JH 8v barely runs suddenly

[fahrvegnugen at cox.net (David Utley)]

I would check your positive battery leads and see if they are all good and strong.  I just figured out why mine has been loosing gas mileage over the last year...  Positive cable was slowly severing itself with engine rock...

I have more power than I know what to do with...  Top end before was prolly 102 mph, now I can exceed 110 mph, and without an aftermarket cam!  :-)
HTH

David
> 
> From: "John K. Gates" <gatesj@twcny.rr.com>
> Date: 2004/06/21 Mon PM 12:02:23 EDT
> To: <scirocco-l@scirocco.org>
> CC: schirber@twcny.rr.com
> Subject: JH 8v barely runs suddenly
> 
> Greetings, wondering if I can get some ideas with what's going on with my
> '85 JH 8v...
> 
> Last summer I thought I was having some grounding problems, lazy sounding
> starter and all.  I ran a new audio grade 4 gauge wire from - on the
> battery to the stock ground point on the frame rail and then from there to
> a bellhousing bolt that I had taken out and welded another small bolt
> onto, head to head, to duplicate the stock one in my A3 Jetta.  Any ground
> problems I might have had at one point went away and I drove the car one
> day, just amazed at how well it ran, it hadn't run that well since I got
> it (1995).  As a result, I drove it pretty hard and was really enjoying
> it...
> 
> Then, about a block away from home it started to run just awful.  It would
> barely idle.  If I caught it just right and floored it it would run up
> 2-3000 rpm (neutral) and hang there, firing what sounded like a couple of
> cylinders.  The harder you step on the throttle, the more it chokes, but
> if you step on it hard and let up, it will run for a second or two on all
> four.  It sounds like it's loading up the cylinders with fuel and then
> actually igniting it when the vacuum comes up?
> 
> It sounded at first like fuel starvation or a big vacuum leak to me at
> first, so I started plugging up vacuum ports to see if it made a
> difference.  It might have made a very small one.
> 
> Then I ran out of time and parked the car.  I never tested fuel pressure,
> ignition or timing.  The car does have very recent new pickup and pressure
> pump.  I don't think it got more than 3000 miles on those.
> 
> The car also starts really hard, I crank and crank with the throttle open
> all the way before it'll hit at all.  It stinks of raw fuel out of the
> exhaust when I'm trying to start it cold.  I think it's getting fuel
> pressure OK.
> 
> I started the car a couple of times in the winter (very cold here in
> central NY) and it ran perfectly!!!  I thought the car had cured itself
> somehow, but now that it has warmed up again it here it's running just as
> poorly as it was.
> 
> Like I said, I have not checked fuel pressure, spark or timing and I
> should have before posting, but I'm wondering if this sounds familiar to
> anyone.
> 
> The JH doesn't have the keyway timing problem like the 16v, does it?  What
> would let the car run OK when it's very cold out but break when it warms
> up?  Do I have water in the coil or something?!?!
> 
> I think my first step is to pull the fuel pump relay, pull plugs and
> ground them and see what the spark looks like.  Then I'll check timing and
> then fuel pressure and then on to compression.  Sound like the best
> approach?
> 
> Sorry for the long post, I hate not giving all the information though..
> 
> TIA,
> 
> John Gates
> --
> '85 Scirocco
> '97 Jetta GLX
> 
> 
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Cheers,
  David Utley

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