_Meth 0 Posted October 24, 2013 So my baby valver has been laid up for a few weeks and was showing a few signs of trouble on starting before then... I have had a general tidy up of the engine bay and electrics and am now looking into getting it started again, as it now just spins over. I have narrowed the problem down to fueling, the plugs are pretty much bone dry, I can only get a little stutter when my foot is flat on the floor while cranking, I can turn the ignition to prime the pump 10 times and it still makes no difference. Popped out two of the injectors and placed in a clear plastic cup to look for spray pattern / amount - next to nothing on from either of them. Cracked off #1 injector from the metering head to see if there was any pressure there, and once again, the faintest of dribbles escaping. So - its where to go next. My plan next is to swap over the fuel filter tomorrow (If I can find where its hidden - im sure I saw it underneath on the drivers side a while back), as that has not been done in at least the 5 years I've owned it - a few ltr's of fresh fuel from a Jerry Can and see where we are from there. My thinking is that it is probably a regulator of some kind that keeps the pressure in the system? But im not 100% sure of what components are on this system, how to test them, and in what order to check through them... Can anyone give me a quick helping hand in preparation for tomorrows endeavours? Thanks in advance! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kempy 0 Posted October 24, 2013 any fuel in the metering head? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Meth 0 Posted October 24, 2013 How do I check? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kempy 0 Posted October 24, 2013 loosen the main feed from the pump. they have banjo bolts, this has a filter which can be blocked. the fuel distributor have the 4 feeds that go to the head and then the one to check is the bigger one on the front. it should have a arrow to indicate the flow which should be in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
steveo29 0 Posted October 24, 2013 can you hear the pump prime when you work the ign key ? maybe give the fuel pump relay a tap or bridge it temp to see if it works Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Meth 0 Posted October 24, 2013 OK Just been out... Cracked off the banjo closest to the front of the car (Main Looking Hose - with the arrow pointing inwards towards the metering head) - Fuel there. Cracked off the other large banjo towards the back of the metering head on the side (no arrow on it) - no fuel there. cracked off the banjo at the top of the metering head with the arrow on it going inwards, (the larger one closest to the front of the car) - Fuel there. So it could be Ryan that you are onto something! That does sound to me as though perhaps fuel is getting to the metering head but not into it correctly, or back out? Im guessing the larger hose towards the back (without the arrow) is a return back to the pump / tank? This filter - im going to take a look now online for some docs, but im guessing its got something to do with those 2 stupid star bits to get into it? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vw bobby 10 Posted October 24, 2013 This is a interesting thread as I have noticed my valver has been giving me a similar issue Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Meth 0 Posted October 24, 2013 Ok so a quick update... I went back out and refitted the bits I had left off to check the metering head out - Managed to get the thing to fire and run. Started off quite nice on fast idle but then started to miss and pop again. Anyway, I popped the plugs out just before to check they were sparking in order (which they were) and also cleaned up the plug to the hall sender... after which, in the not so bright light of an autumn eve I noticed a rather nice irratic sparking from the distributor cap! So, off to the factors in a moment to get me a nice new bosch cap and arm and will probably fit these tomorrow now. Will update as I go. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rado mc 0 Posted October 24, 2013 spray some water disperser or WD40 around the cap (not when turning over or fireball time if sparking) then give it a whirl and let some temperature get up, sounds a little like damp bout the place. Had trouble with my metering head in the past, all I heard was "never take them apart." What worked was having another pair of hands manually open the the metal flap (sorry forgot correct name) that sits behind the metering head on top of the air box when ignition and pump are primed. You can then hear the fuel going through to the injectors. a blast of 'Quick start' down the air intake pipe for good measure too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
davidwort 0 Posted October 24, 2013 If the metering head air flap sticks it won't open the slits inside the plunger to allow fuel to flow out to the injectors, this seems like what happened from your description, if you want to check fuel delivery and injector spray pattern it's not too difficult to remove the fuel pump relay, Bridge it's main connections on the fuse box and use the battery negative lead to turn the power on and off, then open the air box, lift the air flap gently and fuel should be delivered. Best pull all 4 injectors and spray into bottles for 30 seconds, this will allow you to observe all 4 spray patterns and compare delivery volumes between them. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Meth 0 Posted October 28, 2013 I said I would update this thread and I am. So after fitting a new dizzy cap and rotor arm it has been very good to me. I took it out last night after sitting for a day or so, started first time and idle is very nice - just a very small flatspot at around 2k... think thats probably just a case of a miniscule rotation on the dizzy cap to sort - so will get the timing gun out and finish that off. It has now been raining all night and all morning, will be popping out in it later this morning, so will see if it has held up to the "storm" haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites