engine cutting out

golfdiva

Hi everybody

I have just bought a 1996 1.4cc Golf from a private seller.

Now the car has started to cut out when I come to a stop whilst driving , especially while coasting
This happens even when the engine is hot and been driven for a while

Has anybody any ideas/experience of whats causing this problem

Could it have anything to do with it being well overdue a service?

Thanx everbody

ibanez

Idle speed control valve or stepper motor.

junkyard

I know that if the 98 on Golf is down on oil, as they burn oil anyway, they cut out and the engine runs a bit rougher as a result. It might be worth dipping it for oil. Hope this is of some help.

AMurphy

Apart from checking the Ignition, plugs, points, wires, etc are all up to spec.

96, 10 years old, how many miles on it and how many miles on the O2 sensor?.

I'd got for the idle or auto idle control system.

I'll assume this is a EFI car with such in the first place.
You could try cleaning the throttle body and AIS port with carburettor cleaner and a toothbrush, see if it improves any.

Also, EGR valve, if you have one, are notorious for stalling engines at idle, if sticking open for any reason.
Easy to check then though. Disconnect any wires and vacuum to them for a day.

golfdiva

AMurphy wrote:

96, 10 years old, how many miles on it and how many miles on the O2 sensor?

There is 136k miles on it , I 'm not to sure what an O2 sensor is

AMurphy

Time you learned then, Google o2 or lambda sensor. same for EGR system.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/search.php?search=lambda%20sensor&fr=ch

Meanwhile, ask the prefious owners if they ever changed it. 136K is the high end for an o2 sensor. Usual life is about 60K±30K.

HotRodDub

I would agree with the above and say it is most likely the throttle body. It gets clogged up with grime and doesnt open and close properly.

The VW garages like to call this the Venturi. They cleaned the 'venturi' as part of the service a couple of years back on my wifes 1999 1.4 Golf (this is before we stopped going to VW), and after seeing this on the service invoice I decided to investigate what a 'venturi' was, so now I clean out the venturi, I mean throttle body, about every six months. It drives like a new car after this is done. It never died out when idle, but it just never idled very well.

If you dont know what a throttle body is, google it or buy a Haynes manual for the car, cleaning this will pay for the manual on its own.

Hopefully this is your problem, its a very easy and cheap thing to fix. A bottle of throttle body cleaner or similar and a good few sheets of kitchen paper!!

AMurphy

I suppose they meant "Venturi", Technicaly, it does not have one, more a Carburettor term.
Now, did the same people work on the "Whales", as in the Steering "whale", and rotating the "whales" under the car and the spare "whale".

And fix the "vipers", the "vindscreen vipers".

Or put "grace" in your CV joints, makes them much holier I'd suspect.

and/or did they put "Dextron" in your transmission, actually "Dexron" if used at all.

HotRodDub

AMurphy wrote:

I suppose they meant "Venturi", Technicaly, it does not have one, more a Carburettor term.
Now, did the same people work on the "Whales", as in the Steering "whale", and rotating the "whales" under the car and the spare "whale".

And fix the "vipers", the "vindscreen vipers".

Or put "grace" in your CV joints, makes them much holier I'd suspect.

and/or did they put "Dextron" in your transmission, actually "Dexron" if used at all.

spelling corrected....well done

AMurphy

No, no, I'm not pointing or poking at your spelling, given my usual std of spelling that would be worese than "the kettle calling the pot black". Just spelling some additional "car" words as I have heard them pronounced in various parts.

You're familiar with the joke?
Foreman asks worker, "Where's your mate". Answer, "I ate it sur"

golfdiva

thanx for all your advise guys

Its all running smoothly now , a friend of mine sprayed the top of the carburettor with cleaner and gave it a wipe of a cloth. Its even ticking over alot smoother now.
And it only took bout 2mins and it makes such a difference

MercMad

thanx for all your advise guys

Its all running smoothly now , a friend of mine sprayed the top of the carburettor with cleaner and gave it a wipe of a cloth. Its even ticking over alot smoother now.
And it only took bout 2mins and it makes such a difference

................no he didn't !!

Like rabbits into a trap !

Your Golf doesn't have a carburettor !

It has fuel injection...................this is kinda what the lads were pointing out to you !

golfdiva

Okay has you probably have guessed I dont know alot about engines or there workings.
After removing the cover he sprayed this pipe thingy with carburettor spray and wiped it with a cloth.
I thought it was the carburettor but must obviously be something else

johnnyrotten

DIRTY THROTTLE BODY!
I had the same problem
Sooty Carbon deposits itself in the throttle body and the throttle flap sticks causing the problems you explained