I know, the old cuttin out problem

[mike1984]

My scirocco has been off the road since christmas. Its been into a so called vw specialist and they said it was the carb needing set up. They couldnt do it because they didnt have a amitions tester. I then took it to another garadge that did, they set up the carb and the same thing was happening. The car will run for hours but as soon as you drive for more than ten minutes, it dies and wont start again until a few hours later. I took it back, they stripped the carb, tryed again and the same thing happened. I've changed the distriburator, distriburator cap, rotor arm, leads, spark plugs, battery, and the alternator. The guy recons there could be something in the fuel tank and that the fuel tank has to come out? I trust this guys mechanical skills but i've seen that some of you say that you can get in from under the back seats? He says you cant...

Please help

[Funky Diver]

If you take the back seat out... there's an access hatch to the gubbins in the fuel tank. I love that... "access hatch", sounds all sci-fi

[Boumsong]

Take the rear seat up, 2 screws at the front edge, take the inspection plate up, big black disk under the seat, 3 screws, under there will be a sender unit with 2 fuel lines coming off it and a plug in the middle. Unplug/pull the lines off. Twist the unit out anti-clockwise, it'll be TIGHT and a pain, be careful not to break it.

Check the inside of the tank with a torch for floating bits or anything blocking the lines.

Whilst your at it, check your fuel filter. Mines used to idle for days on end without problems but as soon as you put your foot down it died, it was due to fuel starvation beause the filter was blocked up.

[Nate]

have a grope up inside the o/s/r wheel arch and se if you can feel a hole in the filler neck. it'll probably be right up at the top and caked in mud, or at the bend at the bottom

you'll need the water and rust removed from the tank that can be done thru the access hatch. treating th tank with some wynns dry fuel will help absorb any remaining water left in it.

the tank does not need to come off!

see FAQ for further info

[scirocogtx]

Had a prob with an injection model cutting out on occasion for no apparent reason.
It had a new coil fitted and new connections fitted to it but one of them was poorly crimped and so caused an intermittent fault.
My car remained in a garage for over three months until this was found.

New connector fitted and no more cutting out.
Maybe worth checking....

Poor connections to the coil or a faulty unit can cause this kind of problem.

[Funky Diver]

Poor connections to the coil or a faulty unit can cause this kind of problem.

Had the same SOOoooooo many times with Mini's. Soldering is the way to go with ALL wiring on a car IMHO. Takes minutes but solves more issues than it causes with the grief.

Although, my mini's all had issues with their engine mounts, allowing the cabling to flex and break ;)

[GT Matt]

If it's not fuel related, could be the ignition module. There could be a break in the circuit board that is expanding with heat and creating an open circuit. Although where they are located doesn't get too hot, the voltage itself will cause some internal heat. Once cooled down, cicuit closes and car will start again.

Used to get this all the tim on Vauxhalls in the late 80's early 90's but there modules were attached to the side of the distribtor or coil.