...now it wont start!

[Oldtax 10]

Hi All,

 

i recently changed my slave cylinder and now my car wont start!

 

prior to the change it seemed to resolve the following problems:

 

- high revs when clutch was down between changes

- idle problems ranging from too high to dropping and stalling ... most helpfully at busy junctions!

- very poor mpg ... usually around 25mpg on dual carriageway runs to work.

 

now it wont start. its not the starter motor as this appear to be working fine. i'm thinking the mixture is too rich as i can smell fuel strongly in the cabin after prolonged trying. but im a complete newbie. also, from looking at the other threads, im not sure but the exhaust appears a little more black than when i bought it. but i might be being paranoid! from what i've read, would the blue temp sensor (no idea where this is or wot it does yet!) and maf sensor be a good place to start ... along with a clean of the air intake and filter change?

 

shortly after buying it i took it to JMR and he pointed out that oil was in the dizzy cap and the spark plugs, and some sensors were leaking oil. is this enough to kill the little beast? i could do with getting her running so i can take her to get further repairs done with JMR.

 

any thoughts will be greatly received.

 

Cheers, Jon.

[seanl82 23]

With you reporting 25mpg being very poor, I'm assuming this is a 16v?. First of all whats happening? I'm assuming again that its turning over, if you can smell fuel etc?, although saying about your starter motor has thrown me a little! If my assumptions are correct, first of all check you have spark. If oil from your dizzy has dried around your rotor arm, or on the contacts on the dizzy cap, that could be a good place to start. There are two seals for the dizzy. One for the dizzy itself into the block, and one for the rotor shaft. Could be either that has failed causing the leak, and both available very cheaply from Heritage, although the shaft seal is a bit more work as you have to dismantle the distributor. There is a guide somewhere though (possible in the wiki section).............

If you still have nothing, and assuming its an early valver again, (is the 2.0 16v dizzy or coilpack??:shrug:) anyway, check you've not knocked something around the metering head, as this could cause a fair amount of problems. Otherwise, its a case of using the search function, and seeing the cajillions of threads regarding non starting, and the even more problems that could cause it. (Aftermarket/factory immob, ignition switch, blah blah.....). Good luck with sorting it mate.

[Oldtax 10]

Sorry, yes 2.0 16v late. can you tell me where the metering head is? thanks for your help.

Jon

[CazzaVR 0]

The metering head is sat on top of the airbox with the fuel lines running to it. On the 2.0 16v it has a little plastic cover.

[Wullie 1]

Oil in the distributor can cause your problem if enough gets in. Mine just died while driving a long time ago. and tracked the problem to this. Carefully mark its position so you can replace it correctly, take it off and give it a damn good clean. If after cleaning it runs OK you can either strip the dizzy and replace the internal seal or replace it with a new or non leaky one.

[Oldtax 10]

Oil in the distributor can cause your problem if enough gets in. Mine just died while driving a long time ago. and tracked the problem to this. Carefully mark its position so you can replace it correctly, take it off and give it a damn good clean. If after cleaning it runs OK you can either strip the dizzy and replace the internal seal or replace it with a new or non leaky one.

 

great, thanks. I'll start with this. is it just a case of pulling it off by hand and wiping out with a rag?

[Wullie 1]

Basically. Mark the distributor position so you can get it back in the correct position and remove it carefully, ensuring you don't rotate the rotor arm. Put a dab of tippex or the like on the key that locates the distributor on the end of the camshaft and the distributor body so everything can be properly lined up when refitting. I "jet washed" the inside with WD 40 using the little straw that comes with it then gently dried it with paper towelling then allowed it to sit for a while in a warm place to allow it to dry off.

 

Note:- This will only clean out the existing muck in the distributor and not cure the fault which is normally the O-ring on the distributor shaft that has given up the ghost.

 

There is an external seal, green to seal the dizzy against the head but I don't think that would allow oil inside the dizzy. The other seal is on the shaft inside the dizzy and required a strip down to get to it. That seal as far as I remember is no longer available. Anyhoo, give it a good clean, stick it back on and see what happens.

[Oldtax 10]

Hi,

 

just took dizzy cap off and no oil in there. although the plate behind the rotor arm came loose when i took it off - tho went straight back in no problem.

 

I had read elsewhere that it might be worth changing blue temp sensor (although not blue on a valver i dont think) - but also read this only provides info once warmed up so shouldnt be the problem?

 

after turning the key for a while and then stopping, the car appears to still try and start on its own and the engine seems to give a little kick! also the LCD display sometimes shows up and then will disappear occasionally. today after trying for a while i heard clicking from the rear of the car - which i presume is the fuel pump (?) But dont these gradually go - as opposed to suddenly stopping? any thoughts on how i can identify if this is the problem easily? there appears to be no visible leaks that end.

 

i wonder if the fact that i flooded the engine bay with my tears might have also contributed!

 

thx for the help so far.

[destructiv dave 0]

after turning the key for a while and then stopping, the car appears to still try and start on its own and the engine seems to give a little kick! also the LCD display sometimes shows up and then will disappear occasionally.

 

Is the engine turning on the starter strongly, as the LCD issue is something I have experienced when the battery has been low on juice. Might be worth you checking your battery connections as you have recently been working in the engine bay.

 

today after trying for a while i heard clicking from the rear of the car - which i presume is the fuel pump (?) But dont these gradually go - as opposed to suddenly stopping? any thoughts on how i can identify if this is the problem easily? there appears to be no visible leaks that end.

 

Clicking sounds tend to come from relays. The only ones behind you in the car are the for the central locking and are behind the drivers side rear door card. The fuel pump makes a sort of feint buzzing noise. Also, you won't see any leaks, you just won't see any fuel to the injectors.

 

I would suggest you start simple before changing things like the temp sender switch; do you have spark, do you have fuel? Check the metering head flap, check your electrical connections. Focus on the basics, after all the car was presumably running ok before you did your most recent work upon it.

[Supercharged 2]

^ Yep, sounds like a faulty battery is also a possibility!

[Oldtax 10]

Check the metering head flap, check your electrical connections. Focus on the basics, after all the car was presumably running ok before you did your most recent work upon it.

which connections would you suggest? also how would i go about checking metering head flap ... what signs would i be looking for?

 

it wasnt fantastic before it went tbh. lumpy, hunting on start, revs dropping out when at temp.

 

checked battery with Rorgasm's fully charged one, also checked using his rotor arm in dizzy. cap clean as a whistle. we weren't able to see if HT's were sparking but suspect this isnt the problem.

 

the last work i did was change the slave cylinder ... is there anything electrical i could have pulled out/dislodged that would cause this? not that i can see anything.

 

your help is much appreciated. cheers

[Supercharged 2]

Disturbed engine earth on gearbox maybe??

[dumptyboy 0]

Try disconnecting the coolant temperature sensor by the dizzy cap and turn the engine over, see if it starts then?

The sensor is the one on the side of the block closest to the distributor itself. Dont remove the sensor itself, just unplug the cable.

Report back.

[Oldtax 10]

thanks, will do.

 

i dont remember seeing the earth on the gearbox - whereabouts is it? cheers.

[dan95x 10]

I dont know whether this is any help or not, but.....

 

I put a 2.0 16v setup into my Mk1 scirocco a couple of years ago (6a block and KR head so slightky different but same principles) got it all running and was very pleased with it. Came out one day after about a week to find absolutely no life whatsoever. Went through absoluteley everything to try and get it to go, spent hours measuring resistances, swapped coil, plugc, plug leads, dizzy, hell sender etc etc etc

 

After all that, it was the ignition amplifier that had just died - £10 for a second hand one from a forum, and about 2 minutes to change it and my week of pulling my hair out was solved! Absolutely nothing had disturbed it etc - It was just fluke that it had died at that particular time.

 

I dont know where it is on the 9a, but it is a smallish component that looks like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-MK2-1-8-inc-GTI-16V-G60-NEW-IGNITION-AMPLIFIER-MODULE-83-91-/300740968232

 

I am not suggesting buying one to try it, but if there is anyone near to you that you could swap theirs in to try it might be worth a look?

[Oldtax 10]

just got back from car with rorgasm.

 

it doesnt appear to be any wires that are loose. have checked all fuses under dash and they are all working. swapped every relay under dash (except 30? cos we didnt have one to swap) which is a real pain in the @rse with my irritating immobiliser. fuel appears to be getting through ok ... although nothing coming out of injectors when we tried to start up - but this was also the case with a fully working C too.

 

fuel pump whirs and fuel filter not long ago changed.

 

i cant find where the ignition amplifier goes so we couldnt swap that over to try. and battery fully charged. managed to get plugs out and they were sparking fine.

 

washed steering wheel thoroughly with tears and all shiney now ... so it rules out that problem!

 

it always sounds so close to starting. anything else anyone can think of before i have to put my hands in my pockets?

 

thanks for all the help so far.

[Supercharged 2]

Do you have any breakdown cover?? The AA in particular are excellent at troubleshooting these sorts of issues...

[Oldtax 10]

Do you have any breakdown cover?? The AA in particular are excellent at troubleshooting these sorts of issues...

 

Lol! I was hoping to avoid that tbh. I've got breakdown with the RAC - but i think it consists of towing you home or to the nearest garage. i certainly dont want to go to the nearest one!

 

does anyone have any other thoughts. im not sure having the coolant temp sensor off would help it start - surely they can start without these? worth a punt tho i guess. the only other thing i can think is that the hall sender (?) in the dizzy has gone ... doesnt this tell the fuel to squirt?

 

if its not fuel and spark then surely its air? i have no idea!

Edited January 4, 2013 by Oldtax

[dumptyboy 0]

Try it with the coolant sensor disconnected and just see if it makes a difference. The coolant sensor being disconnected will knock out a couple of the other sensors that might be at fault, and may get it running again. Disconnecting the sensor wont cause any harm to the engine just incase you are worried about that.

[Supercharged 2]

Lol! I was hoping to avoid that tbh. I've got breakdown with the RAC - but i think it consists of towing you home or to the nearest garage. i certainly dont want to go to the nearest one!

 

does anyone have any other thoughts. im not sure having the coolant temp sensor off would help it start - surely they can start without these? worth a punt tho i guess. the only other thing i can think is that the hall sender (?) in the dizzy has gone ... doesnt this tell the fuel to squirt?

 

if its not fuel and spark then surely its air? i have no idea!

 

Why not get them out if you're covered? it's the whole point of it... you'll get some free fault finding / diagnosis and if they can't pin point it then get it towed to JMR

[tony_ack 0]

Did you put the intake boot back on top of the metering head properly, and made sure the rest of the intake connections are secure? Have you checked for vac leaks?

 

May sound obvious but I've made that mistake twice - once on the VR and once on my old MK2 16v :-$

 

Would also explain why you're getting no fuel. May also be worth checking the fuel pressure to the metering head on cranking to make sure it's getting fuel. If it is, and there is no fuel at the injectors then either your metering head has had it or it's getting a lot of false air somewhere in the intake and the air entering the engine is bypassing the metering head.