1995 Polo -- Engine suddenly very rough -- what's happened?!

Hello,

I have a 1995 Polo 6NS with a 1.2 litre petrol engine with approximately 107,000 miles. Earlier today, I was out for a drive and everything seemed fine. I stopped to park for about 5 minutes. When I restarted the engine, it felt very rough as if it was firing on only 3 of its 4 cylinders.

It is now very sluggish when moving away from a stopped position and I must keep the revs up quite high and let the clutch out very gradually or it stalls. The car starts fine even after sitting for several hours and there is no smoke coming from the exhaust and it doesn’t backfire.

I have taken the distributor cap off and cleaned the contact points on the cap and the rotor with steel wool—the contacts are now bright and corrosion free—but this didn’t change anything.

Does anyone have an idea as to what the problem might be or any tests I can do to narrow down the possibilities?

--John

have you checked your spark plugs and HT leads to the distributor? I had a small crack in one of my HT leads ( where it contacted with the spark plug) and it was shorting on the engine block causing it to only fire on three cylinders. If this is the case you will see a white residue on the lead at the point where it is shorting. If there is nothing obvious start the engine a see if you can see a spark anywhere along the length of the lead.

If you haven't changed your spark plugs in a while it might be worth doing so, check them, if they have a dirty residue at the point where they spark then replace.

just an idea, worth checking

cheers

Blair

I had planned to do some work on the Polo today, but I won’t be able to get a spark plug wrench until Monday, so I will have to wait until then to check the spark plugs. There are some new developments that might perhaps shed some additional light on the matter.

As I attempted to start the car today, the motor cranked for less than a second and that’s it. It won’t turn over. However, I did notice that prior to turning the key in the ignition, the car’s clock was reading the correct time; as soon as I turned the ignition, the clock reset to 00:00. Each time I turn the key, it resets the clock.

Do this clock problem shed any light on things?

--John

Sounds like you've squeezed every last drop of power out your battery. Everytime you turn the ignition you drain the last of the power, resetting your clock. When did you last change your battery? If quite recently ie last year or so, then your alternator is probably knackered.

cheers

Blair

Thanks, Blair. I'm not sure how old the battery is--I've only owned the car for a year. I will see if there's any indicator on the battery as to its age and check into the alternator as a potential issue.

Thanks very much!

Sorry I should add, if you haven't changed your battery in a while it might be time to do so. A quick check, if you can, is 'borrow' a battery from another car (your partners, friend or neighbour) install it and see if the car turns over. If it does - get a new battery, if this runs flat pretty quickly then your alternator is a goner. You haven't wasted money on the new battery as this can be recharged fairly easily. Old batteries will recharge but not hold their power as long, so new is best and some places will take the old one for recycling.

Blair

Great idea. Thanks again, Blair.

Hello from Canada, Before you buy a new battery, Several things need looking at. Blair 205 is on the correct path, but is assuming your charging system is working correctly. A faulty alternator, a corroded terminal, a burnt wire from the alternator, and a corroded ground wire at the frame will not recharge the battery. Yes borrow a battery. Your car should start and run smoothly. Take a glass of warm water and dissolve a teaspoon of baking soda in it and pour it on the battery connections until they stop fizzing then rinse with tap water. Borrow or buy or beg an accurate volt meter set to DC 0 to 20 range. Then Clean them, and lightly grease. With a fully charged battery your voltage should be 13.5 to 14 volts with the lights and all accessories turned on. If your alternator is faulty you will watch the voltage rather rapidly drop until the car quits. Once the battery is charged system voltage automatically drops to 13.5 Allan