Scirocco GT2 1990 Starting Problems

[willgt290]

I have a 1990 Scirocco GT2, 1.8, standard carb, no mods.

The past few weeks it has been a sporadic starter, preferring to kick up on warm or dry days. On wet or cold days its a no go.

It has had a new starter motor recently as it was grinding when i turned the key. This solved the noise but hasn't helped the sporadic starting.

I had been using it all spring and summer but left it standing in September and it has been troublesome since then. Are some of the components simply damp and need drying/cleaning to solve the problem?

[macmillions]

Might be worth checking your dizzy cap/rotor arm and check the contacts aren't rusted.

Does the car turn over?

[willgt290]

It turns over yeah. Will check what you suggested

[macmillions]

I forgot to add, the coil may also be worth changing too. If it's old there could be a chance its starting to break down in the cold, wet mornings.

[willgt290]

Do you happen to know if this model has an ignition switch unit? If so, whereabouts is it?

Going to check the areas you suggested and also probably change the plugs.

[steve pas]

I think the ignition control unit you are talking about is located in the rain tray on the passenger side.

[willgt290]

Thanks for that info Steve.

The car was sorted out a few weeks back and is running fine now. The explanation for the problem is a bit of a weird one:

Basically, the HT Leads were attached to the dizzy cap in the incorrect order. The weird thing is, the mechanic couldn't understand why it had been working at all, let alone sporadically. He reckoned it shouldn't have been able to start!

Also, the rotor arm had pretty much burnt out.

[steve pas]

Well done, glad to hear you got it sorted.

Just shows what good taste in cars you've got,
the plug leads can be in the wrong order and it still runs!

(mine's a 87 gtx)