My car is giving me problems - PLEASE HELP!!

Mmm, I took the car in today - they were full - and will have to go Monday. Thank you EvoBunny and everyone who assisted. I have written down all the "suspects" and will give it to the guy to test. The airflow seems to be spot on - but I will let you know what the outcome is! Have a great weekend everyone!
 
EvoBunny said:
You're air intake might've sucked in some dirt and damaged the air flow sensor (if it has one) or possibly just made it dirty.

I experienced something similar not so long ago, and it was very annoying, I needed to keep the revs up the whole time.

The problem with the air flow sensors is that essentially it uses a wire which some voltage is sent through. The heats up the wire, now when air flows across it, it cools the wire and depending on how much it gets cooled the unit is able to determine the amount of air flowing past the unit.

Now if the air flow sensor is dirty, this dirt can cause the wire not getting sufficient wind to cool it, this causes the on board computer to believe you aren't getting that much air in, which reduces the amount of fuel it sends into you combustion chambers making it run very lean, and obviously you get fuel starvation in a way. This is also dangerous as the running lean causes more heat and it can fry you head.

Also when the car is hot, it obviously affects this even more, as the on board computer believes even less air is entering the system.

The above might explain why the car just probably dies.

Hope it helps.
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That's what happened with me last year.
The airflow meter was bust and I went to 2 different VW okes that hooked their laptops up and confirmed it for me.
For Niccia's sake I hope it's not that - it cost me a pretty penny. :o
 
I'm going to go with either 1. Electrical Fault, or 2. Insufficient fuel or airflow into the engine. Have someone look at the air and fuel filters.

Do the rest of the electrics die when the engine cuts? If it stutters and/or jerks before cutting out, it will most likely be no. 2, if it cuts out immediately (and the rev counter drops to 0 immediately) it will most definitely be no. 1.
 
Your car is 2 years old, how come you not getting VW to check it out?

Since your car has a turbo, I suspect a diverter valve needs to be replaced.
 
Niccia said:
Hi everyone.

Can anyone help me PLEASE! My car is giving me SO much trouble :( It switches off randomly while im driving. I will drive and the car will just die. I took it in to a Auto Electrician, and they replaced the coil (R1500) but the problem still persisted. I took it back, and they replaced the distributor. Still same problem, the car now starts to jerk, and it just switches off for no apparent reason. The guy said I must take it in again on Monday. 3rd Time now :( I have to say that the guy is very helpful and understanding, and they didnt charge me to fix the second time.

Now, has this happened to anyone else? Does anyone know what the problem might be? Its difficult to find the fault or see the problem when the car doesnt switch off with them. Like I said, I can drive to work and back no problem, and then bam, it switches off all of a sudden.

Any advice would be appreciated! Please!
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If you have an immobiliser that could be your problem. Sounds like it is starting to die or short out somewhere. When your car switches off is it when you go over a little bump or something?

Could also be your HT cables.
 
sounds a lot like a fuel pump cutting out when hot, unlikely to shop up on a VAG, probably a bad relal/dry joint on the pump
 
bboy said:
sounds a lot like a fuel pump cutting out when hot, unlikely to shop up on a VAG, probably a bad relal/dry joint on the pump
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Hello, so I got my car back just now. The electrics on the car is fine now, cos when the car used to cut out - it didnt want to start, but now, when the car dies, it starts one time. It now jerks and then come to a stop. Like the car stutters and then die. The guy told me its the fuel filter, he unblocked it. He say its definately that, but if it jerks again and stands still, the fuel pump will have to be replaced, cos that would then be the problem. At least now I know what causes it. I will drive it is atm, and get it fixed next month. Thanks for all the help!
 
Niccia said:
Hello, so I got my car back just now. The electrics on the car is fine now, cos when the car used to cut out - it didnt want to start, but now, when the car dies, it starts one time. It now jerks and then come to a stop. Like the car stutters and then die. The guy told me its the fuel filter, he unblocked it. He say its definately that, but if it jerks again and stands still, the fuel pump will have to be replaced, cos that would then be the problem. At least now I know what causes it. I will drive it is atm, and get it fixed next month. Thanks for all the help!
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Is this a professional service centre that attended to your car? - I doubt this.

There's no ways I'd consider "unblocking" a fuel filter - fuel filters are replaced, not "unblocked".

Replace the fuel pump - this guy could end up costing you a fortune!
 
Hello Frankie,

Yes, it is a reputable establishment. He said he cleaned out the petrol filter - it was blocked - but I will have to replace it. If the stuttering and switching off then persists, then he will replace the fuel pump. Is it expensive to replace a fuel pump? How much does a fuel filter cost to replace?
 
Fuel filter is at nost about R100 or R200 including labour....

Fuel pump will be a few thousand in cluding labour at the VERY least.
 
Niccia said:
Hello Frankie,

Yes, it is a reputable establishment. He said he cleaned out the petrol filter - it was blocked - but I will have to replace it. If the stuttering and switching off then persists, then he will replace the fuel pump. Is it expensive to replace a fuel pump? How much does a fuel filter cost to replace?
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Niccia, attempting to clean the fuel filter presents a considerable risk of contaminating the downstream equipment such as the injectors - I don't know of any reputable establishment that would do this - I would have a replacement filter in hand before removing the old/existing one.

I think that you should seriously consider taking your car to the dealers or at least to a modern fuel injection and engine management company.

I don't have the fuel filter or pump price on hand - the filters are not too expensive, but the pump sure is.
 
catweasel said:
Your car is 2 years old, how come you not getting VW to check it out?

Since your car has a turbo, I suspect a diverter valve needs to be replaced.
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I don't think the car is 2 years old... The exact quote was "I've had the car for about 2 years", which doesn't mean it was new.

I suspect is is a Golf 3 GTI. In the first post it was stated that the "distributor was changed". No Golf 4 or 5 GTI has a distributor.
 
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I haven't read any responses so pls correct me if I'm wrong.

The Bushes on the alternator could be the problem also. You having a GTI means it's fuel injected and works with an electronic fuel pump. Now the alternator generates power to charge the batery and run all these goodies at once. If othe bushes on the alternator is messed up it means it doesn't generate enough power to run all these items.

The car wil die and the power will cut out for a short burts of time. Then starts again, this will happen if the car is pushed rather hard as it will require more power. Like excelerating and what not.

You will also notice that it starts happening more frequent and then the battery will die on you needing to be replaced.

The bushes you can buy at a spare shop for about R 100 and it removes from the side of the alternatore with 2 screws. Take out the old replace with the new and your set.
 
Hi! I have e a golf estate 1.6 2001.I have followed this thread and have the same issue. I've replaced fuel filter, fuel pump, air mass sensor and crank sensor. The car just dies. I've check for spark( plenty). This happens when the car is up to normal operating temperature. I have had it plugged into the VAG previously and cleared all error codes prior to replacing the crank sensor. I'm going to plug the laptop again check for new error codes , but have been informed that it could be ignition or a cam sensor. It would be great to hear your opinions.
 
WaxLyrical said:
Pull out the dip stick and check if there's air shooting out.

Loss of compression will cause the vehicle to stall.
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Luckily I found the fault. The plug to the coil pack was not making proper contact.
 
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