Car turns over, but will not fire.

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Ok guys, before i outline this problem let me apologise for not being able to give many details at all - also i am not near the car at the moment so wont be able to try things for a while or give feedback etc :(

 

I'll try and list everything that is relevant.

 

BACKGROUND:

 

- Bought the car 2nd hand - pervious owner said the car always starts first time, all the times i saw the car before buying and during my 1/2 day of driving it, it fired first time (approximately 20 times in total)

 

- Day i got it gear linkage cable broke and needed replacing (car pushed back to drive where it stays for a few days).

 

- Car sat for 3 days but was started everyday and fired fine.

 

- One day it was started a few times and just left to idle (so i could let people hear the engine etc).

 

- During this time my "friends" decided to test out the CD player and bass tube to the max - so lots of loud music played - ie plenty of battery drainage.

 

- Same day, few hours after it started fine, tried to start it but it would not fire. Starter motor was turning but engine just wouldnt start.

 

- Spark plugs were changed, it was checked they were producing a spark and they were - oil changed - fuel topped up etc.

 

- Towed to garage to have the gear linkage fixed - all done but garage said it wasnt starting - we asked them to spend no more than 1 hour trying to get it started - they said they were busy and would look at it when they can. Its now been about 11 days!

 

 

CLUES:

 

- At some stage on the day it stopped working i remember having the hood open and noticing a loose cable. The cable was a thin black wire and was very thin. It didnt seem part of the car and was not connected at either end and i took it out! I know this sounds like the obvious culprit but it seemed nothing like the sort of wire used for anything electrical in an engine, also was loosely on top of the engine as if placed there rather than having come off somewhere..

 

 

Thats about it really. The VW service/repair place have still not looked at it - but i thought id see if any of you had some ideas or obvious things to check.

 

It does have an immobiliser but this just cuts of the battery (to my knowledge).

 

For reference the car is a 1.8 16 V 1991 - 87,000 miles- and i did get it cheap! £900!

 

All help appreciated guys - any ideas of anything!

 

I bought the Corrado on July 1st and so far have had 1/2 a day of driving it! :( This is after months of being after a Corrado (just see when i registered on this forum lol)

[RadoAds 0]

I would check to make sure your gettin fuel through first of all as you say youve already checked for a spark on the plugs, can you hear the buzz of the pump when priming when you turn the ignition key if so youll have to check for fuel at the engine.........good luck mate.........I know how frustrating it is to own one but not be able to drive it, my total driving experience of my C was 2 weeks until the bonnet blew open at speed resulting in a total loss by the insurance company 2 months later im still waiting for the cheque.......but good news ive been told to expect it this week

 

/o/ \o\ /o/

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Ahh a fellow sufferer! I feel a lot better now -thanks Rado!

 

Main thing i've had to deal with is everyone and anyone i know expressing their view that i've bought a pile of junk, without seeing it - or without knowing how many people i had check it out b4 i bought it! Grrrrrrr !

 

Yes, myself and my dad wanted to check to see if the fuel was getting through - on our golf that was easy - how would i do it on the C?

[RadoAds 0]

Depends where you want to check it........if its the pump youll find that underneath the car just to the front of the off side rear wheel, take off the pipe towards the front of the pump and turn the key youll see a jet of fuel......hopefully......come from it, other wise take off the pipe that goes to the fuel rail, i think from my limited experience with C's ( :lol: ) if you look towards the back of the engine bay towards the right hand side youll see the pipe coming up from underneath the car, follow it to the rail and take it off, then same again turn over the engine and hopefully you should see some fuel, although it might be wise to get someone else to turn the key while you point the pipe into a cup or something to save fuel from going all over the place and starting any nasty fires :evil: , hope this helps mate but im sure henny or someone will prove me wrong by saying the fuel pipe comes into the engine bay somewhere else :roll: (like i said i have limited experience with the C)

[Henny 0]

RadoAds, you called? ;)

 

Sorry mate, the fuel pipes are on the LEFT hand side of the engine bay as you look at it from the bumper, and 16V's don't have a fuel rail, they have a metering head and shed loads of fuel pipes... ;) (didn't want to disappoint you! ;) :-P )

 

Firstly, confirm that when the ignition is turned on initially, the fuel pump fires... you should be able to hear it under the rear drivers wheelarch when you turn the key to just before start.... If not, open up the fuel pump relay, and with the ignition on, carefully press the 2 contacts together to see if it runs then... no run = dead pump, wiring or imobiliser fault....

 

If it runs, try this little lot... ;)

On a 1.8 16V, there's 2 pipes which appear at the back of the engine bay and connect onto the metering head. Where they connect there is a little arrow, one in, one out... with the ignition OFF undo the one marked IN and put it into a jam jar... turn on the ignition and you should get fuel spraying into the jamjar... if not the fault is something to do with the filter, feed pipe, pump or electrics to the pump.

 

If you get fuel there, undo the rubber top of the metering head, (bit wot the air goes thru! ;) ) and CAREFULLY lift the flap with your fingers by the nut in the middle... use a strip of cardboard to keep the flap lifted... now pick an injector (any of 'em) and pull it out.... yup, it's stiff, but it WILL just pull straight out. Jam-jar this and turn on the ignition again... Fuel = injectors OK and metering head probably OK, no fuel = either blocked injector or dead metering head... :|

 

It's also worth seeing if there's fuel going to and from the regulator on the side of the engine (block with 2 pipes going to it) again, where they attach to the metering head, there's arrows to indicate the flow... disconnect the feed at the regulator end and do the jamjar test.. reconnect and do the same with the return at the metering head end... 8)

 

If you've got fuel at all those points, your problem is elsewhere... :|

[swfblade 0]

From what is described in the first post it sounds like exactly the same prob I had. IF it is, then you need a new Ignition starter switch, £10 from GSF parts :wink:

[Henny 0]

From what is described in the first post it sounds like exactly the same prob I had. IF it is, then you need a new Ignition starter switch, £10 from GSF parts :wink:

 

Nah, he's got spark and the engine's turning over... I'd doubt it's the switch in this case... ;)

[RadoAds 0]

Told you id probably be talking b*llocks,.........thanks henny :-P

[greegs 0]

My VR6 does the same thing every now and again. I have replaced ignition switch but it has happened since then. When my car won't start I disconnect battery for about 15 minutes and reconnect (resets ECU) and car starts straight away. Obviously the problem is still there but this could help you get by for just now.

I think that some sensor isn't happy for whatever reason and is registering fault that is picked up by ECU. I really need to get hooked upto VAGCOM and see if anything is up. Anybody close by that can help me :?:

You could try disconnecting battery for 15 mins or so corradowannabe surely worth a try :D

[Henny 0]

greegs, 1.8 16V corrados don't have an ECU to disconnect.... ;) :lol:

[greegs 0]

everyday is a school day henny :oops:

[Henny 0]

everyday is a school day henny :oops:

 

It was a nice thought anyway... and that's what's great about this place... :D 8)

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Henny, thanks greatly - i will pass all this on to my dad who is able to go see the car in the mornings and let you know how i get on! Thanks for correcting the other posts too - and thanks everyone for chipping in!

[Henny 0]

8) Good luck! :D

[CorradoWannabe 1]

OK - here's the deal now - and my frustrations are increasing!

 

As the car is at a mechanics already my dad does not want to touch it - we've already waited 2 weeks - and he's said he's prepared to wait another 2 weeks!!! (This is probably as i am the one that uses the car and so not having it is of no consequence to him)

 

Just to clarify they have not even looked at it yet - this waiting time is not for some part - its as they have not got round to even looking at the car yet!

 

So, i said that i would go there myself and run through the advice from Henny, but i've been told basically im not allowed to as i am "not an expert".

 

My proposed solution - get a expert down there!

 

So - is there a section i can post in to possibly get someone from the forum to come down and see it? I'll pay them for their effortts (Like a Corrado SOS line / thread :D)

 

The car is located on Kingston Road, New Malden, KT3 area - which is in South West London - and the proposed time to see it would be saturday...

 

.. or does anyone know of any mechanics that do call outs like this?

 

Also - i think one good option is getting the AA down there! Any views people?

 

Another week of non-corrado driving is just not something i think i can take! :mad:

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Update - VW place rang and left a msg at my house saying they think its the Ignition Switch and it will be £82 for a replcement!!!

 

1. Isnt this wrong as we have sparks at the spark plugs?

 

2. Isnt this a stupid price - i thought someone said £10 from GSF!

[dazzyvr6 0]

£82 :shock: ,they only cost something like £12 from vw,i take it that price is fitted

[Henny 0]

VW charges about £20 for the switch and it takes less than 30 mins to fit it... They are taking the utter p!$$ with that quote...

 

Also, IMHO, if you have spark and the engine is cranking over, it's VERY unlikely to be the ignition switch...

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Spoke to the VW guy in charge of the car - he has said that despite the spark plug thing it is in his opinion the Ignition Switch.. hmm... i've said to go ahead with it.

 

Dazzy im pretty sure that price is including the fitting - they charge £60 an hour labour!

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Only one spark plug was checked actually - and when starting, the starter motor u can definaetly hear.. thats all im sure about - ie its not a flat battery - but thats about it.. i rang the guy and mentioned to him the fact that we are getting spark at the spark plugs - he said that it could still be the ignition switch and that is his guess... lets hope somehow he's right so i can get my wheels back!

 

PS - i wont ever be taking the C to that garage again!

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Got the car back last night - and finally had a proper chance to drive the thing!

 

The not firing problem is fixed - changing the ignition switch did the trick - Henny im sure ur comments were accurate , i just probably didnt describe everything well enough!

 

Thanks for the advice here guys! :)

[swfblade 0]

smug mode........ :wink:

[Henny 0]

CorradoWannabe, 8) Happy for ya mate... 8)

[CorradoWannabe 1]

Thanks Henny - as i got the C for £900 tho i dont think this is the last time i'll need to call on u guys for help :wink:

[sickVR6 0]

HI CorradoWannabe

 

Im having a similar problem with my C, see Starting problems, lemon? thread.

 

Did replacing the ignition switch solve your problems,,,,?

Are you driving now? :D