1993 polo starting problems

-Mike-

-Mike-

-Mike-

Soldato
Joined
22 Dec 2002
Posts
10,165
Location
Minehead
Hi,

My friend has a 1993 polo which was fine when he purchased it but now it refuses to start. He had the mechanic who I had come over today to have a look and it started straight away :confused:

However, it now refuses to start again. It will turn over without starting for say ten seconds. If you release the key and go to turn it over again all the dash lights go out and nothing. If you wait another few seconds it will turn over again (battery isn't flat)

Do these cars have some sort of auto choke or similar as a K reg fiesta I had would flood itself occasionally and pulling the fuse and cranking it would clear the fuel. Pop the fuse back in and away you went again.

We are confused as to what it could be! Any help appreciated :)

(car is spi btw)
 
maybe the spark timer thing is out of alignment. try putting in to third and rock the car back wards and try again. if it dont stay on then i dunno what to do...
 
This was a problem on the renualt 5, switch the ignition so all dash lights are on, then turn the key to start then nothin, the whole lot dies, i had to replace the best part of the ignition system including

ignition module, coil, ht leads, rotor arm, dizzy cap, and a new ignition barrel.

thedazman
 
It started while the mechanic was there and yet now it wont again. There is spark at the plugs also :confused: :(
 
if your mate's had any problems with the car being sluggish/nearly stalling soon after starting i think it's something to do with a weird fuel filter, sounds very similar to the problem i was experiencing intermitently just before my crash :s, havent had damage repaired yet, so cant say for sure that that's the problem but the combination of the symptoms on mine suggested it was
 
He's changed the fuel filter, and you can hear the pump prime also. I really have no idea with it and the mechanic will have to come back again and hopefully this time it wont start!
 
hmmmm, mine had also been flooding, but i cant remember what the remedy was short of starting it over and over staying off the gas, i'm sure there was something... hmmm
 
I used to pull the fuel pump fuse on a fiesta I was driving. Maybe it'll be worth giving that a go tomorrow :)
 
maybe your piston rings are warn. and when the engine gets warmer and expands the pistons cant quite move and cant get enough power from the explosion. take a look somehow.
 
Its done 63k miles and was owned by an old granny previously. I cant see the rings being worn on it. Cheers for the reply though :)
 
shimy182 said:
maybe your piston rings are warn. and when the engine gets warmer and expands the pistons cant quite move and cant get enough power from the explosion. take a look somehow.
Click to expand...


That is terrible advice. If the rings are worn, you will get blow-by, so how are the pistons not going to move. There will be less friction as the engine puts miles on. A compression check is the way to test this, but this will not be the problem. For a VW, that engine with 62K on is not even run-in yet.

Things to check:

As mentioned the g/box earthing strap. Common problem.
Coil.
HT Leads - especially the one running to the dizzy.
Are you getting a spark?

:)
 
He said its sparking, I just thought it was weird when he said it would turn over for say ten seconds, then if you tried again straight after the dash lights just went out :confused:

Thanks for the advice though will give it a go tomorrow :)
 
my '98 polo did this is as well. Whats even more strange was it did it from new. When i went through all the paperwork that came with the car, it was booked in for work to fix it, but they never did either

only solution i found was to pump the accelerator pedal before you turned the key.
 
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