1.4 Golf - Lazy starting

R

Ralph

Petrolheads
I bought myself a 99 1.4 Golf to fill in the hole left by my legacy :icon_cry:
Anyway, i test drove it and it's fine but I went to start it this morning and it was a bit lazy. It will turn over and then just die unless I put the shoe in a little. It'll start and puff out some smoke and then run fine. I'm thinking it might just need a good long drive to get it hot and burn any crap out of the exhaust system?

Anyone any ideas/suggestions?

PS: I miss turbo power :icon_cry:
 
more than likely the throttle body and intake system are gunged up.clean throttle body out and see if that helps. :thumbsup:
 
hi rob,
common prob is the throttle body fouls up with sh1t on that model....
get derek to take the body off and wash out with carb cleaner and a toothbrush!!!
half hour job in all!!!
 
Cheers lads, much appreciated! :thumbsup:

I'll go at that now so, hope I've carb cleaner now! :pray: I'll let you know how I get on!

Karma pour vous :clap:
 
Right did that but while I was at it I noticed some yellow "gunk" in around the throttle body and also in the breeder pipe. Does anyone know what the yellow stuff is?? :icon_hang:
 
them 1.4 golfs give ALOT of trouble,

the 1.6 an 2.0l were better.

you may have :icon_hang: yourself on this one.

p.s when did you sell the barney car??
 
its a mixture of oil and moisture rob!!!!
thats what oil catch cans remove from the engine breather system!!!
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

ps.get the timing belts checked coz they break regular!!!
 
Thanks again Marko, would this be caused by the car sitting idle for a while? The belts were done at 105000 and there is 130000 on it it now so I reckon they'll be ok.
 
ye the breather box is probly blocked, along with the pipe that runs up to the air box, and the temp sensors give trouble on them as well
 
make sure the water pump was done too when belts were done.
where that crank breather rubber hose connects to the air box gets full off yellow gunge.remove the air box cover and blow an air line through the hole where the rubber hose connects to.lots of yellow gunge should come out of it.
you may also need to do basic settings on the throttle body if the idle is eratic.
if you need more help let me know. i eat,breathe and sleep these lovely german quality cars!!! :dontknow:
 
Thanks lads!
I'll check the breather box tomorrow Noel, thanks :thumbsup:
Idle is grand Graham but thanks, I may need future help. I miss Japanese cars! :icon_cry:
 
Had a 1.4 bora (same engine) , box of shi***, had to replace throttle body, temp sensor, light switch -all common problems, very well known for rivets to come loose inside the gearbox and burst through the bell housing and destroy the box. Stick with the japs :thumbsup:
 
Right, I've cleaned the throttle body and associated bits, cleaned out the breeder box and pipe and its still. I've a potential buyer coming at the weekend so if i sells I don't want a phone call next morning saying it won't start. I checked the voltage across the battery and it was 12.05V. Anyone any other ideas? All help much appreciated :thumbsup:
 
That was with the engine off and sitting since about 3pm yesterday till 11am this morning. I don't think so, its the original radio in it and the alarm is off.
 
I had a similar problem on the sister-in-laws polo.
Full fo gunk, cleaned that out, still wouldn't start. Changed the distrubitor cap
and its running fine now(thank god!) Might be worth a short. Got a good cap for €10
from the breakers.
 
[quote author=Rob link=topic=18632.msg234088#msg234088 date=1257343698]
That was with the engine off and sitting since about 3pm yesterday till 11am this morning. I don't think so, its the original radio in it and the alarm is off.
[/quote]

the battery may be weak so.fire it up and stick the lights on and the rear demister. check the voltage of the battery while the engine is running.
voltage should be from 13.8 to 14.4 volts under load (i.e. lights on/demister on)
if its not the,alternator is not charging correctly,which could be causing the battery to drain while its running.
if the alternator is ok and you reckon the battery is fine,id double check for a drain off.ive seen loads of them like that with alarms off,no phone kit etc etc and they still drain the battery. :thumbsup:
 
I checked the battery while running with the lights on and the demister on, read about 12.3V
I also changed the coolant temp sensor, didn't seem to make any difference. :wall:
@Graham, you mentioned before about the basic settings on the throtte body for the idle, the car seems to idle a bit low, how can I adjust that?
 
12.3v is too low should be 14v or slightly more.
basic settings is done by a vw computer.not sure if anybody on here has a vw diag computer,if you want to pop out to me at lunch some day ill do it for you,only takes 2minutes to do.or i can bring it home some evening.
 
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