... Cutting out AGG Beezer ...

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
'Lo.

I know this will have been done to death, and yes I have read up on it here and in relation to Mk3 Golfs, but wanted to run past peeps here, cos I really need a quick fix.

Ok, so the car started randomly cutting out.

Replaced coil pack.

Noticed that king lead had come loose and got a bit melty on exhaust manifold. 10 at night and need car in morning, so out with the sparky tape. Car starts fine and survives 30 minute blast down the A19. Assume sorted (until I can replace lead properly)

07:50 - Lose power while joining M1 from A1 on way to Leeds.

10:00 - Finally get parked in Leeds after many many 'lack of runningness' breaks, mainly around Leeds ring and one way. Amazed I didn't get towed some of the places we stopped. Decide King must have conductor breaking down as well as toasty insualtion.

18:00 - Fit replacement HT's and set off home - car feels better than it has for days. Ring mates to brag it's working again.

19:00 - Car gives up again somewhere on the A1 northbound.

22:15 - Finally get back to Teesside. Open beer and log on to Euro car parts...

At this point I'm thinking fuel relay (167? The one on the end) or crank pos sensor. Bro suggests poss of corroded ECU contacts. Don't think choked/sooty TB fits the profile.

I note that after it's been running fine for ages jsut before it goes for the first time, there's a mad ticky noise from the relay board and red lights (oil, stop and charge) blink rapidly (faster than you'd expect and in time with the ticky). Sometimes it survives this for a few minutes, usually it starts feeling rough and then power goes bye-bye.

Once it's done it once it carries on happening more and more frequently until you leave it for hours.

Fuel relay is getting quite warm (have removed it and held it in hand).

Usually (but not always?) car will start nicely if you wait til you hear teh quiet click from teh relay once the power's off. Not sure if when I don't hear it it's due to road noise or sometimes it just doesn't release.

Anyone think I'm missing anything? Rotor arm and dizzy cap look a bit rough, so I'm ordering one of each and a relay from Euro right now. I'd order teh crank sensor too, but can't see it listed. GSF do one but call it a Crank Impulse Sensor. Can't see a way of ordering from them online though, and I'd need to get at least 50 miles to my nearest branch...

Any suggestions not involving petrol cans, rags matches etc welcomed... :cry:
 
Sep 20, 2006
756
0
Birmingham
Im having the same issues at the moment. Replaced the coil and it seemed fine but it cut out again after driving down the motorway (after 90 miles). Waited on the hard shoulder and by the time rac came out it started first time.

Been told it can be down to 3 things, coil (which i have already replaced), ECU relay (has no. 30 on it) or the crank sensor.
Your issue sounds identical to mine so id say it is going to be one of these 3 playing up.
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
While driving, but on monday i left the car running while going to watch someone through a gate and it died while standing unattended with the same mo- refused to do anything more productive than turn over for some time, then magically started as if nothing was wrong. Then proceeded to die on me in moving home-time traffic, about 10 times in as many miles...
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
Hi Guys!

Ok, just got ECU relay (#30) today and fitted it. Car started. Took it on motorway to see if it was reliable enough for work (plenty of hardshoulder to roll into if it dies...) Got exactly 68 miles of trouble free driving in just over 1hr (was being nice ot the poor engine that had stood for a week and pretending I was in morning traffic). Mighty juddery mis-fire and then die. Restarted almost straight away and got me 14miles home in fine style then died in a junction. Didn't want to restart. Pushed to roadside, still wouldn't restart. Pulled and replaced ECU relay (same piece, no change) and instant start. Reading the threads I think this is probably a coincidence, but the only reason I can think of that this should have worked is maybe loose connections on the back of the relay board, which sounds unlikely to me (but I may check for if all else fails).

So, I've replaced the coil, HT's, and relays #30 and #167 (ECU and fuel pump).

Again, reading the threads that probably points at the Crank Sensor (CKP). Anyone disagree?

I gather this is a git to get at on the 8V and involves temporarily releasing an engine mount? (Sry, my Heinz book is currently misplaced...)

I see there's a test spec on one of the other threads. Is it worth following that before going for replacement? If so, am I going to need to shift the mount still to perform the test? (makes a difference where I would consider working on the car)
(this test spec)
2v32545.jpg

Finally, someone mentioned GSF have the wrong part code on their system. Can someone please clarify the correct code, co I'm gonna have a minimum 100 mile round trip if they give me the wrong one!

Cheers!
 
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beezertart

**MAYHEM**
Sep 11, 2007
1,260
0
beyond the sun
gsf do free delivery for members of some forums...i quoted my e38 number and was told i could have free delivery or 10% off,worth it on 300+ worth of bits.. free delivery will at least mean they fook it up they'll have to sort it! :)
 
Sep 20, 2006
756
0
Birmingham
Hi Guys!

I see there's a test spec on one of the other threads. Is it worth following that before going for replacement? If so, am I going to need to shift the mount still to perform the test? (makes a difference where I would consider working on the car)
(this test spec)

Finally, someone mentioned GSF have the wrong part code on their system. Can someone please clarify the correct code, co I'm gonna have a minimum 100 mile round trip if they give me the wrong one!

Cheers!

Can you not get it on vagcom? Got mine checked and it came up with crank sensor fault. Might be worth a try before buying and fitting a new one.
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
Um. I don't have a vagcom (yet?) but it looked to me like that test could be run with a multimeter (which I do have).

Word on the Mk3 Golf forums was that the crank sensor didn't show up directly on a vagcom, but I note a few people here say theirs have. Maybe all vagcoms are not equal? (has never played with one, so doesn't know if firmware can be updated or similar...)

Main problem tbh is that I just moved, so my tools are all buried/mixed up. And, yes, I needed the normally super-reliable lovable beezer to pick right now to be an ar$3 like the proverbial hole in the head... :cry:
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
A few thoughts (no particular order)

Is either crank or hall sensor more likely than the other to result in briefly wildly ticking relays? When background noise low enough, I usually get this along with the wildly flashing reds on the dash (as mentioned in OP)

I can kinda see how crank sensor could be experiencing thermal breakdown prior to just being f00ked outright, but could the same thing occur with the hall? Didn't think inside of dizzy got that hot...

I'm told that not all AGG rotor arms are replaceable, and some are epoxied to shafts such that entire dizzy needs replacement when rotor to worn to be serviceable. How do I tell which sort I have? Obviously popping the cap and pulling the rotor would be a good start, and I've done that already. Didn't budge. Having said that I've had rotor arms on other engines that have felt the same and just been well jammed. I've always been happy to apply sensible force to remove them as I'll easily be able to replace them. If I don't know for sure that I can though, I don't want to wreck the dizzy just cos I'm OCD about ignition components that I haven't personally replaced...

Monday's a day off, so Sunday is find-my-tools and balance car on stands day, when I'll test and if nec remove crank sensor so that I've got something to wave at GSF or Andrew Page in the event of disagreement about what I want to buy...
 

vngtx

Guest
agg engines have dizzy rotors that are fixed in. have to replace the whole dizzy. which is probably best as hall sender might have bust. its made mine rev alot smoother since i put new one on the other day.
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
Hmm, ok... well definitely checking crank sensor first then. £40-odd quid beats a new dizzy any day.

Definitely adding a vagcom to the shopping list for when this inevitably happens again.

I'm not actually *trying* to run the car on a shoestring, but for the next couple of months it would really be good to not have to spend any extra money...

As for smoothness, apart from a slight snatch on take-up/change-up that I think is clutch-cover related from having stood a while I wouldn't say I had any smoothness of delivery problems. The clutch *is* the original factory item still, and Yes, I'm fully expecting to be putting a new one in before Summer...
 

old 'uns

Modern Life is Rubbish...
Mar 20, 2003
1,627
2
walsall
Visit site
Hmm, ok... well definitely checking crank sensor first then. £40-odd quid beats a new dizzy any day.

The clutch *is* the original factory item still, and Yes, I'm fully expecting to be putting a new one in before Summer...

crank sensor is not a 5min easy job...

i'll be betting your clutch won't last as long as my C5's.....195k & still going, so much for French s**t..;)
 

Caffienated

Active Member
Dec 2, 2009
224
1
Bristol
It's beaten 140k already... ^_^

Not expecting crank sensor to be a super easy job, but popping an engine mount's not the end of the world. Certainly beats pulling the entire lump for a 104 pretty much anytime you want to do something more major than sparks or oil...

I was meaning more that since some nice person's furnished a test spec for it and it's a very likely candidate for the fault it was more sensible to investigate first rather than just continuing to semi-randomly replace everything in sight in the hope of eventually nailing it.

Besides, I do mates' rates on my time for myself... ^___^ (!joke alert! not that I work on cars for anyone else without dire arm twisting, and even then certainly wouldn't feel comfortable charging 'cos I am very much not an expert...)
 
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