Scirocco Register

Hey guys,

I used to be a member here a good few years ago. I had a silver Scirocco GTX and actually met Sean on a couple of occasions.

Recently picked up a Scirocco GTL from Chaps on this forum. Great car, and all was well for two weeks until I broke down at a BP station last night. Car would start but stall immediately. It wouldn't idle without assistance from the accelerator. It's my fault for being lazy, but the dizzy cap and rotor arm were not in good shape and had to be replaced - which is what I did today.

When I was changing the cap, there's a metal casing around the outside with an earthing spade. I'm all for safety (this thing is for safety, right?) but it was really difficult to put the new cap on with this metal housing - so I left it off. The car seems to work just fine now although I haven't tested it properly - just started it and let it warm up, drove it round the corner and parked. Is there anything else I should check for to make sure this doesn't happen again? I know there are sometimes issues with air leaks and things...

Anyway, does this thing need to go back on? What'll happen if it doesn't?

Help appreciated!

not 100% sure what they thought when they fitted these but every car that ive had with it fitted ive thrown away..
Never had any probs with out it tbh

Parts catalogue calls its "screening" and says "Radio in the model section. So I assume its for shielding the radio from interference.

Thanks for the responses, guys.

That's interesting to know! I've not got a radio fitted in mine just yet, so I'll worry about it later I guess (and if it's actually needed)

I took the car out today to test it out. It worked fine for most of the day, revs a little under where they're supposed to sit, but seemed to be ok. I stopped off at the petrol station, went shopping at the garden centre and then went to Tesco. But after Tesco, it was doing the same thing again.

When the car is started, it'll stall unless I hold the accelerator. That makes it tricky when it comes to driving (stopping at lights, in traffic etc).

Any ideas what this could be? How can I narrow it down?

Where did you buy the cap and rotor arm from? Are they good quality?

Plug leads and plugs, if you've already replaced the cap and arm why not go the whole hog and renew the lot if they havn't been done in a while?

Welcome back Alex.

dozzum wrote:Where did you buy the cap and rotor arm from? Are they good quality?

Plug leads and plugs, if you've already replaced the cap and arm why not go the whole hog and renew the lot if they havn't been done in a while?

They came from Halford's, of all places. They appear to be identical to the old ones, except newer, of course.

I bought NGK single point plugs also, but I haven't fitted them yet. The plugs already in there have 3 points and don't appear to be that bad - Minimal carbon fouling. Leads appear to be not that old, but I can replace them too, I guess. I can replace plugs in the morning though.

The part that gets me is that the car was fine for two weeks, but only now has problems. So is it really likely to be leads or plugs? It has no issues starting, only running. Kind of makes me think that maybe after being used daily after not being used for a good while might mean hoses are to blame? (If movement has somehow disturbed them) But I'm no mechanic and I honestly have no idea, hence why posting here.

GTXTRA wrote:Welcome back Alex.

Thanks Sean! It's been a while, and I really can't believe you remember my name! I'm honoured, hehe When some crooks tried to steal my old GTX (and destroyed it in the process) I moved to Australia. Been back about a year now and just couldn't wait to have another Scicrocco.

I do buy some halfords stuff but I wouldn't use them for ignition stuff. Try avs parts. Quick Google search should bring them up. (audi Volkswagen skoda). The bloke has owned vws all of his life and is very friendly. Parts are usually same brand as original or as good and at good prices.

NGK plugs are now in. Issue remains, though. Next service date I'll speak with your guy, dozzum. I went to Halfords because it's literally a 5 minute walk from my house. I used to use GSF a lot but I need my car to get there!

The car starts from cold no problem at all, once it's warmed up it'll stall and won't stay running unless it's being given fuel. I might be going crazy or making things up in my mind, but I'm sure it's idling higher on start now that it did before these issues.

Bought some carb cleaner and gave the Pierburg a blast with it, and also squirted it around the hoses to see if I could locate any leaks, but I couldn't find any by myself (its difficult with limited time to work with). What's the best way to tackle this? Does it sound like a vacuum leak? I've also considered the idea it might be the gasket thing that sits between the carb and manifold or the EGR valve thing.

Any ideas?

e: I'm also wondering if it's a sticking idle control valve? But can anyone tell me the procedure in locating and cleaning this component on the Pierburg carb?

ahhh, pierburg fuelling problems, how i've missed you! 1st off, check the idle jet isn't blocked. take it out and blast thru with carb cleaner, but avoid poking something down it to clean it out

Thanks Nate (How are you?? Been a long, long time!)

I'll give this a blast (sorry, pun not intended) when I get home from work.

And if it works, I will seriosuly paypal you money for a pint. Once done, I'll update here.

Another could be the dreaded rust in the fuel, change your inline fuel filter, worth a look I always carry one in the boot. just in case.

tinkerbel wrote:Another could be the dreaded rust in the fuel, change your inline fuel filter, worth a look I always carry one in the boot. just in case.

I thought that was the issue if the car splutters or cuts out whilst in motion?
Not that I'm knocking your advice or anything - fuel filter has been added to the shopping list!

oh, and going back to your original question, that this is mainly to cut out any rf interference created in the dizzy. this can affect radio, satnav, phones, ignition amp, pretty much anything electronic. i've always left them on when one was fitted. makers don't just put them on for fun...

Thanks for all of your help so far.

Nate, cleaning the idle jet... appears to have fixed the issue! I've only started the car and let it warm up and idle by itself, I haven't driven it anywhere yet.
As soon as the car started after cleaning, it immediately had lower revs and naturally took longer to warm up - but it didn't stall like it did previously.

Revs are still a little lower than I'd like, however - so I'm wondering if anyone can tell me where the idle adjustment screw is on the carb? (Sorry, Hayne's book is in the mail!)

I'm also wondering if anyone can recommend an in-line fuel filter? If it was crud blocking the jets, I don't want it to happen again so I'm taking up Tinkerbel's advice here. I know they come in different sizes but are all basically the same thing - but what's recommended for these cars given their reputation?


Once I've adjusted the idle a little and changed the filter, I'll take it out for a proper test run. Stalling on London's busy roads isn't very fun.