Corrado vr6 auto starts in drive and reverse?

[james rado 10]

Hi all, ive bought a vr6 corrado spares or repairs from a friend of mine and am in the midle of getting the old girl back on the road! got a problem where it still starts in drive and reverse or in any position the selector is in, what do you guys reckon this could be? it makes a whining noise in park and neutral aswell, but if you push the selector buton in and pull it away slightly it stops? HEEEELPPP its doing my head in! cheers in advance everyone :)

[SamG40 0]

There is a relay that has something to do with the reverse light and has something to do with it not starting in anything other than P and N. Might be something to do with that.

 

Where are you?

[fla 9]

samg40 is correct the relay which prevents engaging in any gear sits on top of the fusebox, i think its 150. This has two sections one for the reverse lights the other for the 'immobilise' function. Take it out, take the cover off and clean up the contacts. Apply direct power and see if it holds.

 

Re the whine, the only thing you could really do is get the tranny fluid and filter changed, beyond that you're looking at valve sequencing & solenoids. Is the gearchange smooth?

Edited February 24, 2011 by fla

[james rado 10]

thanks sam g40 and fla, sorry if it seemed a bit confusing but what i mean is that it will start in any position the selector is in, starts in drive,1.2.3. reverse and if im right in thinking it should only start in park or neutral? is the inhibitor switch on the selector? and fla, it feels like the clutch is sliping when you floor it, just revs its tits off and doesnt really go anywhere, ive only done this once as i know there is a problem and dont want to blow the box up lol, the noise goes away if i move the selector arm with my hand just a little bit! is there any adjustement for it aywhere? sorry for all the questons but its driving me insane lol :bonk:

[james rado 10]

one more thing does anyone know where the oil drain plug and filter is on the gearbox? and i read somewhere that you cant just put atf straight in there, it has to be at a certain temparature or something? ? enlighten me peeps lol

[fla 9]

it can be a real pain. You were quite clear in your first post, so no problem there, just check the state of the relay. Just checked and it is relay 150. If you take the cover off it, you'll see what looks like two relays. The lower one is the starter interlock relay, the upper one engages the reverse lights. If you are engaging in any gear means that the bigger part of the relay is a closed circuit, ie the relay flap is down. Gently open it, see that teh spring steel at the back is ok, clean up the contacts and see how you get on.

It could be an issue with the valve sequencing, which could be a nightmare to solve. Cleaning the valve body is not a lot of fun and it needs to be super clean, although its a very small part. Get it on VAGCOM and see the error codes, it could point to a faulty solenoid, which a competent garage may be able to solve effectively for you.

 

Failing that, I have my old box with around 60k miles on it where i changed the fluid and filter. The 096 box is not very well designed. Even those with a rebuild can be problematic and i've spoken to a couple of garages with experience here. Mine was very nice and smooth and you're welcome to have it for say £125.

 

Try the other things first, get it scanned and post up the results. Where are you based - there may be someone local who could scan your car for you. All the best.

[SamG40 0]

No I understood, what I was meaning was that the relay could have faulted in a way that was letting the car start in any gear. I do have a spare one of those you can borrow to rule it out if you want.

 

As Fla says the box's can be a real pain. I had a similar thing last year where it felt like the clutch was slipping and then it would bang into gear from rest. In the end it was a solenoid that was buggered but it took a while to diagnose.

 

You need special auto gearbox oil and yes its not as simple as filling up to a level. There is a good guide on how to change the fluid (might be a good idea for a starter for ten) that includes how to check the level here.

 

http://www.deylan.co.uk/golf/096%20Fluid%20Change/index.htm

[fla 9]

again as above, draining is not simple, you need to remove the lower skid guard and then open the (12) bolts covering the filter. Open the rear ones first so you can tip the fluid out the back. There's no drain plug i'm afraid. If you go down this route, drop me a pm and i'll run you through it.

[james rado 10]

thanks everyone for your help, think im just going to rip the peice of sh*t out and put a manual box in it. autos are more trouble than they are worth!

[Ecomatic 10]

Draining is not too difficult, my guide probably makes it look harder than it is, if you read and digest the steps in the guide you shouldn't have any problem (assuming your transmission is an 096), or print off that guide and get a mechanic to do it, it won't take more than an hour. You can get Valvoline MAXLife ATF (fully synthetic and conforms to DEXRON specifications) for £7/bottle so it is only going to set you back

 

The whining noise and slipping is also an indication that (amongst other things) the fluid is too low.

 

Re it allowing you to start in any gear as mentioned this will be an electronic problem and not solved by changing the fluid, you need to get the car on VAGCOM first and check all the measuring blocks and error codes first.

 

Good luck :)

[vr6-jam 0]

james rado, did you fix it?? mine is doing the same thing starting in 1 d and r, i have been looking for the relay 150 and cant find it, i removed my auto box to replace the seal as this was leaking, onece i removed the box could not see where the leak was comming from, with lots of hesitation i took the torque convertor out removed the pump to replace all the seals i found a seal in pices floating about inside, this was identified and replace put the box back together, now there are no leaks! but now the change is harsh and will not go into top gear and also starts in any gear! any help??? i have used gen part and atf........ help.....help

[fla 9]

relay 150 is at the top of the relay panel, you will only be able to see it when you remove the panel from its fixings. Its quite hard to remove from its housing too.

 

Did you change the atf filter? If it starts in any gear it just means that 150 is faulty - it may just be sticking, so one you remove it, take the cover off and clean up the two sections on it. One part is for the reverse lights the other the parking lock. Was the atf red? Use Dexron 3 rather than 2. Give that a whirl and see how you get on. Also, use a good friction modifier additive - not the generic crap, i used Lubegard in mine - gave a fantastic gearchange. If you're really in the schtuck, i hvae my old autobox available if you want, with 60k miles on it.

[vr6-jam 0]

hi fla, found relay 150, you are right about being hard to remove! it looks ok, the first section move with the ignition but the second doesnt seem to do anything, could this be the probelm? cleaned all the conection and its still the same,

 

as for the atf, the car has coverd a genuine 60k and for the last month been leaking badly, but allways topped up the gearchange was always smooth the fluid that i had been using to top up with was dexron 3, after refiting the box i used some cheap fluid given to me all sealed and new but the bottles looked cheap, drove it for 3 miles thats the first time the box became clonky jurky snactchy, i decided to drop the fluids clean and dry th pan and fetch some genuine vw atf, this added its still the same! oh thats another 40 quid!

thank you for your help

[SamG40 0]

I've got a spare relay 150, I bought a new one in error and still have the old one if you want to try it.

[Whitedog 0]

Best advice i can give is whip it out and drop in a manual box.....once you've aquired all the parts needed you could get it switched in a weekend i reckon with 2 competent people. Theres enough info / people on here that have done it to help if you get stuck.....and theres not really that much to do...quite suprised really at how simple it all was.....a few tricky areas with the wiring but simple enough once you get your head round it. Have a look at my build thread for an idea of whats involved.

[fla 9]

might be worth trying a spare relay from SamG40. The starter portion is the big coil near to the spades, reverse lights bit is the top portion. I'll have a look at the wiring diags to see where the circuit goes - cant remember tbh..., although it links to the immobiliser circuit. The problem is this - if the fluid level had falledn too low at any point, you could have caused some cavitaion in the pump. This is the bit directly behind the torque converter. Also, the valve panel is VERY susceptible to malfunction due to contamination as the fluid passages are so small. That said, let us know how you get on with a drain and refill. Keep the filter the same and just replace it after a few drains - of course inspect it beween drains to see its not too choked. Check the ribbon that goes from the solenoids. Have you scanned it on VAGCOM? This would show up any valve sequencing errors.

[vr6-jam 0]

un real, I spent a few hours reading posts and scratching my head, and had settled on the idea the gearbox mount may be at fault so decided to take the car for a slow drive and then a fast drive to see if there is any change in gear change, left home 100 yards up the road the oil light started flashing, and the rev counter stopped, I pulled over popped the bonnet all looked ok thought sod it, carry on with journey travelled 5 miles to petrol station put 20 quid of fuel in, got back in the car, it wouldn’t start had lights but not ignition, ok now I’m peeved to say the least bar-steward vw!! Pushed it of the forecourt. The dash read (in 01) where the mileage is sat??

Anyway though I would disconnect the battery for 10 mins, at this point the hamlet adverts sprung to mind! after 10 connected the battery still (in 01) in display, went back over the process of removing the 150 relay in my head, I had connected to a single pin male and female plug, so thought unplug them, may account for something, I pulled the fuse box down and the car stated without me touching the key, ay! got behind the fuse box to find a piece of wire bridging a female plug I had obviously knocked it whilst trying to remove the relay, I reconnected the wire, now the car would start of the key, but then I needed to find out why the wire was there, I found the plug that was meant for , connected the two , the car now starts, the rev counter works, the oil light has stopped flashing, it no longer starts in 1,2,3 D ,or R Just park and n, and wait for it,,,, it changes smooth as silk up and down the box just travel 40 mile all is well

I still have no idea what the wire was there for!

 

I just have to figure out what the noise is from the front end, I replaced both front wheel bearings, it’s still there its coming from the left hand passengers side sound just like a bearing, diff, noise

 

thank you for your help so far...