My 88 vw fox would not start i have replaced the fuel pump relay no luck i bridged the pump relay socket pump starts, but engine woul not so pump is ok checked if the distributor was producing spark it was not so i replaced the distributor along with the cap and the rotor also i noticed that the fuel gauge was not working, so i checked if the in tank pump was getting power and it does not even if the pump relay socket is bridged or with the new relay checked also every fuse and they are ok. do not know what else to check any ideas or comments are welcome thanks
Things to check if not already done so:
Are you getting fuel up to the engine when the fuel pump is running ?
Is the battery fully charged ?
When the engine is cranking over are you getting at least 9 volts at the coil ?
Are you getting a spark at the plugs ?
Just for a bit of back ground :
Was the car running before this problem or has it been lying up for a while?
The problem is most likely the ground that would explain the gauge not working and the pump not working you can run a wire from the metal frame or metal body to the metal sending unit on top of the tank and see if the gauge works first.
1st never replace parts till u kno the cure--get car scanned with a unit that runs a data stream to target the issue--umay hav a bad ground or relay is worn-also the plug to the pump could be corroded-pull out and clean--computer cud be failin or problem with wiring harness
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Thanks for your reply, i took everything apart (electrical) and performed a diagnostics and found that due to a broken battery terminal, voltage (more amps, because all of the electrical power was produced from the alternator, not from the battery) was unstable to the electrical system and damaged the following: Ignition control unit, Ignition distributor, Fuel pump relay and the in tank pump and the instrument cluster, luckly some parts were cheap and the others (Distributor, and fuel relay pump) bought them used, replaced everything and car is running good. All of the above items that you mentioned helped me a lot in diagnosing what was wrong. Thanks for your help.
I tooked everything apart (electrical) and performed a diagnostics and found out that due to a broken battery terminal, voltage (more amps, because all of the electrical power was produced from the alternator, not from the battery) was unstable to the electrical system and damaged the following: Ignition control unit, Ignition distributor, Fuel pump relay and the in tank pump and the instrument cluster, luckly some parts were cheap and the others (Distributor, and fuel relay pump) bought them used, replaced everything and car is running good.
All of this due to a broken battery terminal, so it is a good idea to check if your battery terminals are in good condition, sadly this car is bad for electrical issues, hope all of this i mentioned will help in your problems.
Thanks for everybody that helped me with their commments, helped me a lot in diagnosing what was wrong. Thanks!!!
i have an 988 fox... trying to figure out how to test relay with jumper wire... can you help?
Hi, what relay are you testing? Pump relay, horn relay, wiper relay????, i wouldn`t advice that you use a jumper wire to find out if the relay is working, i think i have a diagram with check points so you can check if your relay is bad. Please let me know what relay are you checking.
Can you please specify what relay are you testing, so i can look up for a diagrama that can help you, please let me know
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