Hi there people,

I bought a 1.0l '94 parade coupe a few months back and had a problem come to light the day after I bought it! :( The issue is the engine cutting out randomly when my foot is on the clutch and it seems to be when I'm braking (for example when coming up to junctions) It's not consistent, I can drive it for a few days and it wont do it all and then all of a sudden it'll 3 or 4 times in a single short journey! As you can imagine this a quite an anoyance, I absolutely love Polo's especially Mk3 coupes (am aiming at getting a gt in a year or two) but this is the one thing stopping me spending a bit of money on this car.

To rectify this problem I have tried several things but still to no avail so now I am desperately seeking new ideas as to what could be causing this... PLEASE GUYS ANY ADVICE YOU CAN GIVE??

What I've done so far:...

A couple of days after buying it I gave it a damn good service:

Air, Oil and fuel filters changed (Coolant and oil change)

Timing belt and alternator belt

New plugs, leads, dizzy cap and rotor arm

Changed blue temp sender

None of this made a difference it was still cutting out so I tried to live with it for a while then a chance encounter with an ex AA repair man bought me the advice of changing (and upgrading) the brake servo vacum hose to a mk4 version a couple of weeks back. So about a week and a half ago I got my sorry arse down a scrap yard and managed to get one from a mk4 polo, changed all this diesel spill pipes at the same time and I thought that this had sorted as it didn't cut out at all after this... (UNTIL LAST NIGHT!!!)

Now I am back to where I started so please, I'd really appreciate any advice that anyone else can give. I am really sorry if this a bit of a long post, I just wanted to include as much information as possible

Thanks in advance for any replies guys

Aron

sounds like hall sender to me, I'm 99% all mk3s have electronic ignition.

i agree, get it changed, cos its not fun when it gives up whilst traveling at speed cos you loose everything bar your steering! rather than just change the hall sender it would be as easy to swap the whole dizzy, you can pick them up from scrappies for a fiver, but make sure you check it, if its oily and doesnt look to be in good condition then it prob isnt. i have a spare one kicking about in my shed (it deffo works as i used it as a temp dizzy to get my g40 running)

i agree, get it changed, cos its not fun when it gives up whilst traveling at speed cos you loose everything bar your steering! rather than just change the hall sender it would be as easy to swap the whole dizzy, you can pick them up from scrappies for a fiver, but make sure you check it, if its oily and doesnt look to be in good condition then it prob isnt. i have a spare one kicking about in my shed (it deffo works as i used it as a temp dizzy to get my g40 running)

i dont know what scrappy you go to, but i have never seen one for a fiver

they're circa £110 from VAG.

'cam' has a spare spi dizzy..

i agree, get it changed, cos its not fun when it gives up whilst traveling at speed cos you loose everything bar your steering! rather than just change the hall sender it would be as easy to swap the whole dizzy, you can pick them up from scrappies for a fiver, but make sure you check it, if its oily and doesnt look to be in good condition then it prob isnt. i have a spare one kicking about in my shed (it deffo works as i used it as a temp dizzy to get my g40 running)

i dont know what scrappy you go to, but i have never seen one for a fiver

they're circa £110 from VAG.

'cam' has a spare spi dizzy..

one run by pikeys! so long as you dont try and rob them they seem happy to sell you bits on the cheap! its where i got my castelettes that you dont like from! (payed 40 with 4 good tyres!)

heres the dizzy i have spare

I've even given it a bit of a polish! came off a 1 litre which had done 80k so should be ok for a few years yet

i agree, get it changed, cos its not fun when it gives up whilst traveling at speed cos you loose everything bar your steering! rather than just change the hall sender it would be as easy to swap the whole dizzy, you can pick them up from scrappies for a fiver, but make sure you check it, if its oily and doesnt look to be in good condition then it prob isnt. i have a spare one kicking about in my shed (it deffo works as i used it as a temp dizzy to get my g40 running)

i dont know what scrappy you go to, but i have never seen one for a fiver

they're circa £110 from VAG.

'cam' has a spare spi dizzy..

one run by pikeys! so long as you dont try and rob them they seem happy to sell you bits on the cheap! its where i got my castelettes that you dont like from! (payed 40 with 4 good tyres!)

heres the dizzy i have spare

I've even given it a bit of a polish! came off a 1 litre which had done 80k so should be ok for a few years yet

I'm sorry I am a bit of an amatuer when it comes to cars, I have only managed to do all the things to it so far by getting extensive step by step guides from a few other people that know what they are doing. What part is that? is that part of the distributor cap (already put a new dizzy cap on)

As for it happening at high speeds (touch wood) it hasn't happened yet, it only seems to happen between 2nd and 3rd gear.

This spare one you have mate, would you consider sticking it on ebay with a buy it now?

Thanks for all your speedy replies guys, keep em coming, I really appreciate it

Aron

where are you based, i could fit it for you if you are close enough?

Before you start spending money make sure its not just an air/ vacuum leak. Get some carb/ brake cleaner and spray over the inlet manifold and pipework if the revs increase or decrease you have an air leak. Just an idea. Good look

where are you based, i could fit it for you if you are close enough?

Based in Southampton mate so probally not really feasible but thanks for the thought. I can get car parts quite cheap so what part is it?

where are you based, i could fit it for you if you are close enough?

Based in Southampton mate so probally not really feasible but thanks for the thought. I can get car parts quite cheap so what part is it?

distributor, held on by 2x 10mm bolts. it is what the dizzy cap clips onto.

Before you start spending money make sure its not just an air/ vacuum leak. Get some carb/ brake cleaner and spray over the inlet manifold and pipework if the revs increase or decrease you have an air leak. Just an idea. Good look

Yeah have cleaned and checked all of the pipework around that area and everything seems to be in ok condition, really am banging my head against a brick wall at the mo, have changed so many little bits and still no joy :( Thanks for your reply

where are you based, i could fit it for you if you are close enough?

Based in Southampton mate so probally not really feasible but thanks for the thought. I can get car parts quite cheap so what part is it?

distributor, held on by 2x 10mm bolts. it is what the dizzy cap clips onto.

AHHH I see, makes sense, Could it benefit from a new battery do you think as I noticed last night the battery warning light came on just before the oil pressure warning light came on (as the car cuts out) Had headlights and wipers on...

I'd have thought that would mean you'd need a new alternator...

I'd have thought that would mean you'd need a new alternator...

What makes you say that?

Car cuts out under electrical load - even if the battery was fucked it should still be fine, just not very easy to start.

Car cuts out under electrical load - even if the battery was fucked it should still be fine, just not very easy to start.

Nah the car starts fine, always starts first time even with headlights and stereo, wipers etc on. Will start absolutely fine after it's cut out too