

[davidwort 0]

great read, so much of the same stuff I've done recently on my sherry 8v it's uncanny! load reducion relay is an idea, mine has had a couple of spare ignition switches swapped in and all seem to be a bit reluctant to start the car, they might all be worn the same but I doubt it, one is original VAG from a low mileage polo.

I think you have the later fuel system with the mass air flow sensor rather than the digifant on mine (1994 M plate) but they both seem to do the job and mpg after changing my cam and valve stem seals is great.

[James. 7]

Good spot David. The engine is indeed the later ADY engine from the Mk3 Golf cabriolet and Seat Alhambra. I've no experience of the 2E engine, but judging by others feedback, they seem equally well engineered.

 

Yes I read your thread recently and thought the same. Funny how things work out.

 

If you haven't installed a new ignition switch before, then I couldn't reccomend it enough. The difference between the two of mine was like night and day. And considering they're on £27, it's a no brainer.

 

I'll be doing the timing belt in a couple of weeks. Should go okay. Anything you could suggest to keep in mind as I've yet to do one on this engine ?

[Jim 1]

Agreed on new ignition switches - the ones currently being sold by VW feel totally different to the knackered old ones.. worth just putting in a new one and forgetting about it.

[davidwort 0]

intermediate shaft! this is a pain, as the distributor is driven from this shaft it's so easy to get the ignition timing a tooth out, when changing the cam belt, it's easy enough to see the mark on the distributor body that the centre of the rotor arm should align up with, but another thing to get the belt on the right teeth.

I think the best policy would be to remove the waterpump pulley so you can get all of the timing belt covers fully removed, that way you can see all the timing marks (including the int. shaft ones on front and back of pulley) and fit the belt and tensionner before assembling everything else.

I tried to take a short cut and squeeze the belt into the cover, which was fine for getting the belt in but I ended up having to move the distributor body to make up for one tooth out, not ideal as I needed to hook up the timing light afterwards, but fine.

 

I loosened the two 13mm bolts and one nut on the rear PAS belt/pump mounting bracket (plate mounted on side of block that adjuster bolt works on) to make the PAS belt removal easier, you might not need to do this, and depending on how siezed on it is, the big serpentine belt pulley on the crank may need a whack or two to free off, no need to undo centre crank bolt as that ONLY holds the small timing belt crank pulley on and the timing belt cover goes over that.

 

8v is pretty easy to do belt on really and the belt and tensionner have to be about the cheapest on any car I've known, worth doing though, because as I found out, unlike the older 8v engines the 2L 8v is indeed an interference engine!

 

---------- Post added at 11:37 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:36 AM ----------

 

Agreed on new ignition switches - the ones currently being sold by VW feel totally different to the knackered old ones.. worth just putting in a new one and forgetting about it.

 

yes, the new vag one in my 16v feels great, I just haven't driven it for a year :)

[James. 7]

Well, after all the work I've put into the 8v recently, refurbing the front end and generally keeping the dreaded red rot at bay, it was nice to be rewarded today with a clean bill of MOT health. Not a single advisory.

To be fair I wasn't expecting a boat load. But sometimes you never can tell.

 

The last twelve months have been a mixed bag of emotions. Slowly fixing all the niggles one by one. But now I feel the car is at the point where it needed to be as a daily.

 

Well done Mister eight valve. Here's to another twelve months.

[V33DUB 0]

They seem to be pretty indestructible. I haven't spent much on mine in the 2 and half years I've had it. I reckon in the region of 2.5k so roughly £800 a year. Probably only 1/3rd of that has been essential fixes such as broken headlight switch, faulty temp sender, brake compensator etc etc. The rest has been personal choice that I'd most likely do to another car. So what, £300 a year on road worthy maintenance. Considering the depreciation value on the price I paid is either slow or stagnant I'd take that as a win. I have friends with much newer cars that have cost much more to maintain/fix and depreciate in value quicker than Usain Bolt if he really tried to run fast... and I'm talking run of the mill a-to-b boring drives. Granted, to keep costs down, it's pretty essential that you be willing to get your own hands dirty now and again.

 

There are cars I'd rather have, but in the price range, all things considered, for me, nothing comes close.

 

---------- Post added at 8:15 AM ---------- Previous post was at 8:07 AM ----------

 

There are cars I'd rather have, but in the price range, all things considered, for me, nothing comes close.

I should probably footnote that comment with 'at the moment'... I am generally less impressed with having to fiddle than I was 2 years ago and it seems as you get older, time becomes more precious (I'm also sure there is less of it! Day's used to last forever and now weeks fly by!).

[Big Adam 0]

Ill drink to that James.......there is a couple of can of Skoll in the fridge :-/

 

Credit to you n your dedication to cause