Engine dies under revs

[nolegjoe]

I've had a whole host of problems with my Scirocco GTII but the latest one is the engine has been losing revs whenever I use the throttle. It'll idle fine, but it's when I put any power on the engine, it just starts to die. This has been happening ever since I drove a little too fast through a puddle. Water splashed up and the engine cut out. I left it a little while and it started again OK but started dying on the way home. It has a Webber carb, btw.

Any ideas?

[Mr Funk]

I know this'll sound odd but check the fuel filler neck, If that's rusty it'll cause all manner of issues.

Water wise has everything dried out?

[nolegjoe]

The fuel filler neck is good. I know it's a problem in these cars but it has been changed before I bought it.

When you say, has everything dried out, what should I check? I drove through the puddle about a week ago. Maybe more. In that time, I was hoping it would've dried out. I'm wondering if it might be fuel starvation, but I had a guy change all the fuel lines before Christmas and it was working great for a few days.

[the edmundator]

I'd check that the distributor and electronic ignition gubbins is dry, as well as the coil, condenser and all the contacts. I doubt that the ignition amplifier would be the problem (although worth considering if everything else checks out ok). The synchronicity with your watersports episode is likely to make moisture the culprit.

Having said that, you could still have a load of crud in the fuel tank, which WILL block the pick-up in the tank when you put your foot down. It's exactly what happened with one of my cars - the inspection hatch is under the rear seat, shine a torch in and see if there's any debris. You should be able to remove most of it with a magnet on a wire, but a thorough clean needs the tank to be removed.

[Neillyboy]

Might be a coincidence but I'd check the rubber flange between the inlet manifold and the carb for a split.

[Chris M]

Remove distributor cap and ensure there is no moisture there. Cap is held on by two spring clips.

[james butler]

i second the carb mount probly split.

[nolegjoe]

I seem to have fixed the problem. It would appear that I don't have the plastic tube attached to the end of the sender unit in the fuel tank. What happened was the fuel level dropped below where it was able to be picked up. I have added more fuel as a temporary fix, but now I'm looking for a replacement tube. If any of you happen to have a spare kicking about, I would be interested in buying it.

Cheers for all your help, guys.

[bengould]

Hi,

I do as it happens.

PM me your address, can't really ask anything money wise but you owe me a pint at some point.

Ben