Skip navigation

Electrical gremlins interfering with ignition

Post

Back to the top
Hello everyone,

I have this weird electrical problem with my golf. I was driving the car daily untill one day it started running really rough and eventually died. The symptoms i had at the time were a clicking noise from a relay (though not as frequently as shown in the video) and the tachometer needle jumping irregularly. I suspected the problem would lie in the ignition system because my sparkplugs were fouled. Since then, everything on the ignition system has been replaced: coil, sparkplugs, sparkplug wires, distributor, vacuum advance, points, capacitor, rotor,... After all of this, it refuses to run properly and the clicking relay problem became worse. I suspect there must be a ground issue or something wrong with the fusebox? Im not really an expert on diagnosing electrical gremlins so every piece of advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Video showing the problem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swr9ICVQ9iE

Post

Back to the top
What year, engine and fuel system are you using first of all? 🤔

Take a photo of your fuse box set up and post it on here.
Tell us which relay you can hear clicking.

Then the electrical experts on here have something to get there teeth into, remember the devil is in the detail! 😉 👍🏼

Sent by a smartphone and not a smartperson!

Play Guess the Asking Price 'SEASON 4' as of Sunday the 29th of October 2017.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=chat%2Fmk1-golf-chat_2%2Fguess-the-asking-price_2

OLD.
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/forum/index.php?page=topicview&id=chat%2Fmk1-golf-chat_2%2Fold-guess-the-asking

Ever wondered who's behind the scenes of this forum?
https://vwgolfmk1.org.uk/index.php?page=committee


Mike

There's me building mine 28 years ago, almost finished!        
  
001.JPG       
                                 
Be proud of your VW Golf Mk1, it's very special!

Post

Back to the top
It is a 1982 VW golf MK1 with a 1500jb engine and I am running a weber 32ich carb.

I just checked which ones are clicking by pulling them out one by one. Turns out its all of them! 39C0F9B8-B172-40FE-A58C-B72A9AA5F6AA.jpeg 0D009DFB-1429-4188-9705-71FDB56C8D0E.jpeg C278FAEE-FB08-4E7A-A291-A3037BE6A689.jpeg A5E30B3F-6228-4955-AADD-F273C203FEE3.jpeg

Post

Back to the top
Ater reviewing everything again, turns out it is only relay 21(indicators) that is clicking (without the indicators actually blinking).
I tried pulling out the yellow plug but it just stopped the clicking, not the stuttering
 

Post

Back to the top
possibly ignition switch/wiring issue, run a wire from the battery live to the spare spade on the coil next to the black & purple/white wire. if it drives fine after that then check ignition wirign and switch. if not, keep looking. any signs of water damage on the fusebox? seems ok from your pics but have a really good look. pull the cover off relay 21 as well see if its ok inside

Hello my name is John and I'm a dub addict.



My wiring diagrams and other documents have moved here:

VAG Documents & Downloads

You'll need to sign into google/gmail for the link to work! (its free!)
0 guests and 0 members have just viewed this: None.