Won't accelerate!

Happy new year, folks!

After a water leak i my cabrio, I had my fusebox out for cleaning. Replaced a couple of relays too, and I think i got it all right when I putted it togheter again.

…or did I?
Car starts, and it runs OK on 1000rpm. But if I as much as touches the accelerator pedal, the engine runs very poorly. Can't even get it to 2000rpm before it cuts out. (Sometimes I can't get it to 1100rpm either)
Fuel pump is running, coil, plugs and their wires are just 6months old.

Before this, the car was running OK, only had some problems with my fuelpump-relay.
Could I have done something wrong when installing my fusebox?
Do get the feeling of faulty with the fuel supply.  :dontknow:
The car has just been standing at the garage since I drove it in there…

Best regards  

I'm having a very similar prob, car starts fine and revs no prob but as soon as start driving it starts to loose power at 2000 rpm and stays there.

I have changed the plugs,leads,rotor arm and I have a new coil but not fitted.

Please help us I haven't been able to use it since the 21 dec

take out the pump relay and try a #53 relay in its place. you should have 1 for the horn in there you can borrow. if its better, replace the fuel pump relay

Thanks for your awnsering
Have done so. Didn't help. Also bought a "new" f.p relay on ebay.

Runs fine on 1000rpm, but it wont get passed about 2000rpm.
Gets grumpy if i as much as touches the throttle.

Hear the fuel pump opperate after failed attempt to start.
Lift pump is working.
Relays should be okay.

Trying to upload a video here, maybe someone has experienced similar?
Golfproblem

But one strange thing;
when i use relay 53, the fuel pump doesnt opperate when ignition is on.
But it is running after failed attempt to start ( with its original fuel pump relay.)

hmm maybe the relay socket isnt too good or the fusebox has corrosion damage?

is the relay getting really hot after a short time, maybe main pump is dying and drawing too much power, 53 relay cant cope but proper fp relay manages…

Might be bad relay socket. But i cleaned it very good when had it out …hm…

Yes, last time i drove, the car stopped (at the highway of course). At that time, I was driving with my 53 relay. Then I switched back to the orginal f.p. relay and I i got home. Remember the 53 relay was very hot when I switched it! (Happend after driving for about 10 min.)

Could this mean that my fuel pump is about to die?

its possible, does it make a nasty loud buzzing noise? maybe clean the tank, filter and fuel pump mesh basket as per this guide:
The Mk1 Golf Owners Club

It has quite a loud buzzing, and ever since i bought it,  it has had problems when hard acceleration.

I took out my fuel pump, but it doesnt look that dirty to me. Nothing near those pictures from the guide.

I will se if i could clean it more inside, but it looks OK.
I changed the fuel filter 6 months ago.

Could there be something else that could make my fuel pump grumpy?

ok id think seriously about replacing it, make sure you go for a bosch one if not new then known good!

Been to every shop and scrapyard in my area. No one has a match!

Better search ebay then.
But do you know if these pumps can be fixed?
Or tested somehow?
Or might it only do things worse…?

if you have kjet pressure gauges you can check it, the pumps arn't serviceable unfortunately.

you can get k-jet pumps from a lot of other cars, porsche, ford, audi, saab, ferarri etc all used versions of k-jet. you need an inline type pump though as space is limited. e.g. mk2 golf k-jet pump woudl be ok but its too big, unless you find somewhere else to put it. ive seen them fitted in the spare wheel well before, though that would need custom pipes. though i suppose you could stuff a mk2 pump under the car on a block of wood or something just for testing

a set of k-jet gauges would be very usefull for diagnosing this problem further, otherwise you're stuck with making educated guesses till you find the right answer!

Yeah, you're right, I'll start with a set of k-jet gauges!
Time to solve this car…

But I just did a discovery.
I changed my relays, putting the 53 for fuel pump, ignition on, and found that there where 0 volts comming to the fuel pump.
That explains a lot!
But it doesnt explain why I can hear the pump after some cranking with my starter.
(Thats with my original f.p relay though.)

Ps. I checked the 53 relay and it worked with the horn…

id think either fusebox issue or the pump/wiring is suspect, do you get 12v to the large spade terminal N with 53 relay + ign on?

Checked my fusebox terminals, and removed some corrision. Now the relays fit properly and my fuelpump works when 53 relay is connected.

Still, the engine wont accelerate.
Wonder if I have done something wrong when I installed my fusebox after cleaning…

Runs good on 900rpm, but if i accelerate it backfires and runs very poorly. Might be a fuel problem, but it so strange that this problem comes after cleaning fusebox and installing new relays….

Any tips, guys? Should I have a closer look at my fusebox wiring, or buy a kjet pressure gauges?

I am having the same symptoms on my 1.8 I  8v. Changed leads/rotor arm/dis cap. Won't go past 1800 revs under load -  Idles fine but i press the accelerator to max it back fires, drops and them stalls. Also I have noticed that when oil filler cap is  removed it starts to struggle idling? Any ideas appreciated!

did you try a new pump and/or k-jet gauges?

a 53 relay running the fuel pump isnt ideal you want a proper fuel pump relay. apart from the safety issue the terminals on the 53 arnt big enough to fit the socket properly

Have'nt tried a new pump, since it runs when i test it with 53 relay. And my fuel pump relay is new.

Could a pump get weak, but still work? It does'nt sound that bad, as far as I can hear…

Yes, I noticed, after a lot of scraching my head, that the 53 didnt fit the socket properly.

Thanx again for your help, rubjonny.
Have'nt tried with k-jet gauges jet. They're hopefully arriving in my mail soon….

Have'nt tried a new pump, since it runs when i test it with 53 relay. And my fuel pump relay is new.

Could a pump get weak, but still work? It does'nt sound that bad, as far as I can hear…

Yes, I noticed, after a lot of scraching my head, that the 53 didnt fit the socket properly.

Thanx again for your help, rubjonny.
Have'nt tried with k-jet gauges jet. They're hopefully arriving in my mail soon….

yeah they can do, mine sounded fine but wouldnt supply fuel at all. luckily for me it was just the non-return valve in the end so i swapped it for a mk2 golf one and i was sorted.
a fuel pressure test will show you straight away how healthy the pump, meterign head and wur are, these are basically essential when tryign to troubleshoot k-jet with any real accuracy. without them you're at best making educated guesses and throwing parts at them till you stumble over where the problem was