VW MK3 No Spark, No fuel

[mr.wrightside]

Hi everyone, I've had this issue for a few days now and realise that it is a fairly common issue amongst VW's of my model VW Golf MK3 1997 5 door unleaded manual, 1.8L. As the title suggests, I get no spark and there is no fuel injector activating when I turn the ignition on and begin to crank. No check engine light. Hooked up VAG cable with VAG-COM software, it atttempts to test and gets no information out of it, (I've seen examples of how it's meant to look) and I have made sure that the K-wire issue is not present. I tested crank sensor (speed sensor) today via the ECU main plug through inputs 67&68, it gave me a resistance of 1213 OHM's, which I believe is almost double what it's suppose to be? I know that the crank sensor is a common culprit of this issue would like to know if it's most probably the issue?

I've read over 30 forums and hundreds of posts about this over the past few days and felt like it was time to get a bit of help in a more direct way.

Thank you for any help in advance!

[mr.wrightside]

Bump.

[gasketface]

Have you tried replacing relays number 30 and 167 ?.

[xionsolaris]

no spark or no fuel could indicate an ecu fault plus your getting no communication from vag com might suggest this aswell. I would check the wiring going to the ecu for any breaks and check the relays as below

[VW BUSH]

Has this just happened or has it been intermittent leading up to a dead stop?
Coil or crank sensor should not stop the pump priming (someone correct me if I'm wrong) just no spark on turnover.
If the ecu power relay has gone then this could cause everything to die (just done polo with the same fault)
I would start with the ecu relay as its only about £10 or $50,0000,000 Aus
Coil and crank sensors are about £60 upwards so worth checking the other relays mentioned first before plunging in...
Check the cable to the crank sensor, if its crumbly and cracked then it is goosed for sure, but MK3's tend to have a couple of things wrong with them which you only find when you start fixing them
I'm sure our forum sponsor could do good prices even posted to downunderland

Stating the obvious, hows the battery/alt?

[mr.wrightside]

Some replys!!!!!!! Thank you!!! 
30 and 167 (Fuel and ECM relays click when I turn on the ignition just once as they should) What are the chances of both going at the same  time.


ECU cables look fine, however the VAG-COM doesn't hook up and when I opened the rain trays to reveal the ECU it was wet. The ECU is now dry though and still same issue. Any other way to test the ECU to determine if it is out? Don't have any friends with GOLFs so can't swap ECU to test.

Crank sensor cables look good as well, not cracked or crumbling at all and points of connection look fine. Battery is 2 weeks old. Occasionally I'd park the golf, come back to the car (didn't really matter how long I left it for or how little) and it would not start immediately, so I'd wait for a few minutes and it'd start again. The coil itself looks ok too, no cracks on the case. First up, ECU relay swap it is!!

[mr.wrightside]

Tested ECM (ECU) relay #30, and it gave a resistance of just of 0.850 M OHM's. Tested on pins 85(Black-Negative) and 86(red-positive). What does this mean? Is it basically infinite?

[mr.wrightside]

PROBLEM SOLVED!!

Replaced relay #3 on board (#30 on actual relay). Car started immediately and fuel pump was heard when ignition was turned! Thank god, thanks guys!

Just for anyone whom has a similar issue, the relay didn't look burnt at all when I opened it, it in fact looked fine and clicked once as it should when I applied 12V battery to it, but sometimes it wouldn't click at all. Very odd. Loose wire perhaps.

Thanks again!~

[quincey]

Howdy gang,
Sorry to hijack the thread but I noticed that VW Bush mentioned to check the cable to the crank sensor to see if it is cracked or crumbly. Mine is and my mk3 8 valve gti won't turn over. At first I thought it was the starter motor but I replaced it yesterday and still nothings that's when I went searching and discovered the cable had gone to god.
Would this buggered cable be the reason it won't turn over?
Any help would be appreciated

[VW BUSH]

Howdy gang,
Sorry to hijack the thread but I noticed that VW Bush mentioned to check the cable to the crank sensor to see if it is cracked or crumbly. Mine is and my mk3 8 valve gti won't turn over. At first I thought it was the starter motor but I replaced it yesterday and still nothings that's when I went searching and discovered the cable had gone to god.
Would this buggered cable be the reason it won't turn over?
Any help would be appreciated

It does not turn at all or does crank but not catch?
First Check you have a spark.
Scan the car with a code reader, faulty crank sensor will come up if it is dead....
The coil will not show up on a scan and could also be your issue if it wont spark.
ECU relay could be goosed if it wont go.
Could also be snapped timing belt if it wont fire (you dont want this one)

Relay is cheapest at £11
Code reader is about £20
Crank sensor is about £65
Coil is about £65
Timing belt and tensioner is about £50, but you have likely buggered the head trying to turn it over
All the above is with you fitting it.

Check for a spark first and scan the car saves a lot of farting around in the long run