Ok I drove the car the other day to the parts store to get a new liner for the sun roof, the car drove into the parking lot fine, but there was that light flashing the one that says something about water, I checked it and the water was up so I filled it too the top, anyways when I came out and tried too start the car it would lit the yellow diesel light and roll over but that its, so now I had to use my CAA to have it towed to my home figuring maybe its over heated because there wasn't enough water, I left it a day as I had to go to work for 2 pm and the next day I tried again, but still the same problem the yellow lit comes on for the glow plug I wait till its out, then start but nothing it just rolls over, yes there's lots of fuel, 3/4 full, and I even took the return line off the injector pump to see if there was a fuel return going, its pumps fine, so now I wonder maybe its an electrical problem to the glow plugs or something I am really not knowing. I like this car now I know its older but with only 195,814 km's on it I think that pretty low for this car and the body has no rust, its mint almost..... What could be the problem, I had a Bentley manual at one time but I loaned it too my friend M Lamey and she is so lame she used it once and put it in the recycle bin after she was done. Or so she says. The point here is wtf is wrong with this car any help please????
1990 VW Golf Diesel problem
May 07, 2006
9 Replies
My guess is a temperature sensor went out or the wire came off.
You may want to check out
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They have the TDI guys there.
Two possibilities I can think of:
- Glow plugs not working -- check the fuse and if that's good, check the plugs themselves, with an ammeter if possible so you can also verify glow plug relay operation. I believe you should see a initial 48 amp draw which soon falls to about 36 amps.
- Overheating blew head gasket and now you have insufficient compression to start -- check compression.
I agree that's silly to throw away an "old" car with "many" miles on it. Fix it, drive it forever! Compare the cost of repairs to the cost of a another car, repairs are almost always cheaper.
Auction it off on Ebay. Lots will bid...
Good Luck.
My guess is a temperature sensor went out or the wire came off.
Will this little item stop the car from starting????
Ok it wasn't the glow plugs they seem to be getting power and the head gasket seems fine I was all over under and through it with a mirror, also when my friend turns it over I can see nothing blowing out anywheres...., so I desided to look at those wires close to the battery and then there that service plug thing I never used before, well I played with the wires and it won't turn over, so I played again and now it does, so no I wonder if there's a wiring problem right there, does anyone have a schematic for this car can't be that hard no sparks plugs, no problem.... Help please
Could be the stop solenoid on the pump is bad or not getting 12 volts. Turn the key on and see if there's 12v at the solenoid. It's on the top rear of the pump by where the 4 pipes come out of.
JoBo
This might the problem, I found only 10 volts there, so this weekend when I go to the wreakers here in Kingston Ontario, of which there are
5 such places I will part out a few of them and see where it takes me. Hopefully it will fix it, I was thinking maybe the rely or fuse, now the fuse is number 18 in the box, which one is the rely and where might it be placed. I wish someone had a Bentley 1985 to 1992 manual in pdf it sure would get downloaded in a hurry.......The problem with 85-92 jettas is they came from the US, Mexico and Germany. And it seems the first thing they change is the wiring! I owned a 85 US golf diesel once and the glow plug light flashed sometimes indicating water in the water trap (not the filter). Only problem is the 85 didn't have the circuitry to the trap! Turned out to be a wire in a harness was shorted internally. I ran a new wire and that was fixed. But the Bentley was no help on that one.
Since you've only got 10 volts at the solenoid I would look for the other 2 to 4 volts. Check your battery cables REAL well.
JoBo
Today I changed the rely and that solenoid on the pump, and yeah I did that wiring thing also, guess what after a few seconds the bastard started, now I think I am going too sell her and buy a much newer Golf. maybe the new rabbit, if it comes in Diesel, here in Canada.
I do want to Thank ever so much too everyone that helped out, great group.
Tim in Kingston Ontario
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