Not starting

1995 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
250,000 MILES • 1.8L • 4 CYL • 2WD • MANUAL
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OKUBO SELE
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Car may jerk during a drive. When it does this it turns off the engine which kind of only comes back on maybe because car is in motion. This has gone on for several months. On one occasion recently, the car turned off completely on a drive. Started after a while, 10 minutes. One day later, it completely would not start in the morning. No amount of tinkering with the cables could get a spark to the distributor. So now what? Kindly help.
Nov 25, 2020 at 1:05 PM
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JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • Experienced Mechanic
  • 110,240 POSTS
Hi,

If you have no ignition spark, the first thing I would suggest is to confirm the coil isn't bad. I am going to provide the directions for checking it. In addition to this, you should get a scan tool and check to see if there are diagnostics trouble codes.

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1995 Volkswagen Golf (1H1) L4-1.8L (ACC) Can
Ignition Coil, Checking
Vehicle Powertrain Management Ignition System Ignition Coil Testing and Inspection Component Tests and General Diagnostics Ignition Coil, Checking
IGNITION COIL, CHECKING
Ignition Coil, checking

- Disconnect harness connector from Ignition Coil Power Output Stage (N157).
- Disconnect ignition wire from Ignition Coil (N152).
- Switch multimeter (Fluke 83 or equivalent) to resistance range.


See Pic 1

- Connect multimeter between Ignition Coil terminals -1- and -15- and measure primary resistance.
^ Primary resistance: 0.5-0.7 Ohms

- Connect multimeter between Ignition Coil terminals -4- and -15- and measure secondary resistance.
^ Secondary resistance: 3000-4000 Ohms

If resistance values are not within the specified ranges:
- Remove Ignition Coil (N152) and replace Ignition Coil Power Output Stage (N157).
- Repeat primary and secondary resistance checks.

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Let me know what you find.

Joe
Nov 26, 2020 at 6:53 AM
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