Re: AAAARGH! Starting/running problems in 88 Jetta GLI

EUREKA!

Okay, problem solved. I was indeed out of gas. The owner's manual that
came with the car said I had a 14 gallon gas tank. Apparently I have a
10 gallon gas tank. Calculations of gas mileage (from the digital
thingie on the dash) plus my odometer didin't pan out for 14 gallons.
Plus the gauge must be a little off. This was also confirmed when I
filled the remainder of the tank. Good to know.

So I bet it didn't run well because I must have soaked the sparkplugs
with what was left in the gas lines. I filled the tank with mid-grade
gas (at $3.44/gallon - ow), and it had been sitting about 30 hours. It
fired up pretty well, but fired on only 3 cylinders. I ordered new
spark plug wires ($200 -ow ow!) thinking they may be part of the
problem.

I drove it to work and back. When I went up some steep hills, it bucked
again. Pretty badly. It also got really hot, which I controlled by
turning on the defroster and with the heat and fans on (which is
AWESOME when it's 90 degrees out). I thought my feet were going to melt
onto the heater core. I made it back to the shop.

When I pulled plug wire 3, a splatter of oil came with it. The damn
plug hole had about 1/4 inch deep puddle of oil in it, and the plug
wire cap was cracked.

New plugs and wires fixed the symptoms for now. I'll have to watch that
plug hole and clean it every now and then until I can change the valve
cover gasket. The car runs like a dream now, and seems to no longer be
running hot. Just in time for the cool weather snap.

An interesting aside (just in case you didn't know): The plug wires are
in seemingly opposite order from what all the books at my mechanic's
shop say for this car. But they still fire 1-3-4-2. The reason, we
think, is that the rotor spins counterclockwise, not clockwise. Sheesh.

Thanks for your suggestions!
:)
Maxine


One out of many Daves wrote:
funny story time
I have a friend who was drilling a hole so she could hang a picture. Her
brother gave her his drill and 12" bit to use and she drill a hole all the
way through the house to the outside. She did have a frame house. We all
got a laugh out of that one.
So I had to ask to be sure! ;-)

Yours is the 16V engine right?

"Mad Maxine" <tildathetank@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1153711767.322559.50300@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nope. The brake booster is miles (well, inches) away from where I
drilled.

I checked my air intake boots and vacuum hoses this afternoon. Even
cleaned oil out of the venturi setup. It all looks good. I'm going to
try again tomorrow morning before work. When it's cooler out. And I'm
less cranky. And I have my wallet and can afford a tank of $3.29/gallon
gasoline.

:P
Maxine


One out of many Daves wrote:
you didn't drill a hole in your brake booster?


"Mad Maxine" <tildathetank@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1153669547.259686.73970@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The wiring harness connection I disconnected is a black, rectangular
double-sidded plug with about 16 tab-type connectors in it. This
connector clips to a little metal bracket just up behind the dash. I
think the computer is on the opposite side of the heater core. I had
the positive disconnected from the battery before beginning all this.

I'm also planning on checking the air intake boots for leaks. It got
late while I was working on the car, and I ran out of time at the shop
(and it was really freakin' hot for Seattle). I will go back today and
evaluate a bunch of stuff.

FYI: I don't know how to describe "breathy" other than it sounded like
the car lost back-pressure and kind of inhaled before it died.

Do I need to reset some kind of electronic gizmo?

Thanks,
Maxine

Jonny wrote:
"Mad Maxine" <tildathetank@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1153626947.244192.258700@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Okay. I'm now having some starting/running issues. I noticed last
night
a little sputter while I was driving. I noticed another this morning
on
a short but steepish incline.

Then, I replaced my clutch/brake pedal bracket. In the process I
disconnected dashboard wiring, removed the air duct behind the
steering
wheel, pulled two relays that were in the way, and disconnected the
plugs of a large wiring harness located near the heater core. I put
everything back together.

I started the car, and it ran fine for about two or three minutes
while
I adjusted the clutch cable. Then, I backed out and drove around the
lot a bit, and it died on me, kind of breathily. I got it started,
it
ran poorly, I parked it, it died. My first thought was that, the
clutch
needed some adjustment. So I did that, put the car in neutral, and
tried to start it again (on a slight incline). It just cranked and
cranked, but no start. I disconnected the ignition control unit for
a
few minutes, then plugged it back in. It started again, but died.

I thought maybe I ran it out of gas, which could explain the
previous
sputters. I added a gallon. It started up again. I thought it was
good,
then I tried to drive it around the lot again. It acted up, got
breathy, and quit. I started it successfully again, put in neutral
and
gave it gas. It was sputtery and back fired a couple of times. Once
really loudly, and a white puff of smoke issued from the front of
the
car near the air intake.

Are these symptoms of not having enough gas or running the car out
of
gas? Did I screw something up by unplugging things? Everything else
(lights, radio, wipers, etc.) work.

Help!

Maxine


Only wiring big wiring harness near the heater core in same year Fox
is
to
the computer/black box. Car will run very poorly or not at all if not
connected properly. The ground of the battery should be disconnected
first
prior to connecting or disconnecting this wiring harness.
--
Jonny



.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Amtrak Horror
    ... The London suburbs grew uo ... > Similar suburbs do just fine in Britain where Gas is already $6 per gallon ... >> employer about liberalizing their car pooling policies with respect to ... the 33% annual oil price hikes of the last two years ...
    (rec.travel.usa-canada)
  • Re: Serial Electric Hybrid (Re: The Financial Crisis is much worse than you think....)
    ... with a gas engine when that runs out. ... I run down after X miles (my current car has about a 340 mile range, and I often come close to that range in various circumstances, and they're not offering that range) and I need to continue on; let's say I want to recharge in 2 minutes, like I can with my gas car. ... Recharging the battery uses a lot less fuel than driving the car, so you're still getting much better mileage, until you can stop and plug in for a while. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.written)
  • Coal Challenging Gas as Power Plant Fuel
    ... natural gas as the fuel of choice for new power plants. ... "The role of natural gas role in power generation is not a slam ... As each coal car reached the top of the incline, ...
    (comp.dcom.telecom)
  • Re: Thousands Of GM Workers Get Company Cars, Gas
    ... Thousands Of GM Workers Get Company Cars, Gas ... GM's car program is a great deal. ... Rob Kleinbaum participated in it when he was a global strategist at GM ... Kleinbaum says the perk prevents GM employees from fully understanding ...
    (soc.retirement)
  • Re: Vent Plug: When To Close?
    ... the best time to close them is at home when loading up the car. ... Closing vent plugs before the trip will result in a little ... We also bought a used Realwind board from Realwind, and Laury told us to be ... sure to keep the vent plug out when the board was not in use. ...
    (rec.windsurfing)
Loading