jonesyUK

If that doesn't cure the idle going up and down I would refer you to my experience here with very similar symptoms to yours, although my throttle wasn't sticky. Have detailed all the things that were eventually replaced on pages 14 and 15. viewtopic.php?f=1&t=47311 Have you had a diagnostic done to see if there are currently any electrical faults?

Not sure. Will ask tomorrow as I also need to ring the garage to find out where the random piece of rubber door / boot seal that was in the back of my car has come from. Bonus! Although got stung for just under 500 notes so I'm not feeling that generous about returning it. 4 hours of electricans wages was half of that as well. I hope his kids have a bloody good Christmas with my cash :lol: ps. She drives like a dream and I have the biggest smile on my face at the moment. It's all been worth the 6 weeks with no car..... well maybe.

There at last! Well after just over 3 weeks at Austins in Great Leighs they have finally worked out that I need a new distributor of all things. I was not helped by the fact that my local garage set up the throttle switch wrongly which was causing it to run even worse and Austins didn't work this out for a while. So you can add new distributor to the list above. What a mare. Hoping (touches all wooden objects within reach) that she runs OK for a while now. Picking her up on Monday, dread to think what the damage is but at least it's been cured. :multi:

Just thought I'd update all things I have had to fix so far in the quest to try and cure the ropey runnning, coughing, spluttering and power drop off on my 2.0l 16V: 1. New CAT (Inside fell apart and debris kept blocking exhaust. Exhaust rattling, popping etc.) 2. New Lamda Probe. 3. New Thermo Timing Switch (White sensor, 2 pin, under distributor cap) 3. New Throttle Switch (Incidently, this was apparantly not set up correctly by my local garage. The VW specialists its at, at the moment have sorted this out. Not sure what was wrong though) 4. Cleaned MAF with Carb cleaner. 6. New ISV. 7. Replaced split hose to ISV (Apparantly this can quite frequently cause problems and is fairly common). 8. New Distributor cap. Currently waiting on verdict on ECU. Fuel pressure regulator does not apppear to be doing its job properly. When it's triggered manually, ECU just packs up. Garage not sure whether ECU or pressure regulator are the problem at the moment, will find out next week. ECU is also still reporting a fault with the thermo timing switch / sensor even though I've replaced it. Again this is most likely to be a wiring issue or a problem with the ECU. More news next week

Back again. Latest verdict from the garage is that I appear to have ECU problems which is causing the mixture to be wrong. Engine is self correcting, hence the idle reving up then dropping back but it's apparantly running very lean. They've called in an electrical guy for this afternoon to have a look at it for me. I'm hoping its wiring or connector related rather than needing a new ECU but to be honest, anything at the moment would be better than the 1.0l Peugeot 107 hire car I'm driving about in!

To be honest I just do not have the time to spend adjusting and fitting new parts. Getting married in 5 weeks time, kinda eats into your weekends :) I've done as many of the simple, easy things as I can but still it's running rough as anything. The 9A engine definitely has a termo timing switch as that's what it came up as on the EKTA (ETKA sp.) at my local VW garage and when I phoned up Stevens dismantlers in Great Leighs they knew exactly what I was talking about. Neither the thermo timing switch that came off or the 2nd hand one had a part no. etched on them though, so I can't tell you what part it is other than what it was sold to me as. The upshot was that although the car runs better when cold, once warm its an absolute nitemare. Barely got home doing 25mph in 5th gear all the way last night. Have decided to book it into an independent VW specialists called Austins in Marks Tey over towards Colchester. They seem well thought of in lots of VW forums and a few hours of their time is gonna be far more valuable than a few hours at my local garage. Getting towed there for them to look at it a week today, so will let you know the verdict. Fingers crossed the old girl will be back on the road soon. Sorry I've hijacked this thread a bit but there seems loads of people out there with 2.0 16Vs running rough so thought my experiences might help someone.

Must admit. I thought you were talking about the kind of beating that involved a little pot, a private room at a clinic and a copy of house wives monthly :lol: £20 a time was sounding pretty good to me. I was already pricing up what I could get a week.

My 2.0 16V has been running really ropey for a few weeks now. Irratic idle, spluttering, revs constantly dropping off. Local garage have done their best bless em but are pretty stumped now as am I having replaced most bits recommended. Has anyone ever used this garage before as it has come up in a number of other forums. Just wanted opinions as they're only about an hour from me. If not, are Stealth up near Warwick worth the 2 and a half hours drive as they have been recommended on this forum by many.

I must admit, the oxygen sensor (I assume this is the same as the lamda probe) was my first thought. Especially as my CAT basically self imploded and blew through the middle box as well. Haven't noticed black exhaust colour but I will look at it tomorrow if I remember. I had discounted the lamda though as it didn't show up as being fulty on the diagnostic I had done but I'm not sure how reliable the diagnostic can be. I know they're not 100% fool proof.

Will bare that in mind. Cheers fella. Is it a VW original or a GSF special? Will probably try all the other bits first, would be surprised to have 2 faulty thermo switches but you never know do you.

Update: Well the "thermo timing switch" has been fitted but still no joy. Running better than before but revs still dropping constantly as I accelerate. More driveable than it was before anyway. I have found a split in the hose from the bottom of the ISV however. Tried gaffer taping this but made no difference at all. When hot, engine idle is still all over the place. Constantly reving up to 1500rpm then dropping to 500rpm repeatedly. Will replace this hose first, then think about getting another ISV from a dimantlers as this was recommended earlier. There is also a grey, corrugated 2" air pipe going from the back of where the air filter is to the back of the engine, which has completely fallen apart. Could this have anything to do with my problems? (I doubt it to be honest) I am beginning to run out of options now though. Local garage is going to fit a replacement ignition coil for me as soon as it turns up but I am beginning to get a little stumped to be honest. :(

Well life is never easy is it. My local garage tried to get the "water temperature sensor" in from a number of local suppliers including VW and the wrong part was sent out by all of them. Turns out after much head scratching that the sensor I actually need was called a thermo timing switch. Well that's what it comes up as on VW's EKTA. But it came up on the Diagnostic's guys computer as a "water temperature sensor," when he scanned the ECU for errors. Its the sensor that goes into the side of the head, under the distributor cap and nearest the front ot the engine. A 2 pin plug connects to it. VW wanted £70 for a new one surprisingly so I'm getting one from a local dismantlers for £20. Hope this cures my kangarooing. Only way I can drive it at the moment so that it doesn't jolt my spine to death is to pull away in 3rd gear and and then drive in 5th under 2000rpm. Hope the new sensor cures this. FIngers crossed.

That will be my next port of call once I've replaced the Water Temperature Sensor. Where did you get yours from? Is ebay a good bet or am I likely to get something crap or from the wrong car. Can I use an ISV from an Audi for example? e.g. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VW-AUDI-VAG-DIGIF ... dZViewItem

I know this is a bog standard question but where is the poxy thing? I've been reading round in circles for ages on loads of other posts and haven't found a single picture or decent description of where it actually is. Is it the same thing as the coolant sensor or the "Blue Sensor?" Are these all different names for the same thing? I'm getting so confused. I gather its probably on the RH side of the engine as you look at it below the Distributor cap but I'm not entirely sure. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD HELP ME! before I go mad.

Just to add to the original question 14 pages back my 2.0 16V N reg wih 155k on the clock was running in a very similar way. Although it ran fine from cold for about 15 minutes after this would misfire and shudder lots, revs couldn't get above 2500 rpm, at idle would flick up to 1500rpm then drop down to WRONG! Engine running even worse, same as above. Had a read around on the forum and found that many things could cause these symptoms. Went for the cheapest options of cleaning through Idle Vale (ISV) with Carb cleaner and checking hoses that went to it for splits. Then took off top section of air filter box and cleaned out Mass Air Flow thingy (MAF). Full of crud so I was hopeful. Removed all electrical connecters around MAF and sanded and scraped corrsion off. Verdict? STILL RUNNING LIKE CRAP Took to local garage for a diagnostic VAG.COM ECU error code check thing which threw up 3 faulty electrical parts. Brilliant I thought. 1. Rotor Arm and Distributor cap Shorting out 2. Faulty Throttle Switch 3. Faulty Water Temperature Sensor. Stupidly told garage to order parts and fit them for me without checking price first. Was desparate for car back after best part of 2 weeks without it + loads of hassle getting to work. Anyhow, Distributor Cap + Rotor Arm £20 (not bad), Throttle switch £100 (Yes 100 fricking pounds from VW, seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Water temperature sensor still hadn't come in so I took the car as it was without it. Verdict? Running much better but still occasionally reverting to the embarrassing kangarooing, near stalling and misfiring. Only did it for about 5 minutes of my 40 minute drive home. The 5 minutes when I was pulling into Tescos to get petrol. Garage getting Water Temperature Sensor in for me tomorrow. If it's shockingly expensive I may well ask them to send it back and head for a breakers. Otherwise I will fit it myself. May well break down and cry if this doesn't cure all my woes. ps. Sunroof still noggered and ABS light intermittent. The joy of Corrados eh :?