Car died while driving

[Nuje]

A 6mm (or very close to that) drill bit will work as a pin to lock/confirm the injection pump position. Be sure to use the "butt-end" of the bit, not the twisty part - you do NOT want that to have that break off in the lock hole, lest you create a lot of additional work for yourself.

 

[jokila]

15/64ths drill bit.

 

[Nuje]

6mm = .2362" = 14.9/64ths

 

[Windex]

Was any work done to the car which could contribute to potentially skipping a tooth or two? When was the last time the timing belt system or any part of it was serviced?

 

[Mpaw]

The AC and the heat do not work. And when I turn the blower motor on after a while, it blows the fuse.

But the question is still why did it just shut off while I was driving just because I turned a climate control knob? And now won’t start

You may be chasing a number of faults - I would definitely start by trying to locate the electrical fault here (start from the fault codes) .... and the timing / belt like written above
(I twice had a faulty regulator on two different cars with alternator regulator faults which didn't throw a dashboard light but the battery just gradually ran down - it's surprising how far you can go if the lights etc. are switched off with a full battery that isn't being charged. In my first TDI I managed about 165 miles before it got dark and I switched the lights on which rapidly drained the battery - but this doesn't cause fuses to blow)

 

[Ethanb89]

So after running into an issue with my car dying while driving down the interstate and not wanting to start back up, I performed different diagnosis and research as much as I could. Also tried suggestions from a previous posts on this thread two months ago. After no success, I chalked it up and had it taken to a repair shop and they said the injection pump had went out. I replaced the injection pump along with the fuel sending unit. I also replaced the timing belt, water pump, idle roller along with others that came with the kit. I verified everything was in time like it should be. I was able to get it to start this morning and run and it actually ran for a couple minutes, but it sounded like it was not firing on one cylinder. Unless maybe the injection quantity was so low. Also while it was running/idling, I attempted to press the throttle and it didn’t do anything. The RPMs did not accelerate. Got the wheel back on and everything buttoned back up so I can pull it out of the garage started it and it ran the same way, and I was able to drive out of the garage and down the street a little bit. There seems to be a limp mode condition I assume for whatever reason because I got no acceleration when pressing the throttle and once the turbo started to spool the car died and now it will not start again. Any ideas or suggestions as to what it might be? Thank you in advance!

 

[KLXD]

I think it's well you brought this back to this original thread since I think the original problem continues. Maybe put a link to here in the other thread.

I don't think the timing was ever the problem. Two flywheel teeth off is not enough to cause it not to run and it wouldn't have happened suddenly unless the pump was loose. Folks here tend to jump on timing as the problem with good justification but you seem to have shown that it was not that far off.

At this point I would rule out the fuel system by running it off a bottle but my money's on a wiring problem.

 

[Ethanb89]

I think it's well you brought this back to this original thread since I think the original problem continues. Maybe put a link to here in the other thread.

I don't think the timing was ever the problem. Two flywheel teeth off is not enough to cause it not to run and it wouldn't have happened suddenly unless the pump was loose. Folks here tend to jump on timing as the problem with good justification but you seem to have shown that it was not that far off.

At this point I would rule out the fuel system by running it off a bottle but my money's on a wiring problem.

what kind of wiring problem? I only know so much and don’t have any tools to test wiring properly

 

[Mozambiquer]

So after running into an issue with my car dying while driving down the interstate and not wanting to start back up, I performed different diagnosis and research as much as I could. Also tried suggestions from a previous posts on this thread two months ago. After no success, I chalked it up and had it taken to a repair shop and they said the injection pump had went out. I replaced the injection pump along with the fuel sending unit. I also replaced the timing belt, water pump, idle roller along with others that came with the kit. I verified everything was in time like it should be. I was able to get it to start this morning and run and it actually ran for a couple minutes, but it sounded like it was not firing on one cylinder. Unless maybe the injection quantity was so low. Also while it was running/idling, I attempted to press the throttle and it didn’t do anything. The RPMs did not accelerate. Got the wheel back on and everything buttoned back up so I can pull it out of the garage started it and it ran the same way, and I was able to drive out of the garage and down the street a little bit. There seems to be a limp mode condition I assume for whatever reason because I got no acceleration when pressing the throttle and once the turbo started to spool the car died and now it will not start again. Any ideas or suggestions as to what it might be? Thank you in advance!

Where did the injection pump come from?

 

[turbodieseldyke]

my money's on a wiring problem.

Mine too.

I turned the climate control knob from defrost to another selection ... Once I turned the knob my car shut off while I was driving. And it would not start back up again

 

[dieseldonato]

OK, I finally was able to get around to doing it and checked the timing. It appears that the injection pump is off 2 teeth on the timing belt. The center lining Mark for the injection pump is almost spot on. I don’t have the tool yet to check and stick it in there but from what I can see it is very close. I didn’t take the valve cover off but the cam gear lines are just slightly off from the head, which is because I don’t have the sprocket for the injection pump completely where it should be. The Mark for the flywheel is off from where it should be about a half inch.

IMG_0226.jpeg

• Ethanb89
• May 18, 2024

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• Ethanb89
• May 18, 2024

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• Ethanb89
• May 18, 2024

Just tossing in my $0.02. The Pic of the pump gear, clearly has signs of the gear slipping recently. A little change will throw the car off the timing map on vcds. You can loosen those bolts and with everything else pinned turn the center bolt on the pump to get it to line up. Tighten the gear/ sprocket bolts back down afterwards.
Edit: I don't think this is your problem, but it's simple enough to do, and get the timing in a place that's known to be good enough to start. Just covers bases.

 

[KLXD]

But he installed a new pump which was presumably was timed properly.

 

[dieseldonato]

But he installed a new pump which was presumably was timed properly.

Correct, I missed that.

 

[wonneber]

Did I miss if the the injector pump and injectors were blead ?
Fuel filter full?

 

[KLXD]

You did not. That's why I suggested he run it on a bottle at this point to rule out a fuel problem.