Hi, looking for advice/confirmation please! I have had my 89 gti 8v for around 8 years it has 122k and is stock and given no bother till now. Last time I drove it conked out about four or five times in a ten mile trip, restarting after a wait till the final time when I had to get towed, each time the rev counter needle dropped. Initially I had no spark but fuel and I could hear the pump and injectors when I turned the dizzy. I replaced the coil and then the hall sender, still no spark but now I could hear spark from loom area behind engine. I found the black wire from + coil to ignition switch had broken down, ran a new wire,now I have spark, tried to start engine it ran for about 30 seconds then stopped and would not start only backfires and flame from the exhaust according to neighbour! I have checked the ignition module which seems to be ok,i haven't done the ecu checks in Haynes as my socket has more pins than shown, also now the mfa display is frozen showing .En although I wasn't aware it did fault codes? Worked fine before. I am thinking the ecu may have been damaged by the broken wire? Does that sound reasonable? Also recommendation for ecu repair and does it have to be that one or are these early ones in a range of compatible ones? Thanks all
pull out the plugs and check if they're fowled up, also when you switch on ignition now does fuel pump prime, or stick on constant
I fitted new plugs, still doing the same, fuel pump runs for about two seconds when ignition is turned on, then goes off
ok, do you get a good strong spark on all 4? no chance timing has slipped is there? check rotor arm make sure its in good nick and a nice solid fit to dizzy shaft
Yes good spark on all four plugs, confirmed timing is ok flywheel/ rotor/ pulley. Rotor and dizzy firm and home . Leads,cap,rotor and plugs replaced within the last twelve months. The sparks seemed to be timed ,no extra ones I could see
hmmmmm. unplug ecu and spark module, make sure all contacts are clean and tight. actually check afm wiring, that can kill a digi
Done all the plugs and sockets with Servisol switch cleaner and tiny screwdriver blade, no change. The mfa wiring you mention is that behind the clocks? There isn't a wiring diagram in Haynes for the mfa clocks, it's all integrated with the other clock wiring from memory. Do you mean a visual check?
Sorry reread, afm! Air flow meter, haven't done much just unplugged and checked socket. If you feel the ecu is probably ok then it's most likely the wiring getting old, I was going to check the ecu loom for continuity and its peripherals anyway
yeah that's the next thing. ecu has 2 earths one to head and another to battery have a look at those too. its possible ecu has packed in anyway, you could sen it for check and repair to this clever guy: https://www.clubgti.com/forums/index.php?threads/motometer-cluster-mfa-repair-fix-found.288785/
So after reading thread I disconnected the battery yesterday and now today the mfa works and scrolls through the options, alas the car still won't run same as before, time to send ecu to be looked at.
Update received ecu back from Atc ,clean bill of health. Spent today troubleshooting wiring loom, no problems found. I'm starting to run out of ideas, going to do a compression test tomorrow, hydrolock?? clutching at straws now
So this morning I thought I'd start from the beginning and recheck the timing and have a look at the cambelt marks . I neglected to mention that I replaced the hall sender twice, the first a Chinese one, the car ran for 30 seconds then wouldn't restart, I then discovered a bosch one was available and fitted that. My distributor requires the gear to be removed each time, what I discovered was in the excitement one of the times the distributor was out I put it back 180 ° out ♂️,as witnessed by the camshaft timing mark! The car is running fine now, I've changed the oil and filter as the old oil had the viscosity of water! Thanks for being there
