86 cabrio starting problem

[bladerunner]

I,m sure its been covered before,but have patience and try and offer some advice please, here goes, my 86 gti cab has,nt been started for around 8 months, though it started and ran fine then, I had to fit a new battery and put some fuel in,now it turns over ok but wont fire up, I removed the plugs and its sparking ok but I could,nt smell any petrol fumes from the plug holes,  the fuel pump runs for a second after cranking and the relay can be heard also, I had a fuel pump/accumulater problem a couple of years ago and I,m wondering if this is the fault again ?, any help appreciated. cheers.

[golfvr6]

You might have a blocked fuel line, how long have you tried cranking over ?

[bladerunner]

Thanks for the reply, as it was a new battery I cranked it over for quite a while, then took all the plugs out and cranked it over again on and off for a while, when I had the pump problem a couple of years ago I cleaned out the tank,though it was,nt a new pump that I fitted then, I was just hopeing someone could offer some tips before I have to roll around underneath it again

[bladerunner]

Any other ideas, before I start pulling it to bits and chucking money at it

[golfvr6]

Theres another thread on here somewhere about this, do a search. Are you getting fuel to the engine? try taking the fuel lines off from the pump, see if there is a blockage. Is the fuel pump buzzing with the ignition on?

[bladerunner]

Cheers for the advice, I think I saw the thread you mean, it had an link to a very informative site with info about the K-jet set up, I am going to bypass the fuel pump relay and see if that helps, and also disconnect the fuel supply just before the fuel filter to see if i have fuel that far, watch this space I will let you know how I get on.

[bladerunner]

Did,nt have much time today but took the fuel supply hose off the fuel filter and cranked it over, and nothing came through,so I guess I will work my way back to the accumulater and fuel pump, the pump appears to be running while turning the engine over, maybe its the lift pump ?.

[golfvr6]

Someone on here said there was a small filter in the pump that gets full of crap. Send a message to richandhazel, he will be able to tell you.

[richandhazel]

Yep that was me golfvr6.
There should be an inlet strainer on the fuel pump..........first line of defense from crud in the tank........might well be blocked.

[bladerunner]

Hi richandhazel, at the risk of boring you all I will give you a little background regarding my cab, I bought it as a non running project about 3 years ago, prior to owning it I,ve had around 7 or 8 mk1 GTI,s and always fancied a cabrio, anyway I did everything it needed including another fuel pump,accumulater,filter and metering head, cleaned out the fuel tank, replaced the filler neck and it started and ran fine,though I never actually put it on the road, then I got busy doing other things and lost interest in this car, though I used to start it every 3 months or so. anyway I decided to put it on the road a couple of weeks ago, and thats when the problem surfaced, I.m guessing its fuel pump related but I dont fancy buying a new one unless I have to. and a used  one is going to be at least 10 years old.