Golf Mk3 Problems and answers...

[Cragus]

Hey all, i've just registered and thought i'd share a few problems and solutions i've had with my labour of love mk3

Firstly i had a problem with the revs falling at idle and even cutting out when driving ( at junctions etc ) after crawling around it was finally put down to a shot Idle Control Valve which had burnt itself out due to a worn Rotor Arm which in turn was worn by a wrongly sized Distributor Cap fitted by the nob-jockey in Milton Keynes i bought it off ( thnx moron)
A new valve,dizzy cap and rotor arm sorted all rev related probs out.

Then one morning it refused to start altogether so was towed to my garage to diagnose a bad Fuel Relay earth (which is common on mk3's apparently), so bad in fact that it arced and blew out the connection on the fusebox prompting me to aquire a new fusebox and have it re-wired up with new earth connection.

All was good then had it serviced etc.
Now recently i have noticed a judder under acceleration which initially i put down to damp as i drove through a flood but now starting from cold has been a bitch and the judder just shouldnt be there after the service and all that so i popped the bonnet and cranked it up.
Lo and behold when it fired up and then idled poorly (seemed to misfire and "skip") i could hear a "clicking" noise. On further inspection under the wiper assembly i saw that the ignition coil was arcing on something which in turn was affecting the firing rate giving the poor idle and running of the engine (which i should add would splutter under acceleration at about 3000-5000 revs). I presume that there is a crack in the housing of the offending coil.

So i've just ordered a new coil and will fit it as soon as it gets here ( £40 p+p Ebay ) and post on this thread how i get on.

Hope this clears a few queries up as i've searched on this forum at every problem i've had so far and answers are scattered everywhere so thought i'd stick em all together

[herby0001]

Nice tips.

[kjopen]

Good write up. I've got one of these faults; the fuel relay earth! How big a job was fitting the new fuse/relay box? I've pulled mine down to inspect it but am concerned about the tons of connections and wires.... I am tempted to split the box to see if I can find the bad earth inside. By the way, how much did your new box cost and where did you get it?

For any other members, I've posted my fault as 'Fuel Pump relay bad earth' - just incase someone wonders what error it gives me.

[Cragus]

Lol just anwered most of this in ur previous post! I took it to my local garage as i didnt know it was the earth at the time m8. A fusebox (secondhand) cost me £20 from MidlandVW in Norton Canes, Cannock (01543 495700) and fitting and rewiring came to £80 but that was top line i think. Good Luck

[kjopen]

Many thanks for both replies!

Problem is, I'm in Vancouver, B.C. so parts and labour are a fortune here! Plus the vw's here are made in Mexico - need I say more?

I'll check on ebay and see what I can get hold of. I am more than cabable of fitting it myself.

I am a Brit by the way (a Manc) and moved to Canada two years ago - I miss lots of things like the ease of scrapyards etc! But wouldn't move back to Britain even if I was paid!

[Cragus]

Well i fitted my new ignition coil and problem solved!
No more dodgy misfires and power losses
Easy job too i just undid the 2 bolts holding the old coil to the backwall of the bay and pulled it away, the refitted the new one replacing the earth cable to one of the bolts and tightened it up.

To do it tho you have to take the wiper arms off then take up the passenger side trim under the windshield to get to the nuts on the other side of the wall the coils attatched to. DONT LOSE THE NUTS!! You may need to replace the origional bolts with shorter ones as the new coils have a plate which the bolts go thru instead of goin thru the body like the standars coils. Then plug it back in and make sure the bolts are tight and away u go!
Easy Peasy!

[bendeneo]

Hi Cragus,

Nicely done, can I ask you how you located and replaced the idle control valve please? I am having problems finding an answer to this and any help much appreciated!

Regards,

Bendeneo

[Cragus]

Hi! Yeah sure here is a diagram showing the Idle Control Valve. It is held by 2 star drive screws ( star drive screw-drivers can be found on e-bay reletiveley cheap )

[golfmkthree]

hi all

sorry this is a bit off the subject, just wondering if the air filter and induction system photographed here is standard or is it a performance part, looks better than my big paper filter airbox?

[Cragus]

hi all

sorry this is a bit off the subject, just wondering if the air filter and induction system photographed here is standard or is it a performance part, looks better than my big paper filter airbox?

Hi mate ye its a cheapo ebay performance ait filter kit fitted before I bought the car.
K&N are better in the long run.