Running problems !!

[nikkim53]

Hi, i'm having severe running problems with my 2.0 gti 8v.

Ever since i bought the car 6 months ago i noticed when accelerating there was a slight delay at 3000 rpm, after 3500 revs engine kicked in as normal - recently the problem has increased ten fold and she coughs and splutters her way up to 4500 rpm in every gear, making the drive near impossible and top speed of about 70mph !!

Over the past few months ive had the ignition coil pack replaced, new distributor cap, leads, spark plugs, fully serviced, i've had the compression checked (near perfect for an 11 year old car) but still the problem persists - if anything its getting 10 times worse !!

Anybody any ideas what and where i can check next ?? 

Thanks

[Len]

ECU relay!

[nikkim53]

Hello again Len, was thinking about the ECU but was also wondering if it had something to do with the timing ??

[Len]

The symptoms you describe are classic ECU relay ones!
its worth changing it anyway and its a bugger to detect as dont show up as a fault code!
Only costs about 12 quid and its one thing out the way!

If problems still persist then there are other routes to follow.
Oh and best bought from a main dealer.

[nikkim53]

Just ordered from dingbro here - £10 retail, will get it for £7.50 - well worth a try !!

Am i right in saying that the ecu relay also has some connection to the fuel system ??

[Len]

Well TBH it can be the Fuel relay as well but what you said sounded so much like my problem and mine was only the ECU relay (although I changed both)

[nikkim53]

Hope its something along those lines - driving to Manchester in a week - currently driving a 2.5 v6 alpha 156, would much prefer to get my motor bak on the road to save a sh!t load of money on fuel !!!!

I initially thought it was the pistons but the compression test came out near perfect.

So, if i change the ECU relay today and the problem persists, try the fuel relay also ??

[Len]

Yes.

Then its onto coil, temp sensor, air flow sensor etc. etc.

[nikkim53]

Great - well i'll let you know my findings later

[Len]

TBH I suspect your problems are worse than just the relays but I seem to remember you insisted its not a timing issue so this could the next step on a long road!