dmbrock@julian.uwo.ca wrote:
>
> I had a problem at the end of last year with my Spitfire which, strangely,
> is similar to a problem I've had with my 87 Jetta.
>
> At about 2000 rpm, she threw a little temper tantrum- some roughness came on
> which matched a problem I'm trying to diagnose with my other car.
>
> The roughness makes it so that the car will not run over about 2100 rpm- it
> just jerks right at 2100, no matter how high I try to rev it, until I
> decelerate. Very frightening. The tach jumps between 0 & the actual
> reading, and as soon as aI get off the gas (and bre\ing it below 2100), it
> runs fine. The problem persists, at the same rpm point, when I try to rev
> it in neutral- ie, it does not depend upon the load on the engine.
>
> >From the history with the other car, it's not more prominent when it's hot
> or cold- it happens whenever, though it seems to correlate with damp days
> (or warm winter days- when it's wet) but not always- it's happened on
> bone-dry, bone chilling winter days. I have been told it might be the fuel
> system -fuel filter (replaced), fuel pump (?), or water in the fuel line
> (damp days). Might it be Prince Lucas?
>
> I know that I'm really asking about a problem with a Jetta in the wrong
> place, (I've posted a silmilar message to the VW group I read) but when Bev
> (the Spit) threw that tantrum last fall, I was really scared that maybe the
> kids were scheming against me. Can anyone give some advice on this one?
> David
What year Spit is it? Does it have a mechanical or electronic tach? If
it's electronic, and the reading keeps dropping to "0", you're running
out of primary ignition voltage. A fuel starvation problem generally
causes the tach needle to flutter down.
Does this car have a catalytic converter? A clogged converter can severly
restrict exhaust flow, making it impossible to rev above a given rpm
range.
The correlation with dampness could indicate a bad distributor cap--the
spark could be "tracking" inside a condensation lined cap, although that
generally doesn't cut off power at a given rpm.
Good luck,
Charlie B.
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