Mk2 16v 1988. Fuel pump not priming ignition

Hi guys.

I have just been over to storage to have a look at my golf that i havent seen for about 3 year plus. I put a new battery on it and being a bit reluctant to start it due to the thought of the cam belt snapping i tried it anyway.

It cranks over fine but wont fire. I did notice with the first turn of the key i should be able to hear the fuel pump prime and buzz for at least 5 seconds but im getting no sound at all.

If i remember right is it the lift pump in boot that primes? Whats the best thing to check?

With no tools really or not multimeter i hope to go back armed with some information.

Clearly i can check the supply at pump first and work back. I work as a maitnenance electrician so fault finding is second nature but i have no wiring diagrams and the car is about 10 miles away just need some input for when i turn up next time.

 

They're wired in parallel. Board to boot first then it splits off into lift/main. The latter follows the flow pipe underneath. You can check the lift pump flow rate its 300cc in 10 seconds.

 

Did this ever get solved? Have exactly the same issue, started years ago, never solved and car put into storage. But would be nice to get the old girl out.

I'm seeing 10-11v continuous on the rear loom plug to lifter, and I see a 0.9v for 5 seconds on a different contact. Relay 18 has been replaced and you can hear the tick off after 5 seconds of ignition position 1. I've checked the lifter pump with 12v with it out of the car and it works fine, as does the main pump under the car.

FWIW, this is one of the only threads in 7 years (not that I look often) that has mentioned this issue.

 

Hello again,

sorry i didn't follow this up in the end due to health issues the move of the golf was put on hold.

so i been back to storage unit and the golf hasn't fixed itself lol

again cranks fine but wont fire up.

i checked the supply at fuse 5 its, 12v for a few seconds when ignition turned and relay 2 holds in and drops out so i guess that good, swapped relay with the x relay 18 to have the permanent supply to test.

i checked for 12V in boot at connector at lift pump and that is present, as its paralleled up with the pump underneath i would imagine i would have it there but need to check when i can get access to it.

so if it is im guessing it could be a faulty main pump?

its just that distinctive buzz you get when you first turn the key that im not hearing.

 

although i had 12v in lift pump at back it wasnt making much noise, can any one help find a suitable replacement of pump for 1988 golf 16v? ebay or else where?

 

ok mate thank you i will get it out of storage and try that and keep you posted, i mean its not ran in like 8 years or so its in a dark storage unit with lots of other cars, also my

 

my friend has a mk1 campaign for sale if interested

 

Hello

I have a similar problem to MackieGTI. I have a 91 plate GTI 16v and last weekend it died on me like it ran out of fuel (It hadn’t thought).

when I got it home and had the time to look at it I noticed the high pressure fuel pump underneath wasn’t priming when I turned on the ignition. So, I had a look in hear to give my some help and ideas on what cause of the fault might be, so this is where I am at.

I first I went for the quick hits I checked the fuel pump fuse and that was ok, I removed relay 67 and fitted relay 18 in its place and the pump still wouldn’t run.

So i removed the fuel pump fuse again and with the ignition on I checked with my meter what voltage I was getting at the fuse terminals and for a couple of seconds my meter was reading 11.8v then would go to 0v. I checked again multiple times and it was the same. so this made me think that relay 67 was faulty, so I bought a new relay and fitted it and the pump still doesn’t run.

so I fitted relay 18 again and checked what voltage I was getting at the fuel pump fuse terminals and this time I was getting a constant 11.8v but the pump still wouldn’t run when I put the fuse back in.

so next I checked (with relay 18 still fitted) the voltage to both the lift pump and the hight pressure pump both had voltage to them

The hight pressure pump had 11.8v at the plug

The lift pump had 9.8v at the plug (not sure why this was lower)

when I plugged the lift pump back in I could hear it running so I know this pump is working.

so next I tested both my new and old relays to make sure they worked (and to rule out I bought a duff relay) and they did.

So what I can’t understand why both relays 67 are not staying energise when the ignition is on.

Also I’m guessing that if the high pressure fuel pump isn’t working with relay 18 fitted that the pump must be defective.

Sorry this is long winded and I hope all this make sense and TIA for any help.

 

Connect 12volt + and - directly from the battery to the high pressure fuel pump terminals. If it doesn't run, then a new pump would be a sensible first thing to try.
Next you can investigate the only 10 volts to the lift pump. An ineffective lift pump may have contributed to the main pump failing.

 

Thanks for the advice h8v
I’ll give it a go and let you know how I get on.

 

Thanks for the advice Much appreciated I’ll test the pump to rule that out hope it is just the pump and nothing more sinister.

thanks again

 

Sorry to hijack this thread, I’m trying to contact rubjonny about a problem I’m having with my vw golf gti kjet 1985. I’m trying to find out the name of the valve that is under the bonnet above the fuel distributor rubber intake, it has a vac hose that goes into the distributor rubber intake from it, could it be engine idle regulator? It’s got power at both pins but no earth going to it, would you know where it gets it’s earth from? Kind regards and thankyou in advance.

 

Can you upload a photo of what you're wanting to identify?

 

Hi hi this is the photo