My VW rabbit, no spark, good coil, what could be the problem

[GS70350]

I have a 1982 volkswagon rabbit convertible with the 1.8 liter fuel injected engine and a 5 speed. It has electronic ignition, with an accell super stock coil(old one burned out and same price, so ..) new solid core ignition wires, new spark plugs, previous owner replaced distributor, cap, rotor. Problem is, i would be driving it and it would cut out all of a sudden and die. It had no spark, period. Then after sitting a while and me tugging on a few wires, it woudl have spark again and would start and drive for days and then i owuld accelerate quickly and bark the tires going into 2nd and 3rd gear and it would die again. now i cant get it to start at all. no spark period. any ideas?

thanks

 

[gn85]

Boy you like cars with round head lights.

I doubt this is comparable, but here I have an '84 Golf II (European version). It's not fuel injected, but I recently went through spark issues as well. I was having a sputtering problem that got worse as the winter went on. I replaced my coil as well. You said you have new wires and such, which sounds good. The previous owner replaced the cap and rotor?? Have you popped that open and taken a peak inside?? Perhaps with that super zoomy coil you have, the cap and rotor are catching hell now. It may sound real simple of a fix, but that was the problem with my car here.

 

[TurboMike]

I believe they used a cranksensor on that model. I know the Porsches do that year.

 

[GS70350]

checked the cap and rotor, both are good, no signs of arcing. im getting no spark from the coil, like its not energizing at all. i can hook it to the battery and make it energize and shock the shiznit out of my hand, but it wont energize by itself. Im wondering if there is some sort of saftey switch for oil pressure or something.
thanks

 

[GS70350]

ill look for a crank sensor, how might i check that? any other ideas

 

[pat83t]

OH I know..............

















It's a Volkswagen.


No seriously it sounds like a crank trigger, ignition module, or oil pressure sensor.

 

[BlackBandit]

Relays. You might have an ignition relay. My 80 Scirroco did.

 

[SuperSix]

Originally posted by GS70350
I have a 1982 volkswagon rabbit convertible with the 1.8 liter fuel injected engine and a 5 speed. It has electronic ignition, with an accell super stock coil(old one burned out and same price, so ..) new solid core ignition wires, new spark plugs, previous owner replaced distributor, cap, rotor. Problem is, i would be driving it and it would cut out all of a sudden and die. It had no spark, period. Then after sitting a while and me tugging on a few wires, it woudl have spark again and would start and drive for days and then i owuld accelerate quickly and bark the tires going into 2nd and 3rd gear and it would die again. now i cant get it to start at all. no spark period. any ideas?

thanks

I sent a link for this to my VW buddy - I'll let you know what he says!

 

[SuperSix]

Direct from my friend's mouth:

"This is probably the hall sender or the wiring going to it. The connectors corrode, especially on the old cars. Pull the harness that plugs into the sender and clean. The hall sender troubleshooting is in Bentley manual. Also clean the grounds and make sure good voltage getting to electronic ignition module. The module could be going bad, but doubtful."

Hope that helps,
Mark S.

 

[scottyb]

Having been there, I'd bet that there are many more VW enthusiasts than TR entusiasts (sp?). Aren't there some VW discussion boards? I'm not trying to be an ass, just giving a suggestion.

BTW, the wife and I both miss her 88 Cabriolet. Another victim of an idiot SUV driver, just weeks after I finished the complete restore. Now she's scared to drive a car, must be an SUV. (even tho they get totalled too )

 

[roz930]

I worked for a V.W. dealership late '80s. Guessing - hall effect switch, wires at ign. coil, or the ground wire in the harness at the back of the cylinder head - attatches to one of the two coolant housing bolts (the one w/the golf club shaped hose) - brown wire. Good Luck! I'd look at the wire first as the "pulling on it" and having it run makes some sense. John R.

 

[TurboJim]

Is the distributor spinning? 82, could have a broken timing belt. Or as mike said, a bad hall effect switch. Can check with an AC voltmeter.

 

[GS70350]

There may be VW discussion boards, but VW guys arent like buick guys, and those VW boards are either german boards or they dont tell you anything and wont help. I tried. where is the hall effect sensor located? i would guess the distributor, i replaced the distributor and all that was in it with a known good one and it didnt help. I replaced the ign. module, but ill check for voltage to it just in case. what if the ignition switch was not sending power to the module, im sure that could cause it. ill check, thanks again guys