>>Hi again folks. Now that I've finally completed my clutch job,
>>replaced the mysteriously absent drive flange springs/thrust
>>washers, and fought the good fight with Bentley Publishing over
>>product support, the old GTI is on the road again...but...
>
>>I have another problem that has been plaguing the car
>>intermittently for a bit. I'll be driving down the freeway and the
>>engine will suddenly and completely lose power. It happened again
>>today on the way to work. It doesn't surge or buck; it just
>>completely loses power. It seems that I've suddenly lost spark, and
>>if I push the accelerator to the floor, absolutely nothing happens.
>>At this point I usually push in the clutch to coast, the engine
>>drops to idle, and then I can accelerate again.
>
>>Wires, plugs, cap, and rotor are fairly new. All other ignition
>>components are original. Anyone have any ideas what the problem is?
>>TIA for your help.
>
>Does the tacho needle drop suddenly when power is lost?

If so, perhaps it's simply the ignition switch. Jiggle the key next
time power cuts out and see if it quickly returns.

Darryl.


>Check the wiring to the Hall sensor in the distributor.
>
>The sensor itself doesn't last forever; nor would you, sitting in a
>hot distributor with 30,000V or more arcing above your head.
>
>If the tacho needle still reflect engine speed, then there's still a
>signal coming from the Hall sensor. Maybe the fuel pump relay is
>playing up... electrics differ quite a lot from one production run
>to the next.
>
>Also check that the rubber bellows between air flow meter/fuel
>distributor and the throttle body is intact. A broken/weak engine
>mount can cause the engine to tear open a crack when under load and
>the engine will suck a lot of air that's not metered, resulting in a
>very lean mixture.