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1.8 ghia cab won’t run when hot.


Ghia man
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Can a knowledgable person help with this one?

My 1997 mk 6 1.8 ghia cab does not want to restart in this hot weather. It starts first time from cold but will only fire and then cut out straightaway if the engine is hot and the air temp 75+ degrees(about 24degrees celcius).

It did this last year in a hot spell. When the key is turned to position 2 the lights on the instrument panel come on but I do not hear the momentary whirring and click that you get when cold. So, is it a relay and if so which one. I recall thAt I had this years ago on a Rober 216 but cannot remember how we fixed it. 

Any help would be much appreciated as I am worried about the car packing up somewhere such as a junction.

Thanks,

Ghiaman.

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Thank you very much. I’ll get that checked. I think that I read somewhere in the club site about earth faults so your suggestion adds to the possibility of electrical problems. I originally wondered if it might be fuel related - vaporisation or something similar that used to happen with old cars with carburettors. If it is a wiring fault that will hopefully be easy to find.

 I’ll let you know. Thanks,

Nicholas.

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Hi Ghiaman,

The momentary whir you can hear is the fuel pump running to prime the system with 3 bar of fuel pressure. It will struggle to start without this.

The click it the relay that controls the pump. If this is not clicking then I would replace the fuel pump relay. If the click is good then it is most likely to be the pump at fault.

I can't remember off hand which relay it is but it is easy to find.

Take the cover off the fuse box and undo the screws that you can see that hold in the plastic trim under the steering column. Once this trim panel is out the way you can flip the metal clip that holds the front of the fuse box up. With the fuse box hanging down switch the ignition on and of to find which one is doing the clicking. (There will be another one which clicks when you switch on and when you switch off. The one you want will click when you switch on and then click again after a few seconds).

Pull it out and try it again to make sure the click has gone and there is no whir to make sure you have the correct one. Think it might be a yellow four pin one.

Replace it and see how you get on.

One word of warning. The fuseboxes have a habit of failing so check the contacts in there too. If the relay has burned out then you can usually sniff the contacts and smell burning plastic.

Good luck.

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Hello Paul,

Thank you very much for your detailed reply. A step by step guide is just what someone like me needs. I was speaking to a mechanic yesterday and one of the first things he said was fuel pressure. What is needed now is another very hot day as it is more likely to fail then. 

I’ll post again with news about progress.

Nicholas - Ghia man.

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