Problem with spark plug wires for my 89 GTI 16V?

I just got through handling a problem like that on an 89 Golf with the 8V engine. It needed plugs, cap, rotor and wires after only 15K miles. Now it is fine again. It was 'popping' and jerking when accelerating lightly or moderately.

I have some good quality new spark plug wire sets for your 16V engine, if you are sure you need them. I can sell them at a pretty low price too!

later, dave Reminder........ Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them, and you have their shoes. Frieda Norris

snipped-for-privacy@aol.comANTISPAM (dave) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m05.aol.com:

Hey Dave,

Thanks for the quick response...I'd definatly be interested in purchasing some wires from ya. Just email me and let me know the price and how you'd like to be paid and any other details. I'm hoping a new set of wires will do the trick.

Again thank you

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com

Ryan W

Start it at night and open the hood. Add gas and watch the wires when you do it. Add a lot. Your coil kicks from 20,000V to 60,000.00V when you do it. If these are wires you will see sparks flying towards the engine. You can fix it yourself for some time by insulating them.

Premium will not hurt, but it was a waste of money, unless that 89 calls for them, which it may, in which case you should always use it. The injection cleaner was a good idea, what brand did you use? That money would have been better spent REPLACING the air filter rather than cleaning it. I believe your 89 came with a paper filter. Unless you or someone replace it with one of those Junk K&N filters just cleaning will no do the job and that could be your problem.

Three or four year old wires are really suspect. How many miles? Compared to taking it back to a mechanic and paying to trouble shooting, they are cheap.

....

Ryan,

First thing you do is make sure all the spark plug wires are still connected. If one of them came loose you'll get just the symptoms you're describing. And after all, the mechanic did remove them when he tightened the spark plugs.

Here are some suggestions...

Ohm test spark plug wires...don't know what the standard is for your wires, but if 4 are at 5000 ohms and the 5th is 20,000 ohms, that's a good clue that it's (#5) bad. Look at the ends of each wire, is anything burnt away, showing green/blue crud, anything missing, compared to the other ones...look for something obvious Look inside the distributor cap for carbon tracks, thin black lines between connectors/electrodes, look for obvious cracks inside the distributor cap. Look inside the distributor cap towers, is there any green/blue crud...that can cause a miss and usually means replace the cap.

Starved for fuel? First place to look is a plugged up fuel filter...this problem usually shows up first at higher speeds when the demand for fuel is highest.

Sputtering and shaking 95% of the time...think about checking the compression. One low cylinder will do this. If the engine is sputtering at idle you need to see if the problem is coming from one particular cylinder. Other than checking the compression, one way to do this is(with the engine idling) to very briefly pull off the spark plug wire at the spark plug, if that cylinder is working well you'll hear the engine rpm drop noticiably...if that cylinder is not doing anything or very little, the idle will hardly change. If 3 of the cylinders show a noticiable drop and one doesn't, then that's probably where the problem lies, either the plug wire, spark plug, compression, valve...something connected with the working of that cylinder. BTW, pulling off the spark plug wire on a high voltage system is a bit tricky, you only do it for a few seconds, just enough to see if the idle drops, and you need insulated pliers...otherwise you can really get zapped! One thing that helps is to loosen all the plug wires with the engine turned off, leave them just resting on the spark plugs(without snapping them into place), that way it's much easier to briefly pull each one off for the test.

How can a mechanic say the car was "starved for fuel" and not suggest a solution? And what did he mean by that? Did you ask him?

Hope this helps,

John

connectors/electrodes, look

Just to throw in my 2 cents worth, I have an 88 GTI that I bought OEM replacment BOSCH wires for from AutoZone (or Advance Auto parts). The initial price was about $124 but they have a lifetime warranty for as long as you own the car. I've since replaced the wires 3 times for free. I think it's worth the initial outlay.

Pretty easy. A mechanic doesn't have to tell the customer anything since he is not getting paid to be a consultant. Besides, "starved for fuel" is enough information for me to start diagnosing the problem with real tools and test equipment instead of Usenet. That is why I DIY my work.

No brainer...

How did he conclude that the motor was "starved" for fuel? Fuel pressure? Do you have a bad transfer pump? (listen for a loud buzzing from the rear passenger side). Since noone else has suggested it, try disconnecting the O2 sensor. Otherwise, cap, rotor, plugs and a new filter (unless you cleaned a K&N). I doubt it's the wires but someone's recommended a way to check them (you can always grab them individually--a rather painfully shocking experience).

Darryl.

Thanks all for the suggestions and info...I got a set of wires from Dave and all seems to be well. A special thanks to him ;)

You are welcome. I am glad things worked out well. ;-) later, dave