Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out what I've been doing and comment.

738 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by Lexi, Jun 30, 2003

Lexi

Discussion Starter · Jun 29, 2003

I'm going a bit nuts here so work with me. The other week my VR wouldn't catch. Cranked just fine but that's it. I replaced the fuel pump relay and it eventually started. However, there have been a couple of times where it wouldn't catch since then. I did a couple of different things : pulled the relay and re-installed. Pulled the relay and used a jumper wire to start then reinstall relay. It did it again yesterday which has made me think the original relay wasn't necessarily the issue. Last night I put the original relay in and started the car.

Well this morning the friggin thing won't catch again. Put the new relay in and no, used the jumper to manually turn on the fuel pump and no. I can hear the fuel pump running just fine so that's not it. I've now turned my attention to the motor and electronics.
I pulled #6 plug and checked for spark, no. Pulled another wire and nothing either. Working with my Bentley I've moved on to testing the coilpack. This coilpack had cracked [ and arched like hell ] previously and I epoxied the snot out of it and its worked fine ever since. Following the Bentley I've :
1] Disconnected the 5 pin harness connector to the coil pack
2] Verifed voltage is present using both a test light adn a mulitmeter [ 12.5 v ]
3. Removed fuse 18
4. Connected test light [ manual calls for LED test light. mine is just a bulb - Does this make any difference ? Make a connection from terminal 5 to terminal 2. Crank motor and see if the light flashes.
Well it doesn't . And it doesn't for terminal 3 or 4 either. At this point they say to check the wiring between the coil and the ECM connector. How do I do that ?
I'm leaning towards this being a mechanial problem adn not electrical since it is [ or at least was ] intermittant. The only thing I've done in the past month near the motor was test mount my eibach strut bar. It has round feet that go around the shock towers and they were pushing on the wiring harness that leads out from the ECM by the firewall. Is it possible I've cracked an old wire and its causing me all these problems ? And, how do you test for all that ?

Modified by Lexi at 7:43 PM 6-29-2003

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loblu16v

· #2 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out what I've been doi ... (Lexi)

sounds like the typical ignition switch ghost check for power 2 the coil not only with the key on but also while cranking

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dancdas

· #3 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (loblu16v)

the magic words.
Engine coolant temperature sensor.
its my best guess. i'd pick on up and install it, there not to expensive defently worth a try.

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Lexi

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (dancdas)

sounds like the typical ignition switch ghost check for power 2 the coil not only with the key on but also while cranking
Now how would I do that ? Pins 5 / 1 are the + & - , should I attache the test light to those and see if the light stays on while I crank ? If not , then what do I do ?

Quote, originally posted by dancdas »

the magic words.
Engine coolant temperature sensor.
its my best guess. i'd pick on up and install it, there not to expensive defently worth a try.

And why would this stop the car from starting ? Where is it located ?
Thanks ! Keep them coming

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Eric D

· #5 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (Lexi)

Check your crank trigger sensor. The way it sits in the block can allow water or moisture to pool in the plugs terminals. This part runs about $30-50.

Good luck!

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VRpoweredA2

· #6 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (Eric D)

I 2nd Eric D.

I had the same problems...sucked trying to figure it out. would just crank and crank and crank..nohting..replaced it..started purring as soon as i cranked it over. http://****************.com/smile/emthup.gif

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loblu16v

· #7 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (VRpoweredA2)

test from the coil + to battery ground and you should have power wile cranking and key on check from bat + to coil- to test the crank trigger(shoud flash while cranking). the crank trigger will usually set a cel thats why I suspect the ign switch, but check for codes with the vag-com regardless, it'll give you a good clue as to what it could be.

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Lexi

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 30, 2003

Re: Going a little ape with VR that wont start [ again ] , check out wha ... (loblu16v)

Went out and started the car this morning successfully. All I did was pull the relay for the fuel pump and install my jumper wire. Pulled that off and put the new relay back in and its running. This is really annoying as I know there is another reason the car wouldn't start all yesterday. Add to that its making a loud[er] ticking noise that seems to come from near the headers. I did go for a good long run down the highway on Sat at a rather high speed but my oil is full and its approaching 5000km's [ synthetic ] so its not that old.
I'm going to take it in to the shop now that its running on its own power and hopefully they'll diagnose what the problem is. LIke I said, this has to be something physical as its an intermittant problem. Goes to show my coil pack does work along with everythign else. I'm wondering if there's a pinched little wire somewhere that makes/breaks connection every so often. And if that's the case, why on earth does putting a jumper to the fuel relay solve the problme 99% of the time ??????????
As much as I love this car its these little things that irritate the crap out of me !!

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