please HELP!. I own an 94 1.4i golf. which has just started...

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Answer by Dave
Submitted on 1/1/2005
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I have a 1997 GTi 4-cylinder Golf which was cutting out at random with the oil light coming on. It would usually start after a few minutes, but the fault occurred in dangerous situations like motorway areas with no hard shoulder! Initially I took it to a specialist who charged eighty pounds for a diagnostic check that revealed nothing wrong. VW dealers seem to replace random components at huge expense faced with these kinds of faults. I think there are three distinct varieties of stalling problem as follows: 1. Engine cuts out at low revs when the clutch is pressed for example coming up to a junction. This is often accompanied by an erratic idle. Solution: Get some carb cleaner and remove the large hose from the air box. Clean the butterfly and the gunge from the smaller pipes going into this area. (breathers). 2. Car starts but cuts out after a few seconds. Solution: This is likely to be the transponder code on the ignition key not being read. Have you dropped the key - might be a broken chip inside. Might be the transponder coil which goes round the ignition switch, or poor connections or earths to the factory immobilizer. 3. Car cuts out at random while you are driving. I think this is the trickiest one to solve. It could be a number of things, and I think they are - most likely first: 1. The Fuel Pump relay - this is the one on the bottom right of the fuse box. Might be a 137 number on it. Does it run hot? Does wiggling it cause the stalling? I suggest bypassing it by making up a lead which connects the contacts made by the two large spade connectors together. Use 16 Amp wire to be safe and don't leave it in when not driving or it will drain the battery. If this cures the problem replace the relay. Cost about 13 pounds. 2. The ECU relay number 30. This is on the second row of relays going up, and is third one along. Replace it anyway as its only 6.50 and seems to have been redesigned at some point. 3. If that did not solve the problem. Look and see if the rev counter goes a bit mad just before it cuts out. If this is the case then you probably have a dodgy engine speed sensor. It costs 200 quid plus to have this changed by a VW dealer. However I got one from GSF for 45 quid. It is a Honeywell Hall Effect sensor, part and you might get it even cheaper from them. It is a bit awkward - you need to remove the front engine mounting - put a jack under the sump. Also take the oil-filter off and use a long hex key. If this does not work look at the hall-effect sensor in the distributor. You can check the volts to it and that the ground is at ground with a multimeter. Bad earths are a possibility here. If you have a scope check the waveform on the output pin - a simple led and resistor will do as a rough check. Does this flash as you turn the engine? An led in series with a 1K resistor with the other end to earth will check this (the LED only works one way round). If this is the fault you may have to replace the dizzy - the rotor arm is bonded on and it is hard to get this sensor on its own. (OUCH!) If none of this works a bad connection or earth is quite likely - use a multimeter to check for any earths at more than say 0.1V. The ignition unit is also a possible culprit and costs about 40 quid from GSW - http://www.gsfcarparts.com/ A last and more unlikely possibility is the fuel-pump itself or dirt/rust in the fuel line. Check the fuel filter and see if it has a lot of debris in it. Good Luck.. most likely it was one of the relays and you did not have to try that lot! I would not go for blaming the ECU except as a very last resort. Unless the diagnostics say clearly that it is this. Most often the diagnostics say nothing helpful with this fault. VW dealers will charge you close to 1000 pounds to replace this item! It is easy to get at and remove - under that gauze like shield at the back of the bonnet with the wiper motors. You can get the unit checked and reconditioned for about 120 quid at https://www.sapmotorparts.com/shop/english/ It wont be the problem though... I doubt it anyway! Why pay VW so much for diagnostics. All you need is a cable - do a search for VW diagnostic cable on eBay. These come for about 30 quid with software and you plug them in to a socket under a panel to the left of the radio. You need a laptop on the other end, and it will tell you any faults. In fact do this first! But there may well be none at all shown. I hope that helps. Took me a week to fix the problem, but I learned a lot in the process and teh car goes much more smoothly now as well.

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Question by stu
Submitted on 12/20/2003
Related FAQ: rec.autos.vw [W] TECHNICAL, FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION (FAQ)
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please HELP!. I own an 94 1.4i golf. which has just started dying on me. you can be driving along and suddenly it cuts out. then it will not start again (no spark). when i try to restart the oil light on the dashboard flashes on and off. and no joy. leave it anything from 2 to 30 minutes and it will start again.( i noted that when it is going to start again the oil light dont't't flash) there are no other symptoms. the coil/ignition pack has been replaced as i was told these were common. any advice would be greatly appricated.

Answer by colin horn
Submitted on 4/21/2004
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My son has a vw 1.4 golf and he is experiencing the engine cutting out briefly but it starts again immediately, the service history shows that a sender unit has been changed to rectify the fault but clearly it hasn't. we'd be intersted if you resolve the problem. mail@colinhorn.com

Answer by chris
Submitted on 11/19/2005
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i have a 2000 vw golf mk1 1.4i 340000km no probs but when i drive in the rain or go through a carwash it dies! when i do get it started again it has a rough idle as if its running on 2 or 3 cylinders. please e-mail me if you can help. cmpelser@yahoo.com

Answer by Rachel
Submitted on 11/3/2006
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Hi, I have had several problems with my 1.4 W reg Golf. Cutting out, revs all over the place and lack of power. I have had a lambda sensor (the engine management system read this fault) replaced which didn't fix the problem. Then I had the breather system cleaned, that didn't work. I have now had the pins replaced to the lambda sensor but there was still another fault. They have now replaced a sender unit which they told me can cause eratic revs. A friend has told me that changing the air filter could also help the problem. My car has been in and out of the garage over the last 3 months and it is costing a fortune! It seems endless!!! Rachel.

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