51 Plate GTi issues

[Glowstone]

Hi all,

I am new here and need some pointers on a friends Mk4 20v 2lt Turbo...

I am not unfamiliar with the spanners, so my friend asked me to sort out a few issues. The car had been left standing for some time and wouldnt start. When I got there it had 2volts on the battery, so I jumped it and took it for a long thrash up the motorway.

2 weeks later I returned to the car and it had 11.5v on the battery..a couple of failed cranks killed it again.

I tested for parasitic drain and found the car reading 0.08 amp WITHOUT the interior light fuse in..it dropped to 0.01 amp after that. So I pulled the interior bulbs and re-sat them and now its 0.02 amps....a bit better.

As it had been sat so long I gave to doors a good working, hoping to free up the door switches somewhat...I also cleaned up the heavily soiled battery terminals and re-greased..

A curious effect of all of this tinkering was that the starter motor began doing the classic VW "retracting noise"..it never did that before..

Other issues are:-

1. Tailgate wiring fraying and exposed
2. Rear passenger door pin wont work on the CL fob, but opens with the handle
3. Cig lighter fuse blown ( I suspect the previous owner tried getting a live off it as theres an after market radio installed with a crappy double fused wire going to the fuse box)
4. coolant leak above gear box  ( I found a soft squidgy hose joint as it goes into the block under the   matrix in/out....mixed with old oil deposits, only the smell was a give away to be coolant.)..it has the green type temp sender with no obvious weeping
5. PCCV hose to air intake was split and jointed with a bit of what looked like garden hose LOOL!

Any help or advice would be great..I am a filthy Vauxhall lover, so am not as sure about these cars...very nice to drive!

Kind regards

Martyn

[Mr_Orange]

Good luck. The perished hoses and frayed tailgate wiring are fairly typical.
Judging by the botches, looks like a previous owner was a bit of a wrong un. Garden hose ftw!
BTW, it's a 1.8 20v turbo, or 2.0 8v ;-)

[Glowstone]

Ahh cheers fella...woops I got it round the wrong way...yes its a 1.8 20v haha

Good to hear the coolant hose issue is a typical one, its learning all of these little querks

[barrym381]

Good luck. The perished hoses and frayed tailgate wiring are fairly typical.
Judging by the botches, looks like a previous owner was a bit of a wrong un. Garden hose ftw!
BTW, it's a 1.8 20v turbo, or 2.0 8v ;-)

20v t going by ops comment and the d/valve in picture 

[andy68]

Most of the PCV system hoses on these tend to leak now with the age of these cars, can be replaced with OEM or silicon ones from the likes of Creation Motorsport if it's a keeper.
Check Alternator charging properly,should be around 13/14 volts with engine running, if not time for a new battery.

[Glowstone]

@barrym381 do you mean the round item above/between the jubilee clips, the coolant hose thats really soft and squidgy is directly below that..

@andy68 the alternator is putting out 14.2v at cold idle, my friend says its a new battery but I have my doubts...mainly as I had battery issues for so long with my Astra, I am a bit sensitive to such things haha..
I went to the local battery supplier today to get it tested but it was very busy and I had no where to park...i work for a motorfactors, but we only have chargers/ volt meters, not amperage testing kit.

[barrym381]

no that's further back in picture but as said most of these pipes are probably needing replaced due to age 

[Bandit127]

If the battery had 2 volts then it is fecked. Anything less than about 12 means the plates are sulphated and it won't hold a charge. Ever again.

If the electronics get less than a full 12V they will start throwing up errors - even though the car is OK. ABS module, steering angle sensor, etc etc.

That won't sort the starter motor sticking on (mine does that now and then - no harm done so far) but it might give you a world of pain trying to track down warning lights on the dash.

Treat it to a new battery and reset all the codes using VCDS (or a cheap eBay reader) before you worry about lights on the dash.

[Glowstone]

See I thought that the battery being 2 volts was due to it drawing when engines off and it being sat not used for so long...

2 weeks later the battery was just under 12v..to me, I agree thats a f**d battery...I wonder if my friend was ripped off if told it was a "new battery"

anyone know what sort of standing draw this engine is safely going to take without draining the battery?

I swear the previous owner was a bit of a DIY'er as the puddle lights are gone and one bulb is missing....and the pikey black tape around the frayed boot wiring

[Bandit127]

A lead acid battery can drop down to about 6 or 7V under a very heavy short term load (starter motor) but it will not drop below about 12.1V under a draining type load if it is healthy. The current will cease before the volts give up. Leaving the lights on falls in to this category.

Under a very light current the voltage can drop to the point that the sulphur in the acid deposits itself on to the lead plates. Once that happens the battery is done. Car alarms draw the right amount of current to kill even a brand new battery given enough time. Normally a voltage reading of 11V or so means that the plates have sulphated. It does take a long time though.

I haven't seen a battery give up 2V. 9v or so when a cell (or two) was dead and 10.8V when the alarm had killed the battery are the lowest I have seen.