mk2

Hey Dan get this... someone bumped my SDI while it was parked in supermarket car park about a week ago- i was standing next to it, so they couldn't drive away. Anyway, to cut a long story short, their insurance company siad that they'll have to write my car off for the tiny two inch long scratch, as the respray will cost about £380. So I'm now trying to get the people to settle privately and have a mate spray it for me (i'll probably do it myslef TBH). Apparently the insurance value of SDI Lupos, even in superb condition is only about £472! Is this what your system also tells you? So in a nutshell, any scuff or ding will now write off a Lupo. Is this mad or what? Even a Gti insurance value is only £620. Damage costing more than half the book value will write it off. Is there a scam going on the car insurance business?

If true, should be a piece of p!$$. Never owned a gti, but if they come with abs and an ecu (tick and tick), it's most likely that all you need to do is run some cable from the abs pump controller to the ecu. Then activate the ESP subroutine in the ECU. It's a very simple piece of software- i once wrote a launch controller using the ABS sensors. I can't think of a single reason why our cars didn't come with ESP. Do jap imports come with it?

Has anyone ever fitted ESP to a loop? Use ABS to control the traction? Trying to think which vdubs of same era have ESP.... R32? RS4?

So I'm guessing he must have meant desoldering the chip in the transponder box? I personally don't like messing with stuff like that without lots of info... if it goes wrong, it ends up costing more than just having a dealer sort it before I've broken everything! interesting thing though, is that i know you can access the cluster AND the transponder box via the diagnostics port, with the Vdub VAS system. It is possible to recalibrate the fuel gauge, set tacho zero position, adjust the 90 degrees C point on the temp gauge using the vdub system- i watched it being done. Only thing I've not seen is a key being copied, or to be more correct- assigning keys to the car. I get the impression you need to put the metal cut key into the ign lock, have the sensor pick up the RF key ID transponder serial number, then assign that key to the car by storing the key Serial number in a memory location somewhere. So it's a 3 step process from having spoken to a lot of people. Learn. Read. Save. You can have up to 3 keys assigned to a car, which implies that there must be 3 memory locations- probably 4 bytes of data per key....? I need more info. @MORE , Tacho always going low suggests a faulty power bus in the cluster. From my experiments a few years back, I think it runs at -5v 0 +5v or something like that. The needle pointer gauges are all differential drive to isolate them from any main 12v feed fluctuations. Each gauge is driven through a chip, not direct from sensor.

Nice which wheels are they?

dobrodošli u klub lupo Show pics....

We need about another 15....

Yeah, I know a few people who can unsolder the cluster memory chip then muck about with it. But, 90% of the time it ends up trashed and the other 10% of the time something else gets messed up. If someone ever cracks how to change dash settings or copy keys via the diagnostic socket they'll make some money... One guy I know told me he could copy a lupo key for £75, but couldn't guarantee me that he wouldn't break the cluster as he had to unsolder and resolder the memory chip to read the data. Which then turns it into a £350 main dealer problem. Mmmm.

Yeah, but how to correct for the odometer...? one of my SDI's cluster has a duff buzzer/gong thing, and it isn't the speaker. I have a spare working cluster, but the milage is 186k. My loop's only done 101k. I know absolutely no-one in the entire vdub universe that knows how to correct the odometer (or copy a key for that matter...). @MORE will have the some problem and in Italy they take milage changes very seriously. @Rich knows no-one either and he knows a lot of vdub geezers.

There is an adjuster next to the main light switch- next to the headlight position adjuster. Maybe it is loose? Try wiggling it....

Benvenuto in club lupo

It had the rear speaker option? I want...

Diagnostics would pick up dodgy temp sensor... when cold all sensors should be about the same. When hot, water around 90 and air around 25 in this weather. Yeah check the temp sensor.

I was gonna put one on my first SDI... glad i didn't in the end. There are (were) some nice looking kits around a few years back. I wonder what happened to the moulds.

But it's a little 1.4... !

Yeah i thought the same, but wouldn't ecu flag timing fault if more than 3/4 of a tooth out?

Could be that the cat is blocked like @Sausage suggested. Or fuel pump? Try running it briefly without exhaust connected if you're in a workshop. if you're 100% sure all the mechanical stuff is ok, and not the above, it can only be ECU controlled output. The ecu thinks the car is simply heavily loaded and just can't go "uphill" any faster. This is all being done on a rolling road I'm guessing? the lambda output figures/plot always tell you everything you need to know.

Get a slightly newer model and your yearly running costs will be much lower (road tax).

No easy answer other than jack her up, pull the wheel and drum off and get measuring.... there are a few variations in rear drum for some unknown reason. The shoes from my mk2 golf are a perfect fit in my SDIs!

What was lambda saying as it approached 3k? Any misfiring or just gutless and wont go over 3k ish? you checked timing belt? A tooth out? Although dumb question- ecu would flag a code. what's idle vac like when hot?

You must be a careful driver who doesn't thrash their car... with maintenance, most cars last reasonably well. Especially vdubs which is why they generally hold their value. Cheap motoring if you look at the problem list over 14 1/2 years . Mind you the mk4 golf I was given a few years ago has been a complete nightmare. If it could go wrong, it went wrong. So so many design faults. And it was very well serviced.

When it comes to refurbing the interior, especially the driver's seat and door cards, i always get my bits secondhand from continental europe. Being the passenger side over there and being a small car, mostly occupied by one person, the passenger side most often is like brand new. It's amazing how a new seat (upholstery) completely transforms the car. "Oh, you've really looked after it then" are the comments i get all the time for both my SDIs... Just re-read your symptoms while having lunch... it could be cam sensor or O2. Petrol smell, dies gradually after loss of power.... easy way to check is with diagnostics of course, but failing that just unplug the O2 and see if it reproduces the fault, or no change while running. Same for cam sensor.

Aye aye captain. What @Rich means is there's a screw you can get to from the edge of the door (with it open). I can't remember if it's behind a round plastic cap on the Lupo, but you need a small torx bit to loosen it. With a small blunt blade or little flat screwdriver, gently unclip the plastic barrel cover from the outside (next to the handle). Put the key in the lock, loosen the screw just one turn then try to wiggle the key, at the same time trying to pull the barrel out. No luck, undo another turn and try again. Some cars it's 7 turns, some 15... whatever you do, don't take the screw out as the retaining ring drops out causing no end of hassle.

There are a few things it could be from your description, but i guess we need to narrow down and eliminate stuff. Great to hear you still have the car after all these years. You are a true Lupo enthusiast! Show us a pic or two of how it looks now that it's middle aged... Cutting out suddenly is usually ignition based or electrical. Especially if there's a misfire. It might be a fuel problem but unlikely. Ideally a plug in diagnostic thing would give you a few pointers of possible sources of the problem(s). It could be an ignition problem, perhaps coil pack/plug lead. Might be the crank sesnsor which provides the computer with all the engine timing references. If that is intermittant, it can also give the symptoms you describe. It could be a power relay under the dash which supplies 12V to all the operating systems when the ignition key is on. An intermittant contact can cause cutting out, but not a misfire. All of the above are not expensive or tricky to repair as the parts are all easy to access and most places sell the bits. Changing the headlight unit would cost more! If you're north wales, @Rich isn't that far from you (I think)... By the way, you probably already know this, but Gtis are becoming a bit of a cult car and have gone up a lot in value recently. Good ones have changed hands for £6k.

Was there any gear whining when you drove it before it stopped shifting? The gearbox should have been completely silent.