Golf Gti mk3 8v - Suddenly won't start! : (

[robotmatt]

Hello

Having a prob with my Gti! 

Drove it at lunch fine, was running sweet, went to drive home from work several hours later and wouldn't start!

Car starter motor is fine, immobilizer is ok, Spark is good, Fuel flows to the ignition system okay.

Blocking the air managed to get the car to start and run for a few seconds. Thought the Air Sensor might not be working, disconnected and reconnected it (apparently it can then reset itself) though no good. Also heard a 'click' when ignition turned on which would indicate it's working...

Now im stumped

Anyone got any ideas before I have to call for help??

[justalex81]

will it run if you put the power down when starting?

[robotmatt]

sadly not

[Mikester]

Coilpack i reckon.

How many times does it spark when you earth a plug on the block?

The coilpacks are so bad the AA have them onboard as standard.

Either that or ignition switch.

[robz]

as above??
also are you getting a spark from all the plugs...
tbh it sounds like coil pack on its way out - mine did this intermittant pissing around not starting thing!!

[Wycombe83]

Coilpack i reckon.

How many times does it spark when you earth a plug on the block?

The coilpacks are so bad the AA have them onboard as standard.

Either that or ignition switch.

So do the RAC, when mine wouldn't start in Halfords car park, one of the first things the patrolman did was swap it to see if it made any difference (which it didn't).

[robz]

i thought they kept the polo one on board..?
it works on the gti but not quite well enough and got really hot really quickly!
(he put it on to get me down the road cos i didnt want to pay £70 for it, so went to scrappy!)

[Mikester]

Possibly the same one.

In the 90's VW were skint and not doing that well, so they made cheap parts, and cheap motors (mk3's and 6n polos) lol

[robz]

yeah...
gf had a 6n and it was the same one...
looks like a black box sandwiched between two metal plates, whereas the gti one has coolant vents on it!
but i think as you say they are inter-changeable!

/off topic, so what your saying is the cheap crap we drive helped vw through a tough time,, cant be that bad then, lol...
new mk3 argument??

[Mikester]

it is essentially true, thats why a lot of mk3 parts are actually mk2 parts, until they upgraded on the later mk3s etc.