# Car will stay on, but not enough power



## NAVI51 (Aug 18, 2008)

The car in question is a 1989 Cabriolet. The car had been sitting over a year since it was taken to a "VW specialist" more like a rip-off specialist. The initial problem was that the car would not start, so the rip-off master said that it was the pump, then the fuel tank, then the injectors, and then the fuel distributor. I ended up buying all those things listed, the car was on his posession for over 4 months and it ran really crappy for about 3 days and he had said that it was due to a messed up clutch, so I had to park again for more than a year. For about the last two weeks I've been working on it replacing the clutch and many other parts and for about the last 4 days I've been working on getting the car to run right.

When I started to work on the car, it wouldn't start, so I emptied out the gas tank, replaced spark plugs, wires, rotor, replaced the timing belt, vaccum hoses (one by one), distributor, and las but not least I cleaned the fuel lines, fuel pump, afm, and fuel distributor without dessasambling it. I adjusted the air/fuel ratio until the exhaust fumes smelled correctly (compared to my other Cabriolet). The spark was also adjusted until it would develop the best acceleration. I also wanted to adjust the mixture by using the port by the cold start valve but I do not have a dwell meter.

Got the car to start and actually stay on for over 3 hours without going off. I have noticed that the valve that is located on the fuel distributor buzzes like it is supposed to. However, I notice that the fumes on the exhaust are not coming out at a steady pace while the car runs and also when I test drive it, I try to accelerate and the car stutters, which also does while not in motion, but not as much as it does under load. Something that happened and I was surprised, I removed the ECU to remove the knee bar to see if I had any cut wires on by the fuse box and started the car and got it running without the ECU for about 15mins, which I believe the car should not start if the ECU is not connected.

Anyone got any idea of what can I do to get the car running right? Anyone has experienced this problems before?

Sorry if the post was long but I just tried to be as specific as possible to get a more accurate answer. I appreciate your time and any helpful answer will be greatly appreciated :thumbup:


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## WaterWheels (Aug 14, 2005)

NAVI51 said:


> Something that happened and I was surprised, I removed the ECU to remove the knee bar to see if I had any cut wires on by the fuse box and started the car and got it running without the ECU for about 15mins, which I believe the car should not start if the ECU is not connected.
> 
> Anyone got any idea of what can I do to get the car running right? Anyone has experienced this problems before?


Sounds like you have CIS with Lambda so that ECU does not control the fuel like say a CIS-e ECU does. It is really a Lambda control box which makes adjustments to the mixture based on input from the O2 sensor. So yes, it can run without it.

As for the problem it is hard from here to really make a good guess at the moment, but have you looked at the exhaust as maybe the problem. Clogged CAT or collapsed pipe from road damage? A restricted exhaust, not just a small exhaust or cheap muffler, can cause the car to act much like you state.


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## NAVI51 (Aug 18, 2008)

Hello WaterWheels:

Thank you for letting me know that the car car run without the ecu being connected, and yes the car is CIS basic and not CIS-E. I checked the exhaust (externally) and it doesn't seem like it has been impacted and it seems like it's the stock original exhaust system so most likely it can be clogged as stated by you so I will be looking to take it to the muffler shop and get it cleaned up or something :thumbup:


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## NAVI51 (Aug 18, 2008)

So I just came back from the muffler shop and got the CAT replaced and the rest of the exhaust system cleaned up after $230dls, the car still runs the same and has the same symptoms. Anyone has any more ideas of what should I be testing or looking for in order to get the car running right?

Thanks


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## ps2cho (Apr 16, 2009)

You need to get a fuel pressure test done on it. The mechanic shouldn't have started throwing parts at it until the fuel pressure has been checked.


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## sachadesousa (Jul 5, 2010)

i am having the same problem as you are... if you have a dwell or duty cycle meter handy test the o2 test port (near the cold start valve on the intake manifold) and see if you get a reading... also is your frequency valve making a humming or buzzing sound? if not then it isnt working and if the test port isng giving you a reading either your lambda system isn't working....

yesterday i checked my "fuel injection power supply relay" not to be confused by the "fuel pump relay" and found i didnt get any power to it.... it was due to a burned out fuse (fuse #4 which supplies the four way flashers) so now i am getting power to the relay and that is as far as i got...

on other forms i read that without the fuel control unit or your ecu working you lose a lot of power...

so tonight im going to check all the grounds and ensure that the ecu is getting power...

let me know if i can help,

Sacha


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