difficult to start; runs lumpy; stalls.

I asked for it, really: yesterday, I took my partner's lad out in the cabrio, singing its praises, crowing that it had never let me down. Returning to the car for the journey home, it all went Pete Tong:

Loud buzzing from the rear underside in vicinity of the petrol pump
faint buzz from the fuseboard
on turning the key - but without cranking the starter - the rev counter jumps to 1000, then drops like a stone
very reluctant to start - at times, the starter motor turns ve-ry slo-ow-ly, groaning
dies suddenly unless you keep the revs high
running very roughly
backfires

All was fine beforehand! I've checked the connections to the starter, alternator  and battery and all seem secure. Could it perhaps be something with the ignition barrel?

Anybody got a clue what I'm up against here?

Roy 

if its a post-84 cabrio it sounds like the lifter pump in the fuel tank has packed in

Also pull out the fuel pump relay and give the connections a quick clean and push it back in.

Relay No. 62 on my fuse box but yours may be a different number but it should be in the same place?

Lift pump is a straight forward job and a £25 part, it lives inside the fuel tank and you can get to via the back seat.

Lives in here, remove electrical plug and fuel lines, have a rag handy as a little petrol will come out.


I use this bar and a hammer to tap the sender around as it's a bayonet style fitting.



You only need to turn it this far to get it all out.



And this all has to come out of the little hole! watch out for the float as that's on a angle, if you replace the lift pump make sure if you replace the rubber fuel hose it's the same length or the pump will sit to high or to low in the tank.



While it's all out you can check inside your fuel tank for rust/dirt and if you have a magnet to hand you can fish some of the bit's out and I've left mine in there to collect any other bits but make sure it's away from the float as you don't want it to stick to the magnet.



Other end of lift pump with a filter on the end, make sure that is also free from dirt etc.




Your car is around the change over time so you may not have one but worth having a look inside the fuel tank for rust etc as that will kill the K-jet fuel injection system over time.

Link to a lift pump, other are available.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-GOLF-MK1-CABRIOLET-MK2-GTI-8v-16v-FUEL-PUMP-LIFT-PUMP-IN-TANK-C246-/200691149226?fits=Model%3AGolf&hash=item2eba1fe9aa:g:VV4AAOSwMzVTw6~7