Starting Problems

[c3roberts]

Hey all, got a few starting problems with my 1989 mk1 gti cabrio.
In the mornings when i start her up it takes a while before she fires, sometimes it will fire and then stall a couple of times before starting. Once started the revs drop low and then speed up to about 850 and then its fine. If i drive for a while stop the engine for a few minutes and then start again it takes ages of cranking before she fires up, again may stall a few times before she runs ok.
Any body got any ideas. Cheers

[Phil303]

Hi,

I had similar 'issues' on my 89 Cabrio as well, especially the failure to start soon after stopping.

I'll just list what I did to solve it so you can tick off areas you know are fine with your car:

1) Starter motor was taken off and contacts cleaned up.
2) Earth points were cleaned of gunk and electrical connections on the battery were cleaned.
3) New distrubutor cap (had a hairline crack in mine and it was causing tracing)
4) New spark plugs (Bosch Super 4)
5) New high-quality HT leads
6) Ignition timing checked and worn vacuum hoses replaced - this was the worst culprit. According to the garage the ignition timing was so retarded they were surprised it started at all.

Once all these were done it starts fine every time and runs a lot better as well.

Good luck, hope this helps.