UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

Hi, I a new forum user and old Polo owner
I had this car for 15 years (160.000km) and never had any major probs…. ‘till now.. Serviced at a local garage a month ago but after few days stopped working. Jump started ok then not used it for a week, now will start but not fire.
Carried the following tests: petrol ok; clean fuel filter; put new battery; sprayed the carb with aereosol. Still not working. Tried another coil (taken from the scarp yard) and checked the sparks and are a bit weak with both coils, so I guess that either the coils are rubbish and need to get a new one or could it be that the electronic/ignition control box is faulty and if so, does anyone know where it is located? Before buying a new coil that I might not need can I test with the one on the Fabia 1.4 16v?

Tks

Might be worth doing a condensor - £3 from any car shop.

found out that the hall sender is faulty and need replacement. 98 pounds + VAT, not cheap at all!! The scrap yard in my town might be of help but I wonder if there is any way it could be tested before buying it. Also can I use the part from a Polo/Golf newer models. My POLO was registered in Italy Sept 1990 ( in England will be H reg ) and not 1991 and I know there is a new version from Oct 90.

would my symptoms be a similar outcome, or something different?

starter runs freely, sparks seem good (not that i'm a great judge, but they're present when the cable is unhooked and rested on the bodywork, loud enough to be heard over the starter), but there's little to no hint of any combustion going on. was a problem a few days before this when i changed the ECU chip and a pin got bent on reconnecting the plug, but I straightened that out and it ran ok after.

the only thing i've ever replaced on the ignition is a couple sets of cables, plugs, dizzy cap and rotor arm. never touched the hall sender or anything like that (except when removing / refitting main body of dizzy during overhaul). engine's always run, if not flawlessly, at least reliably, and only had noticable starting difficulty one time during my ownership.