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My mk1 golf 1.5 running weber carb will idle fine for a long as you let it, but after a couple of miles itll loose all power and cut out. Fuelling fine amd dont think its carb icing. The ignition coil was hot though. Replaced this today but same thing happened. Anybody any ideas why 2 would be getting hot?

All help appreciated as is my daily!!!

Thanks

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It could be too high a voltage being asked of the coil? The leads might be knackered and have a high resistance or the plugs could be on there way out or too large a gap drawing too much through the coil, might be why it is getting really hot?

1985 Cabriolet GL

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Or even wrong leads. I had a set fitted that the female end on the leads was about 5mm but the male ends on the dizzy cap were about 2mm which was making the coil work pretty hard to sometimes throw a spark there and at the plugs.

1985 Cabriolet GL

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Does the engine sort of stay on but you can't rev etc and it'll roll to a stall?

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Zaxe256 that's pretty much it. If i drop it into 2nd from 4th it'll pick up but wont rev. I have changed the condenser and points which i thought had solved it but nope!! If you know of a possible cause would be great.
thanks

Lee

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Zaxe256 that's pretty much it. If i drop it into 2nd from 4th it'll pick up but wont rev. I have changed the condenser and points which i thought had solved it but nope!! If you know of a possible cause would be great.
thanks

Lee

Keep on Dubbin

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Zaxe256 that's pretty much it. If i drop it into 2nd from 4th it'll pick up but wont rev. I have changed the condenser and points which i thought had solved it but nope!! If you know of a possible cause would be great.
thanks

Lee

Keep on Dubbin

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Actually mate I was hoping you might be able to solve my similar issue! 
Sorry mate all I can suggest is like replacing parts or checking for blocked lines etc

Sorry man
Zack

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Im having a similar problem. Did you ever get this sorted?

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my first thought was carb icing, but only if it was really damp out its a bit too warm for this to happen normally i expect. but its worth a check of the warm air feed system just to be sure. make sure the flap opens when the engien is runnign and the pipe + exhaust shroud all ok.

apart from that id be looking at the fuel lines, could be partially blocked. might need a good blow thru with an air line to fully clear them

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



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I my case even though i have a k&n fitted I dont think its carb icing as the car drove fine untill I took the engine out. I just checked the fuel lines this moring and when air is put down them petrol flows out freely. Is it worth taking the fuel sending guage out? Ive heard they can be a right pain to put back in. Or alternativily can I just blow air down each of the pipe and if there is a blockage hope that it clears it. I realise if there is something it may just get pushed into the tank and therefore block again but thats not a massive issue at the moment.

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the level sender can be tight but you could always pop the 2 rubber hoses off it before you blow down the pipes :)

put the round disc back on to stop any fuel getting sprayed all over the inside of the car then when done take it off again and open the doors for a couple hours to let any fuel evap away

course there could still be a blockage in the level sender so best to take it out if you can. should just rotate anti-clockwise then come out but may need some force if its never been moved!

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



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been parked up since, might be buying a mk3 cabby soon so i can overhaul the mk1!!

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As in my case this was only ever an intermittent issue and leaving the car stand for a couple of minutes it would then start and drive fine I never got around to investigating it further until now. Before re-fitting the tank I emptied it of petrol and no rust or much came out with it. I have fitted an original air box and the condenser and points have been changed. Today I replaced the fuel pump and the fuel filter is just under half fuel when the car is running to only have the issue continue. I've now managed to re-create the problem by allowing the car to get up to temperature and the radiator fan coming on, if I then try to pull away there is no power, the engine will not rev up and then will cut out. Straight after I tested for a spark which I had al be it a weak one. The car will only then start once left for a few minutes. Once again let the radiator fan kick in and the car will not move, if I let the car get up to temp before the fan kicks in the car will pull away. When I have been driving and having this issue the temp gauge is low and the rad fan isn't on but so some reason leaving the fan come on is re-creating the issue. I'm thinking there is a faulty item and when the rad fan is coming on its causing a voltage drop. Anyone got any ideas? The coil wires get 12v and the coil 10v and when the car is running the coil drops to 6v. Coil Ohms, battery and alt test correctly.

Last edit: by mk1newbie

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if the car has points there is a resistance wire from the fusebox to keep the voltage at the coil low while running. there is also a wire direct from the starter motor to give it a boost of full 12v while cranking.

it does sound like you are suffering from a voltage drop though. start by checking the voltage across the battery engine off, engine running, and when you have the headlights and blower motor on (also prob worth a check when fan running) should see about 12.5v engine off, around 14v engine on and ideally at least 13.5v with load on the alternator.

If you see issues here (maybe even if not!) remove the battery starter and alternator cabling give everything a damn good buff up. the gearbox earth point on the mk1 is poor though, as its on top of the box bracket. corrosion builds up between them and causes a bad earth connection to the block. later mk2 and mk3 move the earth to a stud on the rear engine -> gearbox mounting bolt, I would recommend you do the same. while there might want to look at redoing all the battery cabling, I recommend mk3 golf stuff its beefier and the battery terminals are a really nice design. Get yourself 2 mk3 earth cables though, cut the 2nd one down so you just have a run of cable with a ring either end. fit the 1st cable between the battery and gearbox, the 2nd one put between the chassis leg and the 1st cable (you'll see what I mean, the mk3 middle ruing wont reach the chassis leg earth point)

If you see good battery voltage this suggests its a fusebox issue, or a problem with the main live and earth from the battery to the inside. check the terminals on the thick red and brown wires, make sure clean and well terminated.  Get inside the car and check the fusebox side, the live goes straight to the fusebox and the earth goes to a 4 way white spade block near the3 fusebox, you'll see what I mean. give the fusebox a good check over looking for damp and corrosion on the relay sockets and fusebox connectors. if there are any signs of this replace it

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



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I checked the battery at the weekend, 12.61v when off, around 13v when running however I didn't check it under load so I will get this checked. I will also look into your other suggestions. Thank you for your in depth help

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I suspect if its 13v not under load then it'll drop too low once you put a load on it, hopefully just cablign issue rather than the alternator itself, though alt not exactly expensive or hard to find really

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



My wiring diagrams and other documents have moved here:

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Start by replacing your Major Earths Battery to Frame and frame to engine/tranny.  This is where I typically see  voltage drop issues.   If the Earthing straps are flaky/resistive, then you see lower voltages at the battery under load or at idle.

If you aren't using a DVOM to measure, but the instrument gauge I have a car that is 1volt lower than what is measured at the Battery…. I had to re-run the wiring to it the gauge to correct it.

If you have a coil, check the connections to it, that is the Spad connectors can get dirty, and corroded and cause spurious issues…..

Just my 2 thoughts, and yes you can get new Cables from a Variety of places, like VWheritage, or get 2 off the shelf cables with additional pig tails to clean up the addon ring connectors, from your favorite auto parts store.

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What do Divorces, Great Coffee, and Car Electrics all have in common?

They all start with GOOD Grounds.

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Thank you both for your help, I will work through your suggestions and see how I get on

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Okay today's findings

Battery voltage when the engine is off  12.5v, with the ignition on 12.01v then with the ignition off 12.37. With the engine running between 14.16v & 14.21v. With the lights and blower 12.83v and with the fan on aswell 12.66v, with the lights and blower off and the fan on 13.61v. The car will move under its own power with the lights and blower on but with the fan on or just the fan on its own it will cut out. Strange that the lights and blower seem to cause more of a voltage drop but the car will still move under its own powers. When it cuts out I then have to wait a while before it will start again. Im going to get a new battery to chassis / gearbox earth cable made and try that first. Then the starter / alt wires if im still having a issue. Is there meant to be any other body earths that I might be missing as the only other one I can see is from the body to the steering rack

Last edit: by mk1newbie

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