1993 1.9 idi engine, no start / oil light blinks when cranking

93 1.9d

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
hey guys i just bought a 1993 1.9 golf and seems to have a lot more problems then the seller felt like telling me at the time of purchase. Car wont start right now after 2 sessions of draining the battery and charging back up to full and boosting it, i occasionaly see air bubbles in the clear fuel line going to the injection pump, when i did get the car running yesterday i backed it out of my drive to find a MASSIVE oil spill and so i shut it off anf refilled it with some shell rotella synthetic, oil level good, started up no problem when warm or at least once it has gotten started. My engine temp gauge does not ever go over hash marks and thats after 2.5 hours of highway driving 70mphish i have felt the coolant hose and it is hot coming from the tank (that little hose) so i have a vw tstat and g12 coolant that i was planning on doing this holliday but now am struggling to start it let alone do any maintenance :( is there a special way to start these old engines, im aware of the csa cable and have it pulled out but not sure it actually works. help. me. please. oh. my.
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
are you pulling out the advance lever to the left of the steering column? It looks like a choke and needs to be pulled out for cold starts.
 

93 1.9d

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
If anyone can help me to get it running or give me advice on why it isn't starting that would be great and I don't have a vag com canner. Is this car obd1?
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
Your car is completely mechanical - no scanning at all.

When you pull the lever in the car, there is a lever on the back of the pump that should move - does it? Check and see if the linkages to the pump (cold advance and throttle) are attached and moving freely at the pump when you use them in the car.

After that crack a line or two at the injectors to make sure that you are getting fuel.

Do you know if the glowplugs are working?
 

greengeeker

Vendor
Joined
Feb 8, 2006
Location
Cambridge, MN
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS
Don't worry about the blinking oil light...that's normal after cranking for a while.

It sounds like you either have air in the system or your injection timing is off.
 

93 1.9d

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Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
When i pull the lever all the way out the cable doesnt move on the pump, and yes vince, that thread was all about glow plugs and the glow plug light not coming on, so i figured i would leave that alone as a glow plug thread. This problem seems to be only when cold and the glow plugs do work now (thank you)
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
If the lever on the pump doesn't move, then you have no cold advance. You need to fix that. Have an assistant pull the advance handle and see what happens at the pump.
 

93 1.9d

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Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
well i can pull the handle while standing outside of the car and can see the cable is connected to kind of flinch but does not move a measurable amount
 

93 1.9d

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London Ontario CANADA
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1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
im pretty sure i know how to adjust it ( haynes manual ) but by how much? its says when the handle is pulled fully out idle speed should rise to 1050 rpm, but i dont have a tach, how do i know how much it should move the pump linkage
 

Vince Waldon

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Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
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2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Lets back up just for a second...so that we're not chasing down rabbit holes. :). Cold start advance and raised idle are a nice-to-have rather than a must-have in terms of starting, unless its really really cold out..assuming good timing and glow plugs.

In your previous thread the car would not start. Turns out you had a blown Engine Management fuse, and once you replaced that the engine started fine, if I understand your comments at the end of that thread correctly.

Now the engine won't start again? And you had a massive oil leak somewhere?
 
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93 1.9d

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Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
The engine will start but just requires more cranking then I would feel comfortable with. And started fine maybe not quite, started? Yes:) the more I think about it I think I would like to check the timing. Because at an idle, boy is she rough. Like headliner shaking glovebox rattling speaker cover rattling. Not sure it that's
Normal, but when your on the gas or anything over an idle just smooth as butter. Sound like a timing problem perhaps instead? Thanks again for all the help guys I would be so lost if it wasn't for this site. Thumbs up to all the contributors!
 

93 1.9d

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Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
And as for the leak I found a cracked oil cap on the valve cover and it is also leaking from the ccv puck, plan on getting a cap tomorrow at the wreckers. Oh and I think my turbo seals are caput. Ill try and post pictures. But after a night of sitting and trying to crank there was a lot of oil on the drive. Probably a quart. Didn't do that today though and I took it out for a drive came back wasn't leaking that much just a few drips here and there
 

Windex

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Apr 1, 2006
Location
Cambridge
TDI
05 B5V 01E FRF
In your pictures, the oil appears to be coming from the outlet hose - clamp is not tight enough.

Having owned one of these, and knowing the temperatures we had last week, I would say that not having a functional cold start advance would certainly contribute to the hard starting you described. See if you can move the cold start advance lever (at the pump) manually and if it raises the idle or makes the cold starting any easier.
 

93 1.9d

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Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
Alright ill clean up the turbo tighten the clamp see if that helps. And I'm not sure I understand? I thought the csa lever just gave it a bit more throttle so isn't it the same that the accelerator cable that's connected to at the pump?
 

Vince Waldon

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Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
The cold start handle's primary function is to advance the timing 5 degrees up to about 2000 RPM, to make it easier for a cold engine to start by allowing more time for the fuel to burn.

On early models of the AAZ that's all the cold start handle does... on later models it also ups the idle a bit for improved drivability and slightly improved warm-up times.

Your's being a 93 may in fact have the earlier pump where the cold start handle only advances the timing. The fast-idle mechanism, if it exists, is a shaft between the cold-start lever on the pump and a rockered-tee that has two set screws (one that adjusts normal idle, and one that adjusts fast idle). Pictures of the front and back of the pump are the best way to know for sure.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
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Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
On the 93 AAZ I worked on the pump looked the same as the old style fast idle pump, but the linkage was hooked up to a vacuum motor run by the "ECU" instead of the cold start handle. It would fast idle until the coolant warmed up, or if the AC was on.

-J
 

Vince Waldon

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Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
Ah yes, there's that version as well.

And... these cars being as old as they are...often the original pump is long gone... or has had various parts added or deleted over the years.

Best bet to sort it all out: pictures. :)
 

93 1.9d

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Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
Alright guys car is in the shop getting tstat change and coolant flush (other guy had Prestone in it) and I'm busy tomorrow so hopefully be able to figure it out Thursday, at the least post a couple pictures. Thanks:)
 

compu_85

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Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
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... None :S
I don't see the vacuum motor like mine had - what I do see though looks like a fuel leak around the throttle shaft :(

-J
 

Vince Waldon

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Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
I spy with my little eye... in the second picture... one of the idle rocker setscrews. So probably has the fast-idle-when-cold-start-handle-pulled feature.

Again... mis-adjustment of the fast idle function won't cause hard starts in and of itself.

The throttle shaft leak, on the other hand, can cause the pump to lose prime and be hard to start, particularly first start of the day.

Yes, the throttle shaft o-ring can be replaced with the pump in the car...the top has to come off and it may need a new brass bushing if it's worn. Replacing just the seal without checking and/or replacing the bushing can lead to heartache later when the new o-ring fails in short order. :(

However, the pressures inside the pump can hit 100 psi and generally once you repair one seal the pressure finds the next weakest seal... and so on and so on. So, you might get away with just doing the throttle seal but ideally the pump comes off and gets resealed stem-to-stern. :)
 

93 1.9d

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Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
Wow you guys know these pumps so well. I feel like re sealing the whole pump is very involved. I rebuilt the carb on my 2 stroke rm 125 dirt bike , would this be comparable just bigger? Also would this be a weekend project or something I should send to someone. Thanks guys
 

Vince Waldon

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Joined
Apr 25, 2009
Location
Edmonton AB Canada
TDI
2001 ALH Jetta, 2003 ALH Wagon, 2005 BEW Wagon
It's not rocket science but if you make a mistake at a couple of junctures the pump will grind itself up, and items like a bushing replacement need special reamers.

You are not that far from the international god of IDI pumps....Giles at Performance Diesel in Markham. I'd be inclined to check out what he charges for a full reseal...or the parts themselves should you decide to roll your own. He used to stock rebuild cores, which might reduce your downtime.

Www.performancediesel.ca

Note that if you pull the pump you will need to do the timing, which requires a dial indicator, an adapter for the dial indicator, and several jigs. If you poke around my web site you'll find a pictorial how-to on the subject.
 

compu_85

Gadget Guy
Joined
Sep 29, 2003
Location
La Conner, WA
TDI
... None :S
I just realized... my car had Air Conditioning... this one does not (note the 70 amp alternator). That's why mine had the "automatic" high idle.

-J
 

93 1.9d

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
Location
London Ontario CANADA
TDI
1993 Golf 1.9D 427000kms and counting!
compu- is your ac switch beside your rear defrost button? mine has a hole there where something used to be and this wire is disconected and looks as tho it has been for a while ( the wire just above that snap connector ), maybe my car used to have ac? The black hose at the bottom of the picture is the fuel line for reference
 
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