# 2.0 ABA Complete loss of power/fuel under load - idles fine



## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

Hey all, 

i have a 92 gti aba swap, and its currently having some issues. Here's the problem, when im accelerating my car jerks pretty hard and i seem to lose power and it just bogs down. However when it happens i can press the clutch so its gets to about 1200 rpm and release it to get full power back. This lasts for about 5-10sec before it loses power agian and i have to repeat that method. It almost seems like its not getting enough fuel or not enough air, as if its starving for something. Another thing is that it can start right up, idle fine, and when in neutrul i can rev it high and it goes right back to normal idle. Seems like the problem only happens when i try to accelerate. I first thought it was my MAF sensor being too dirty, so i took that off and cleaned it with crc maf cleaner. This didnt seem to do the trick... 

any ideas?


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Check the secondary ignition components. Sounds like a classic case of misfire.


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

I looked into it a bit, and i decided to change the coil pack. Still having the same issue so that wasn't the problem. Haven't gotten to the distributor or spark plugs and wires yet. Would you hear a noise if the engine was misfiring? If it was in neutral and it doesn't seem to have any issues, could it still be a misfire under load? Would a single spark plug misfire lose all power?

Also, i was wondering if anyone in the area had VCDS i could use.


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

You should have changed the plugs/wires/cap/rotor first. Those are secondary ignition, and they are all normal wear parts. Your symptoms are typical of worn plugs and/or cap/rotor contacts.


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## Junkyarddawg (Dec 5, 2013)

I agree that this could be some form of secondary ignition failure but plug and wire replacememt usually resolves it. I have seen symptoms. You describe for other reasons also. Look at the maf sensor to throttle body accordian hose and make sure ther are no cracks developing between the segments. When this happens the cracks can open up when the engine twists on the mounts and causes hesitation. I have also seen a damaged catalytic converter cause similar symptoms when a chunck of broken monolith will jump in and out of the exhaust pipe and restrict it. If tje car has a converter you can take it loose from the down pipe to look inside for damage. With it disvonnected you can also tie it up with a coat hanger and test drive to see if there is any change in the symptom.


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

I did the tune up on this but I'm still having a problem. I found a YouTube video of what my car is doing now.

http://youtu.be/5XWn6m-5Ty0


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Is this an OBDII setup? Can you pull codes and fuel trim info?


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

Yeah its an obdii setup, but it doesn't look like previous owner hooked up the scan port, so I have no idea on how to get any codes off of it. 

Update parts installed:
As of 2/4/14 
MAF
Sti performance wires
Bosch cap
Bosch rotor
Bosch spark plugs
Coil pack
Fuel Filter

Symptoms: Same


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

Still having issues with this.. if anyone has any suggestions it would be much appreciated. Thank you


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## Anony00GT (Mar 6, 2002)

Verify timing and fuel pressure.


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## stpetekatrider (Jan 21, 2014)

*same issue*

I have a used 2001 cabrio that I bought a couple months ago. It has developed the same issue after I have driven it 8000 miles. It just died on the way home. It sounded like I was getting starved of fuel so I changed the fuel filter. Same issue. In neutral and in park I do not see the issue, only when it is in gear and I give it gas. I was trying to stay away from the engine since it appears no one has maintenance it and all plastic parts on this car seem to break. Thinking it is still short on gas I checked and autozone wanted 350 for fuel pump and 50 for fuel regulator. How do you check the fuel pressure? It appears from the previous posts that cap/rotor/wires/maf/coil did not fix it.


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## YaakAttak (Jan 16, 2013)

Check your motor mounts. I had a very similar experience with my 95 cabrio. Found out that all of the hardware and the front motor mount bracket was mangled. It would idle fine and rev in neutral without issue but once in gear and under load the car would lurch and jerk. The engine was trying to leave the bay. Look for a torn intake boot aswell.


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

stpetekatrider said:


> I have a used 2001 cabrio that I bought a couple months ago. It has developed the same issue after I have driven it 8000 miles. It just died on the way home. It sounded like I was getting starved of fuel so I changed the fuel filter. Same issue. In neutral and in park I do not see the issue, only when it is in gear and I give it gas. I was trying to stay away from the engine since it appears no one has maintenance it and all plastic parts on this car seem to break. Thinking it is still short on gas I checked and autozone wanted 350 for fuel pump and 50 for fuel regulator. How do you check the fuel pressure? It appears from the previous posts that cap/rotor/wires/maf/coil did not fix it.


Also just changed my fuel filter and still have the same issue. Going to be taking out the catalytic converter this week and replacing it with a straight pipe since i no longer need to pass emissions on my car. Hopefully the issue is the catalytic converter is clogged and restricting exhaust flow.




YaakAttak said:


> Check your motor mounts. I had a very similar experience with my 95 cabrio. Found out that all of the hardware and the front motor mount bracket was mangled. It would idle fine and rev in neutral without issue but once in gear and under load the car would lurch and jerk. The engine was trying to leave the bay. Look for a torn intake boot aswell.


Checked out my mounts they look fine to me, also checked out the intake boot and didn't notice any cracks or holes. When your Cabrio was having its problem, could you get it up to any RPM ( lets just say 2500 ) while in gear, were you able to just hold the gas pedal right at that RPM and have no issue until you hit the accelerator for more power? The reason i ask is because if I'm in gear and I'm able to get it up to a decent RPM i can hold the gas right there and go for what seems like as long as i want until i press the accelerator for more power - in which case it just cuts engine power. But if i let off the gas coast for a few seconds when it cuts out i can hop right back on the gas and be good for about 10-15 sec of acceleration before it cuts out again.


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## YaakAttak (Jan 16, 2013)

I had to limp the car several miles with broken mounts/torn intake boot. Had to be very careful with the throttle. never got it much higher than idle and couldn't go up any hills. I'm not sure the problem I had is the one you're having.

My mounts appeared fine until I put a wood block under the oil pan and jacked it a bit. Upgraded to bfi mounts when I finally figured out what was going on.


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

Just thought I'd give an update about this. The cars fixed and running %100. It turns out the problem was because my battery had died completely over night it reset my throttle body adaptation. After fixing that I replaced the battery and it seems to be running better than ever.


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## bangin_brent (Mar 7, 2014)

Just got my cabrio back running and SURPRISE SURPRISE, it was indeed the throttle body. My ground wire came off of it and wasn't allowing it to adapt, but afterward, it runs like a champ.
Congrats on gettin it back runnin.


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## Tokem Haze (Aug 14, 2012)

bangin_brent said:


> Just got my cabrio back running and SURPRISE SURPRISE, it was indeed the throttle body. My ground wire came off of it and wasn't allowing it to adapt, but afterward, it runs like a champ.
> Congrats on gettin it back runnin.


Thanks man. Glad to be back in the driver seat of a MK2 - There is nothin' like it.


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