Problems with running and strange noise

I have a gti cabriolet, and it's been really playing up when running. I'm quite new to it so here goes the list haha. 
When I turn ignition on, there is a loud whining sort of sound from the driver's side of the car, which stays as long as the ignition is left on. 
When I turn it over it takes a while to start, I have to gradually press down the accelerator until it fires up. 
When running it's good until every now and then and then it misses and dies. Normally during acceleration.  It also runs strange on tick over to. It will almost die, then rev itself back again. The car has only done around 500 miles in the last year, mainly last summer. 
Any help would be most appreciated. 

Ignition on whining noise could be your fuel pump priming, as far i i know that is supposed to happen. Others will have a definitive answer for you.
Andy

Is the whining sound coming from the drivers side near the rear wheel? That is the fuel pump. There are lots of threads on here about fuelling issues.

Knowing the year, and CIS, Digifant or Carbed goes a long way to resolution,
The "tick" that you are hearing where is it coming from Front engine left or right rear……

Hard starts on each are a little more difficult to shotgun answer until we know your fuel type.

One thing that comes to mind, full tank or partial.
Vacuum leaks cause these kinds of issue regardless of fuel type.

Sorry, forgot to add the details! It's a 1989 1.8, it's not carbed, and the noise is coming from drivers side rear, and the tank is about 1/4 at the mo, although I 3/4 filled it and it's still there. 

There is a lift pump inside the fuel tank which by the sounds of is failing so the main fuel under the car is working harder to get the petrol out of the fuel tank and that is why there is now more noise and the car coughs under hard acceration and cuts out.
I had the same problem.
New lift pump is £25 ish and is about 1/2 hours job to change over.
If you lift the base of the back seat up and remove the black round cover you will see the top of the fuel tank and 2 fuel lines coming out and an electrical connecter, if you unplug the connecter while the car is running do you hear a change in noise from the fuel pump?

That sounds like the main fuel pump. It would be worth checking the lift pump in the fuel tank. If that is failing it will mean the main pump has to work harder, and will fail eventually. Also test how much current the main pump is drawing, if it is over 8amps you have a problem. You can test this by using a multimeter to measure the current draw at the fuel pump fuse (number 5 I think). If you can, get hold of a copy of the Haynes manual with the brown cover as it details all the tests.

That's great, cheers for the advice, will be fitting a new radiator later so will have a check then. I'm going to replace the fuel filter too, but euro car parts have just said there are two engine codes, one is ev and one is pb. How can I find out which one mine is please?

Euro  car parts list the wrong fuel filters and none of those listed will fit, PB is for a mk2 golf not sure about EV.
Yours engine will be a DX and should have the same filter as mine.


Mann WK834/1 is what I use and can be bought from here.

http://www.vwspares.co.uk/g1filters.php
or here
http://www.classic-vw.co.uk/fuel-filters-830-c.asp

Its also best to fit some new washers to the fuel filter one side is the same size as a sump plug washer and the other side are slightly smaller.

There is 2 types of fuel filter fitted to a DX engine the later cars have the larger type like mine and cars built before 1984 have a smaller filter.

I think I've found one listed under Audi 100!
If it was me I would not use the Crosland filters as the quality is not great.

http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Audi_100_2.0_1991/p/car-parts/regular-service/car-service-parts/fuel-filter/?503880018&1&0f68090fd1fa0c03ed12a220d099f69f77da2d51&000140

It is the rear main pump that is whining.
The rear main pump has to draw the fuel through a bunch of stuff.  Anything that obstructs it makes it whine because it as to do more work.  

In 84.5 VW started to use an in-tank lift pump to push fuel out of the tank and in through the Accumulator and Filter/Sump.  This is a White Plastic affair on the driver side of your tank clipped to the seam…

Now the in-tank pump fails usually when it fails then you
have an obstruction to the system and the main pump will whine that it has to really work.

The in-tank pump uses the fuel or petrol 2 ways, one as a lubricant, Two as a coolant.  Since the in-tank pump is in an enclosed area the petrol is used externally to keep it cool.  When the tank is 1/4 full it is half exposed, and tends to over heat taking itself out.  So don't drive on 1/4 tanks for extended periods.  Like I put a couple of quid in and drove for 5 days, then a couple more quid so you are constantly driving on less than 1/4.

Daughter burned through 3 fuel pumps before she learned…. (glad the pump has a LLW)….

The other issue with the in-tank pumps is that the rubber hose that connects the pump to the sending unit dissolves.
Dissolves is a better description, but gets soft and the pump can fall down, or the connection hose holes itself and you pump fuel back in to the tank as well as to the main.  

Here is a how do I do that.
1984.5-1993 mk1 How to change your in-tank fuel pump | Volkswagen Owners Club Forum

Now for your radiator, there is a trick to trimming the Shroud to make it easier to put on or off.

http://volkswagenownersclub.com/vw/showthread.php/32213-Triming-your-Radiator-Shroud

if the fuel pump is constantly running then you have the wrong fuel relay fitted or a wiring issue, for starters check what relay you have in slot 2 on your fusebox (under the dash passenger side)

yours will have the CE1 fusebox:
http://www.clubgti.com/showthread.php?219775

for the fueling issues if its a GTI follow the basic kjet procedures in this thread, ignore the 16v specific stuff:
http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=25972

for timing belt setup use the marks as pictured in this thread, but ignore all the setup procedures:
http://www.vwgolfmk2.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=14915

for the ignition timing this is done at idle, with the vacuum line to the distributor disconnected and plugged. you use the same diamond marker as per the 2 threads above with your basic timing light.

for idle & co set it to around 900rpm and co to around 1.5%, it may be best to get a garage to tune the CO for you as the DIY CO meters tend to be rubbish in my experience

Thanks for all the help guys.
So far I've changed the fuel pump relay and the lift pump. 
I still have the loud whirring/whining noise from behind the driver's door.
It also takes ages to start, hot or cold. You can turn key and it will take a good 10-15 seconds of constant turning before it fires up, or if you progressivly press the accelerater it will start when the pedal touches the floor. I've changed plugs, leads and cleaned up the dizzy and rotar arm. 
Any help would be much appreciated. 

Adammmm said

Thanks for all the help guys.
So far I've changed the fuel pump relay and the lift pump. 
I still have the loud whirring/whining noise from behind the driver's door.

I would bet one of the following is your issue.
The Filter that is on the left side clipped to the fuel tank (kind of hidden.)
The Accumulator,
or
The main pump is telling you that CA-CA is about to occur.
The reason for the hard starts is that the main pump is loosing pressure or quantity… There is also a check valve in the system… But me thinks your main pump is going the way of the Do-Do bird.

Ok cool, thank you. Couple of questions, do you think I should replace the main pump straight away? And if so, where abouts is it?! And how much am I looking at?

The main pump is just in front of the rear drivers side wheel. Original Bosch pumps are recommended. Wait until Euro Car Parts have one of their many special discount days and then order it. You need to check which type of electrical connection you have on yours as I think there are two types.

disconnect one of the wires to the main pump and turn the key 1 click, do you hear the lift pump? if not investigate the wiring

Ok will try that. Although when I installed the new lift pump yesterday, I could hear it whirring under the black cover when the car was running. 

righto lifter should be fine then, might be main pump has packed in. worth checking the inline pump filter if it has one:
View topic: Fuel Tank cleaning *HowTo* clear that blockage - The Mk1 Golf Owners Club