Mk1 1.4i losing power

[nick]

Can you hear the fuel pump prime when its battling to start?

[Phat B - WP]

I was in too much of a hurry and only realised afterwards that I should've listened out for that. Crap!

[Phat B - WP]

It happened twice on the same day this weekend. I could hear the fuel pump prime tough...

[pluto]

You need to re-align the TB once all codes are clear , also try to re-align once the engine had hit normal operating temp

[nick]

Throttlebody adapts perfectly, cleared all codes but idle limit exceeded continously pops up. The car did the losing power thing while we were testing, the VAG picked up nothing. Car starts almost idles then dies. We crimped the return pipe from the rail and it started and rev'd. Then randomly it started up without the crimping and we were off again.

Weirdly enough after that the MAP sensor stopped working, short to ground errors on the temp + press sensor. Wiggled the plug and it came back to life, must just be a dodgey connection.

So, fuel pump? or crack in fuel rail?

[Phat B - WP]

Big thanks to Nick and JP for the help last night.

Apart from the issues last night, this morning the car is struggling to pull under acceleration.

[panic-mechanic]

It's really easy to test. Install a fuel pressure gauge. take the vacuum hose from the manifold off and it must be steady at 3 bar. If not - well either the rail is cracked or the pump is going. Check the rail by pulling out the FRP and pull on that centre pipe - if that is loose well then the fuel rail is kaput.

[Fli]

When you guys find out what's wrong let me know since this is the 3rd citi that i've heard of doing it including mine for the week.
mine sounds like a tractor or a 1600 beetle.

[Killerwatt]

It may just be your fuel pressure regulator. It could be that its not bringing the fuel pressure in the rail back down after you use full throttle. Do the fuel pressure test like panic said and the plug the vacuum line back in and make sure the fuel pressure drops to about 2.2ish bar(someone correct me here).

[Phat B - WP]

Quote for fuel pump @ Barons = R2349.00 including VAT.

[pluto]

Throttlebody adapts perfectly, cleared all codes but idle limit exceeded continously pops up. The car did the losing power thing while we were testing, the VAG picked up nothing. Car starts almost idles then dies. We crimped the return pipe from the rail and it started and rev'd. Then randomly it started up without the crimping and we were off again.

Weirdly enough after that the MAP sensor stopped working, short to ground errors on the temp + press sensor. Wiggled the plug and it came back to life, must just be a dodgey connection.

So, fuel pump? or crack in fuel rail?

What does field 4 in block 98 say whilst the engine is running ?

[nick]

Throttlebody adapts perfectly, cleared all codes but idle limit exceeded continously pops up. The car did the losing power thing while we were testing, the VAG picked up nothing. Car starts almost idles then dies. We crimped the return pipe from the rail and it started and rev'd. Then randomly it started up without the crimping and we were off again.

Weirdly enough after that the MAP sensor stopped working, short to ground errors on the temp + press sensor. Wiggled the plug and it came back to life, must just be a dodgey connection.

So, fuel pump? or crack in fuel rail?

What does field 4 in block 98 say whilst the engine is running ?

Will have to rerun and log that block and see

[Phat B - WP]

I found a pump at a reasonable price. Should I just replace my pump?

This thing's just spacing me out!

[panic-mechanic]

Fault finding by parts replacement again....

[Killerwatt]

Fault finding by parts replacement again....

But its soooo much easier. That way you dont have to take up your time by testing to find out what is actually broken. Id replace the entire motor just to be safe.

[Phat B - WP]

Fault finding by parts replacement again....

Problem is I hardly managed to get to work with the car this morning. I don't have the technical know-how to do what you suggested and getting it to someone will take time, which I don't have.

What am I suppose to do?

[pluto]

Throttlebody adapts perfectly, cleared all codes but idle limit exceeded continously pops up. The car did the losing power thing while we were testing, the VAG picked up nothing. Car starts almost idles then dies. We crimped the return pipe from the rail and it started and rev'd. Then randomly it started up without the crimping and we were off again.

Weirdly enough after that the MAP sensor stopped working, short to ground errors on the temp + press sensor. Wiggled the plug and it came back to life, must just be a dodgey connection.

So, fuel pump? or crack in fuel rail?

What does field 4 in block 98 say whilst the engine is running ?

Will have to rerun and log that block and see

I ask this coz if you have "idle adaption limit exceeded" continually coming up , the TB adaption wont be sucessful .

At the OP , I suggest you get a mate with an mp9 fueled car and swop items one at a time to find the issue. It's the only way unless you know exactly what to look for . Often very difficult to diagnose by remote

[nick]

I ask this coz if you have "idle adaption limit exceeded" continually coming up , the TB adaption wont be sucessful .

At the OP , I suggest you get a mate with an mp9 fueled car and swop items one at a time to find the issue. It's the only way unless you know exactly what to look for . Often very difficult to diagnose by remote

Ran the adaption and got ADAPT OK, car idles perfectly at around 840-860rpm never dips or revs up. My car gives the same error but I always assumed it was just because of the cam.

[Phat B - WP]

@ Nick: Where do you suggest we go from here?

[nick]

@ Nick: Where do you suggest we go from here?

First prize is testing your current pump when it does the no-starting thing, second prize is finding someone with an mp9 pump that you can test for a day or two. I would be fairly bleak spending R1k on a new pump and it still did the same thing.

[Phat B - WP]

@ Nick: Where do you suggest we go from here?

First prize is testing your current pump when it does the no-starting thing, second prize is finding someone with an mp9 pump that you can test for a day or two. I would be fairly bleak spending R1k on a new pump and it still did the same thing.

Problem is, where will I find someone with an mp9 pump that I can test for a day or two? Can it be something besides the fuel pump or fuel rail?

[pluto]

not for a day or two , you just need it for a few minutes

You can also simply diconnect the discharge line from the pump into a bucket and prime the pump by turning the ignition on , check the amount of fuel - it's got to be a stong stream coming out for at least 3 seconds or so

[Phat B - WP]

So this morning I pop in the immobiliser, but when I switched the car on everything died. Radio, fan, lights, etc all dead. Clock resets to 00:00. Wait a couple of minutes, immobiliser again, switch car on but only the oil light is faintly on. After a couple of minutes everything springs back to life and off I go.

This is getting ridiculous!

[Killerwatt]

that sounds like a loose electrical connection now. Check battery conections, earth to block as well as positive on the stater solenoid.

[Phat B - WP]

that sounds like a loose electrical connection now. Check battery conections, earth to block as well as positive on the stater solenoid.

I've checked the battery connections, earth and positive on the starter - all seems tip/top. Must be something else. Car came out with a factory alarm but the previous owner also had an immobiliser fitted.

Any ideas?