Mk2 Gti wont fire/crank over

[WhiteMk2Gti]

Tried to get the car going this morning and it just wouldnt crank over, checked all leads and wires to/from coil, all cleaned and dried but still wouldnt crank over, however, after about 10 mins it did, with serious white smoke out of the exhaust, and wouldnt idle so had to keep it at 2k revs for a few mins whilst it warmed up.

Could it just be as simple as water on the dizzy/coil/leads?

Is it now that i should give it a full service?

Any other ideas?

Oh, and decent VW in Wirral, Merseyside etc area,

Cheers

[golfmk4owner]

The mk2 is all abit new to me as ive only just got one to restore myself, but had this problem when my idle control valve switch had broken wires. Are the wires on the throttle body connected? They sometimes snap.
Also check connections to the cold start valve

[spankier]

If it wont crank then its to do with the starter (could be sticky- my capri one liked a good smack once a week to free it up) or possibly the ignition switch (you could smack that too but i have no idea if it will help!).

if it cranks but doesnt fire then its fuel or spark or a mixture of both, rollocking good service and checkover should cure it and is never a bad idea anyway, while you are there have a go at checking and cleaning the idle valve, im sure there will be a guide on hee somewhere.

*if its down to the idle valve then a touch of throttle would start it but it will struggle to tickover till its warm*