1.6 gti cut out when driving now wont start :(

i have a mk1 1981 1.6 gti tintop. i have owned it for a few months and it has been running fine apart from the common hot start problem.

 I started the car when it was warm and it was a little difficult to start but did start eventually and sounded fine, i let it idle for a few minutes to make sure it was happy. i drove about 200 metres went round a round about went to change gear and it cut out on me with no warning at all. now it wont start i have left it for a few hours so it is cold and still wont start. it turns over with the key nice and quickly.

im sure it is a fuel problem but any suggestions will be helpful as this is my first mk1 gti and i learn something everyday about it.

i have recently (in the past few weeks) changed:

battery
Spark plugs
dizzy cap
ht leads
cambelt
airfilter
new oil
oil filter

And the car had 1/4 of a tank it at the time, i have put 10ltr to see if the fuel gauge had stopped working and the fuel gauge is reading fine.

Any help would be greatful.
i miss driving her already lol

cheers Alex

could be rust issues, see the guide in the how2 section on how to check and clean the fuel tank and pump, plus do a fuel injector test as per the guide to the left

thanks for the reply i will have a look at that now. i had a look at the car tonight and im not hearing the fuel pump prime which i normal do so i think it could be an electrical fault, i will check the fuel tank just to make sure though.

could be the pump relay has given up, gsf do them

Could well be the pump relay, easy test is to remove the relay and bridge the two large connectors in the fusebox with a suitable piece of wire and see if the pump then runs and the car starts ok, obviously dont drive round like this, one thing i would say though and that is the gsf relays (or at least back then) dont last, mine was a gsf relay that was less than a year old when it failed, i ended up putting the original back in and its been fine ever since, the only reason iirc that i fitted a new gsf relay was i was overhauling the fuel system and fitted new for piece of mind or so i thought at the time lol

i ordered a new relay from a garage near me monday and am picking it up tonight. hopefuly it will work i miss driving the old girl already. i got told from someone at work that it may be loose wires behind the fuse box if the relay doesnt work. i put a fluke tester to the pump last nite and with the key turned there was no power getting to it. so it must be the relay or the wires going to the pump. i will find out tonite

thanks for the input

Think you need a new distributor . Happened like that on my Mk2.

i took the dizzy cap and watched to see if it went round when the engine turned over. Is there a better way of testing it?

Bloomers said

i took the dizzy cap and watched to see if it went round when the engine turned over. Is there a better way of testing it?

you need to test it is sparking, watching it go round won't tell you much, put the cap back on and remove a lead from a plug, put an old / spare spark plug in the lead then place it on the rocker cover and turn the key and see if the plug sparks.
don't hold the lead while your turning the car over though you might get a shock!!

ok i'll try it thanks

Yes it does start and run for a while but then cuts out when gets warm. Don't know how you test for it, but it's infuriating.

Are all the little electrical cables tight on the battery. A couple of months ago my gti was running like crap. It was surging and bucking like crazy then on day i started it and went about 50 feet and it quit and everything went dead. Forgot to tighten down the battery cables. Been running fine ever since i tightened them. Hopefully its something simple like this. good luck to ya.

Are all the little electrical cables tight on the battery. A couple of months ago my gti was running like crap. It was surging and bucking like crazy then on day i started it and went about 50 feet and it quit and everything went dead. Forgot to tighten down the battery cables. Been running fine ever since i tightened them. Hopefully its something simple like this. good luck to ya.

Are all the little electrical cables tight on the battery. A couple of months ago my gti was running like crap. It was surging and bucking like crazy then on day i started it and went about 50 feet and it quit and everything went dead. Forgot to tighten down the battery cables. Been running fine ever since i tightened them. Hopefully its something simple like this. good luck to ya.

cheers I will check the battery when I work on it today. I haven't had much time to do anything to it this week because of work, but yesterday I picked up a fuel pump relay and fitted it. it still wont start but I can hear the fuel pump priming every time I turn the which didn't happen with the old relay. today I will check to see if I have a spark, if there is any fuel getting to the injectors and try and spot the obvious to see if any thing is loose.

i got her started i had a look around the battery and noticed a small brown wire had broken from its connector. At least it was a cheap fix. It is a bit annoying as i checked the engine bay so many times for loose wires and didn't notice it, it was dark and on the side of the road when I looked I suppose. cheers for your help everyone!!