mk2

Just had a thought... Is this engine drive by wire?

I don't know this particular model that well, but isn't there either a map or air flow sensor? If the disconnected plug is the tps pickup, the ecu will ignore the reading as it'll be outside 'normal' range, and rely on the main sensor (map or air flow). So long as crank pulse is present, main sensor is ok and the lambda is responding, the engine will run ok. Using just those, the ecu assumes the engine has warmed up and will try it's hardest to keep the fuel/air mix ok. The engine will be less responsive though... I'm just thinking back to the days of mechanical fuel injection, where there was no tps. The entire fuelling relies on the air flow deflection arm. A bit like old SU carbs! A few years back the americans used to swear by map sensors, where the europeans used to swear by air flow... I think the air flow method won the argument. My fav is map sensor as it's easier to work with.

Skezza, I run 4 of them on my mk4, because `i couldn't get michellins in that size. Do you find that the contis wear a bit faster than normal? They are nice'n'quiet though.

Yeah it would... We really need more info on the problems- is it misfiring? Is there power (when pushed hard)? Slow idle for an injected car is a really unusual symptom. As soon as I read that it was ok when cold but bad when hot, it reminded me of a problem with a car I sorted a few years back on a really hot summer's day. It was a dodgy fuel pump, that only delivered "just" enough pressure, but loads of flow. Took ages to figure out. Very similar symptoms. Jags used to suffer from that a lot. They ended up using the AC to cool the fuel gallery on hot days.

My guess is it might be the fuel pressure regulator or maybe the fuel pump (or blocked fuel filter). When the engine is hot, the fuel gallery (the main pipe that connects all the injectors together) needs good flow to keep the fuel cool. If the fuel gets too hot it vapourises and then the injectors cannot inject fuel, only vapour= slow engine. You need lots of fuel to go through the fuel gallery to keep it as a liquid. A blocked fuel filter, faulty pressure regulator or faulty fuel pump 'may' cause your problems...

Your gear stick linkage needs adjusting...

Ok, if you feel up to it, I'd certainly do the cam belt. But you need to be brave as it is tricky, and you really need someone to guide you if you've not done one before. While you're there, change the water pump, cam belt tensioner, the little idle pulley and the fan belt. And to do all of that it is even easier if the inlet manifold is off- so while the inlet manifold is off, clean it up and block off the EGR system (for even more economy and power...). Clutch is also straight forward, but again if you've not done any clutch before, I'd get someone to guide you. And while the gearbox is out, I personally would have someone swap the box bearings and 1-2 syncromesh rings (which is why the gear change is iffy). Also has the pedal box been replaced? Dodgy pedal box kills 1-2. Gearbox seal is easy while in situ, but you need to make or get a tool to pull out the old seal without damaging the side of the hole where the seal sits. Change the little rubber ball link and seal while you're there too.... All in all probably about £270 of parts, about 35h labour and you'll have a car that goes better than new (with no EGR). Mine did after i did all that (except the gearbox which was ok). The gearbox labour should be about £150ish if you turn up with a cleanly washed box and all the bits you need.

Yeah same as what I took a pic of further up the thread, which at least confirms that my mcd is a mcd... at least I now know that the rf connection nearest the radio antenna connector is for the gps antenna. The other with the little black plastic L shaped bracket must be ABS then? Thnx for the info

how did you turn it off? Just cut the wire or can you deactivate it using vagcom? which kind of answers another of my questions- if you can do it with vagcom it must be a signal from the ecu???? All the radios have the input, but my guess is that they operate normally if there is no gala signal.

Does anyone have access to a wiring diagram that shows the GALA signal... and where it comes from? I'd be ever so grateful!

My radio-cassette had a fixed volume control on it. As drove faster, I had to turn up the volume control. Really noticable when coming to a stop after a cruise on the motorway. Deafening! I think only the gti, 3l and sport models have the extra wiring. Unless the Lupo was ordered specially from the factory, with extras like ac, electric seats, mirrors and that sort of thing...

Yeah thats the aux in emulator cable thing i was talking about. The mfd/mcd post only mentions if your car is already equipped with the right signals.... Which mine sadly isn't. The sat nav antenna cable is straight forward- the gala and maybe abs I'm not sure about yet.

If only it was that easy. In my lupo loom, there is no wire in that position (marked GA). Poverty spec loom me thinks. So i guess i need to add it, if only i knew from where i could pick up the gala signal...

yeah, there's a CD changer emulator thing that plugs into the CD changer plug. They cost about £25. The thing allows you to connect an MP3 player or some other sound source to the MCD (or MFD) unit. Then you can select the CD changer and listen to music from your MP3 player on the car speakers. The 'loom' has a little circuit board in a box that tricks the radio into thinking that it is connected to an OEM CD changer. You get a 3.5mm stereo jack plug and a USB charger lead (handy for iPods). It has no effect on the sat nav system though...

Rich I've heard of this once or twice over the years but have never tried it. Have you tried it, and if you did, what was it like?- did you need to change the pump timing advance springs and/or pump lift profile? My guess is that with a 1.9 turbo non PD engine, you could up the waste gate release pressure, and to get more high end power, increase the fuelling- by doing exactly what you suggest... Lots of black smoke (and power). I suspect that the 1.7 SDI could take 200+hp with silly boost. Add turbo plus new pump & injectors and away you go. Idle would be tricky. Big injectors don't like really short pulses = rough idle. Best of both worlds- economical 1.7 SDI performance with PD180 power....... Not sure how many miles it'd last. Maybe 50k?

I've been investigating the wiring a bit more.... it's ongoing this one. If you fit an OEM sat nav unit to a non sat nav Lupo, you need to add a GALA signal (which is short for german long word-GeschwindigkeitsAbhängigenLautstärkeAnpassung = Speed Dependent Volume Control). Now this is where my uncertainty is- some OEM sat navs use only the GALA signal, some use the GALA AND the wheel pulses from the ABS system, and some only use the ABS pulses. Also I'm not sure if the ABS pulses are 'raw' from the wheel sensor or processed from the ABS control unit (anyone?). From what I've read, the MCD I have only 'needs' a GALA signal. This signal 'I think' is the same as the pulses that come from the speedo pickup sensor on the gearbox, but I'm not sure. Does anyone have a wiring diagram showing where the GALA signal comes from- so I can connect it to the same place to try and keep everything as OEM as poss? Different OEM sat navs use wheel pulses (ABS) and turning angle and speedo signal (GALA), so I guess the later the sat nav unit you decide to retrofit, the more work it'll be. Late MFD (mk 1) units are great as you can even hook up TV or video to them.

Skezza, mine pulls very slightly to the right. When i checked everything, the only thing i noticed was that the ride height on the right front was slightly lower than the other 3 corners (by about 8mm). I measured wheel arch edge to metal wheel rim when parked on level ground (tesco car park!). Don't have coilies, so can't do anything about it. I have also noticed that rubbish tyres cause really wierd handling, like when driving with one side of the car on a white line, really yanks the car sideways. Same tyres all round- and then only michellins, firestones (OEM) or goodyears.

I keep getting emailed these offers. I must be buying way too much which is why they keep sending me the 35% offer!?! Every week nearly now. The code expires 1st March Sunday @ 23.59 Use code GSFCP35 at the checkout http://www.gsfcarparts.com I wish they did tyres.......

took me about two months to find a decent SDI (less to go wrong than a Tdi), and I paid 2K for a 55k milage 01 plate. But it was immaculate = original (apart from central locking, windows and the usual pedal box). I had to travel 3h to get to it. mechanicals can always be fixed at home. Bodywork and interior are much more difficult, so be sure to make sure they're ok. And get lots of keys- I have just one and am still battling to get them copied without paying a fortune. Now onto my 3rd computer interface...

In my lupo I have this (ok so it's out now...): And now that I've bought this, I'd like to rig it up so it works correctly. Not so simple.... So the two Lupo loom plugs that I pulled out of the Beta unit go straight into the MCD, and it powers up fine. Sat nav don't work yet cos I haven't figured out which connector the sat nav antenna plugs into (there are two RF connections). In addition, which type of connector do i need on the end of the GPS antenna? It's not SMA, but might be SMB... I just can't tell. I have a few GPS antennas hanging around just itching to be fitted with a new COAX plug. Also as I understand it from reading around the subject, I need an adaptor or something that can emulate the CD changer (so the head unit 'thinks' it's connected to the CD changer unit)- then I can plug in an MP3 player or something. That then plugs into the CDC socket- but where to get one? How does the phone interface work? Do you need an adaptor or is it something that no-one uses? Any other tips most gratefully received.

could be the battery? unless something is draining it... measure your 'off' current with a meter.

I'll try it... I don't have any EGR on my lupo. As soon as I get a chance to try it, I'll report back. Lower RPMs can lead to low oil pressure on worn engines. Nice one Skezza

You can test everything without gassing up yet, but you'll need to trick the sensors...Not sure if the Loop AC high pressure pipe has a pressure sensor on it (as I'm not familiar with AC on a Lupo). If it does, you'll need to tell the AC controller that there is sufficient gas in the system to activate the compressor solenoid (when you turn on the AC). The high pressure sensor may be the sort that indicates, low, ok or high. You must never send a low pressure signal to the controller or it'll lock out (to stop the compressor being damaged). The high signal tells the controller that the compressor has compressed enough gas for the moment so it can be switched off until it drops to 'ok' again. I'm assuming here that the sensor is a 3 level one.... Assuming you can get the compressor solenoid to energise (which tells you that the controller is happy with all the signals), then you'll need to tell it that the system is beginning to chill. A lump of ice held against a sensor might help. The rad fans should work when the compressor is on and the condensor unit (in front of the rad) is hot (you need some hot water on the sensor). Most of this is guess work as every Vdub I've worked on has a different AC protocol... Some things take priority over others. Personally I'd draw a sensor diagram and try and figure out what takes priority. Can't help much more than that, but it usually is pretty logical. Sensors: Ambient air temp Cabin air temp (may not affect AC- during demist mode) High pressure line temp and/or condensor temp (if fitted). Coolent temp (may or may not affect AC operation) Evaporator temp and/or Expansion valve temp (if fitted) Dryer switch (if there is one) high pressure switch (if there is one) air recirculator flap switch (if there is one) Ac on signal/switch or whatever activates everything condensate too high float switch (if it has one) outputs: rad fans compressor solenoid recirculation control thingy cabin fan(s) Yeah like Skezza says, the most difficult bit about retrofitting AC to any car/truck/tractor/boat is the compressor + belt system. I always start there, as the rest is relatively straight forward.

Go to http://www.gsfcarparts.com/ at checkout use code "GSFCP35" Runs out at 23.59 on Sunday night (22nd). Their 5L waxoyl cans are the cheapest anywhere for undersealing... Buy now for application in summer time when the car is nice and dry. Their Hella wipers are also a good deal (better quality than Bosch me thinks). But watch out on other parts as they can be expensive (compare to Ebay first!).

I haven't seen one of those Capris for ages! At least 10 years... must be rare now. Can't wait to see it restored. But it takes many hours to do...