2003 VW Polo engine management issue
Discussion
Hi I'm wondering if anyone could help me?
I just bought a 2003 VW Polo 1.2 3cy with 80,000 miles on the clock and a fresh MOT from an auction for £850 and which broke down on the way home and I wondering if anyone could help pinpoint the issue?
We picked up the car this morning and it appeared to be in good condition, it started without issue and all the basics (windows, lights, wipers etc.) worked fine.
The first issue we found was the indicator while working fine didn't tick which was annoying didn't bother us that much.
The next issue we found was more significant, when I tried to give the windscreen a quick wash the fluid sprayed fine but the front wipers (which we had tested before setting off) wouldn't work on any setting while the back worked fine. We left it in a car park for 10-15 minutes while we had lunch and when we tried them after getting back they worked at first but after turning off and on again to be sure they stopped again, we tried them maybe a dozen more times and they worked about 25% of the time. Shortly after setting off it started to rain so I would try and get them to work every 30 seconds or so and after about a 15 or so minutes they miraculously started working and stayed on for the rest of the journey without issue.
Apart from that the car drove superbly, the engine pulled well considering its size, refinement and comfort were very good and there was no sign what so ever of any other problems with the car so overall we were very happy with our purchase. That is until after 70 miles of driving the engine management light started flashing out of the blue before staying on. I had enough time to acknowledge this and mention it to my passenger before the engine became limited to 2000rpm and there was a strong smell of overheated electrics (like a blown power pack on a PC) . I pulled over and turned the engine off, waited 30 seconds and restarted the engine. It started fine and revved as normal in neutral (the wipers had stopped working again though). I set of again and almost instantly the same thing happened and this time the engine would turn over put not restart (although the wipers did start). My passenger is fairly mechanically minded and could find no issue under the bonnet and even the smell was only in the cabin.
After getting it towed to a local garage and leaving it for an hour I went back to pick up a few things I had left in it and after unlocking it both front windows opened fully on their own accord without anyone having touched them since we tested them that morning.
Some other forum posts have mentioned spark plugs been replaced in attempts to fix it and they were changed at 30k, 37k, 41k, 50k, 63k and 70k. I have no idea if that is relevant in anyway?
Sorry if the wall of text is to much but I thought the more details the better and I appreciate you taking the time to read this far.
I just bought a 2003 VW Polo 1.2 3cy with 80,000 miles on the clock and a fresh MOT from an auction for £850 and which broke down on the way home and I wondering if anyone could help pinpoint the issue?
We picked up the car this morning and it appeared to be in good condition, it started without issue and all the basics (windows, lights, wipers etc.) worked fine.
The first issue we found was the indicator while working fine didn't tick which was annoying didn't bother us that much.
The next issue we found was more significant, when I tried to give the windscreen a quick wash the fluid sprayed fine but the front wipers (which we had tested before setting off) wouldn't work on any setting while the back worked fine. We left it in a car park for 10-15 minutes while we had lunch and when we tried them after getting back they worked at first but after turning off and on again to be sure they stopped again, we tried them maybe a dozen more times and they worked about 25% of the time. Shortly after setting off it started to rain so I would try and get them to work every 30 seconds or so and after about a 15 or so minutes they miraculously started working and stayed on for the rest of the journey without issue.
Apart from that the car drove superbly, the engine pulled well considering its size, refinement and comfort were very good and there was no sign what so ever of any other problems with the car so overall we were very happy with our purchase. That is until after 70 miles of driving the engine management light started flashing out of the blue before staying on. I had enough time to acknowledge this and mention it to my passenger before the engine became limited to 2000rpm and there was a strong smell of overheated electrics (like a blown power pack on a PC) . I pulled over and turned the engine off, waited 30 seconds and restarted the engine. It started fine and revved as normal in neutral (the wipers had stopped working again though). I set of again and almost instantly the same thing happened and this time the engine would turn over put not restart (although the wipers did start). My passenger is fairly mechanically minded and could find no issue under the bonnet and even the smell was only in the cabin.
After getting it towed to a local garage and leaving it for an hour I went back to pick up a few things I had left in it and after unlocking it both front windows opened fully on their own accord without anyone having touched them since we tested them that morning.
Some other forum posts have mentioned spark plugs been replaced in attempts to fix it and they were changed at 30k, 37k, 41k, 50k, 63k and 70k. I have no idea if that is relevant in anyway?
Sorry if the wall of text is to much but I thought the more details the better and I appreciate you taking the time to read this far.
Edited by Bobbygondo on Thursday 18th December 11:46
Just had a call from the machanic we left it with last night and he says the coils connected to spark plugs had fried and blown a fuse in the engine managment system. He also said even though the service history says the spark plugs had been replaced often they clearly hadnt been.
Thanks for all the insights but hopefully i dont need anymore 😉
Thanks for all the insights but hopefully i dont need anymore 😉
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