To Cabrio or not to Cabrio...that is the question.

[CajunSpike]

does the rear trunk use the same key as the ignition key or a different one?

[hyperlightboards48]

It should. I had the same issue with my mk4 gti. The key would only go in half way. Luckly i had a way to open from the inside. Anyways 2 years into having the car i decided to wd40 the lock an poof it worked.

I would try that. So have you not been in the trunk at all? Could treasures await you!?!?!? Go through the rear seat lol

[CajunSpike]

I just got a can of spray lube...i can try that. On the mk1's you have a rear seat release in the rear hatch frame. How does the rear seat release work on these cars?

Nope, haven't been in trunk yet. Wasn't kidding when I said I knew nothing about these cars....yet!

[hyperlightboards48]

Guess you gotta have the trunk open for that my bad

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

does the rear trunk use the same key as the ignition key or a different one?

The trunk opens with the same key as the ignition.Now if the trunk is locked with the key,it won't open via the central locking of the car.You would have to use your key again and turn the lock to unlock it,or use this button from your centre console

The rear seat release can be done from the trunk by pulling this lever http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Volkswagen...item256cc43e99

[CajunSpike]

Thanks for the awesome info.

When I got home, I sprayed some oil into the trunk lock.
Tried using the first cut key...won't go in.
Buffed down the sharp edges of the first key, won't go in.
Dawned on me to try to insert the $2 walmart copy of the first key.
Guess what.


The $2 key opened the trunk lock where the $35 key wouldn't.
I also lubed the console lock. Key worked in there as well after lube.

This is what we found inside.


As I went thru the contents, it affected me quite a bit.

There was a complete college cheerleaders outfit in there.
A big bag of bath towels.
College books, course paperwork, boots and various personal items.
There were papers with the persons name written in. Most of this was from fall 2009 as the person was filling out applications, getting course requirements, and books.

Then I saw child sized leg braces and a girls winter jacket, and it made me stop for a minute.

The story became quite clear as to the history of this car.

Young mother and child move from California to New Orleans. She enrolls at Dillards University.
Starts her year of college, buying her books and supplies at the same time caring for her daughter with some kind of leg problem/injury.

At some point, for unknown reasons, her car gets towed. Was it broken? Parked illegally? That I don't know...yet.
Edit: Reason found - bad vacuum lines, bad water lines, burnt crank position sensor and ecu.

It ends up in the tow impound racking up storage fees which the young student was not able to pay.
Eventually the tow company obtains title to the car due to the storage fees and sells it to the junkyard where I found it.

And now its sitting in my driveway...

I'll see if I can find the person to return her items. It's just the right thing to do.
Everybody who threw in a tidbit of advice, thanks. You helped just as much.

[hyperlightboards48]

Thats a lot of stuff anything worth while in there?

[CajunSpike]

I just went thru it quickly to look for any id information, but its mostly clothes/school/child related items.

[CajunSpike]

Side of head water outlet parts came in from GAP. Going install them now. Probably will go to pull-a-part later to try to find an a/c compressor. If I am successful I'll have everything in place to actually try to start the car.

I have some G12 coolant bought for a 2001 jetta wagon. Would that be appropriate for this 99 mk3?

[kamzcab86]

I have some G12 coolant bought for a 2001 jetta wagon. Would that be appropriate for this 99 mk3?

VW began using G12 with the 1996 model year so, yes, G12 is correct. Keep in mind that there are three G12s on the market: G12, G12+ and G12++. G12++ (purple) is supposedly backwards compatible with G12 (pink)... true or not, I'd be sure to flush that Cabrio really well then pour the new stuff in.

[CajunSpike]

coolant outlet installed. All water hoses connected. Alternator installed. Going find a/c compressor and serpentine belt.

Making great progress...oh found $1 in the car.

[CajunSpike]

Final tally of work done today/tonight.

Side of head water outlet and sensors installed.
All water lines connected. Most had some bulging of the hose and will need to be replaced.
I cut back the hoses to get to good material for now.
New serp belt installed.
new p/s belt installed.
New a/c compressor installed, not connected to a/c system though.
Alternator installed.
All cloth covered vac lines replaced. most were dry rot.
A big rubber vac line had opened up and mostly melted...replaced.
Straight water put in cooling for testing purposes. to be drained and replaced with g12.
3 gallons gas put in. tank does not leak, fuel gauge works.
Partially reinstalled top radiator brace.

Tried cranking car over. Motor spins good, no start.
Pulled one plug wire, attached external spark plug.
Crank engine, no spark on plug.
Pulled dist cap, looks pretty clean and new. Buffed tip of rotor.
Reassemble, try again, no spark.
Pulled coil wire out of cap, grounded, no spark.

Final conclusion as to condition of engine:
Multiple bad vacuum lines
Multiple bad water hoses
Failed coil(guessing).

Anybody know the debugging procedure on a Mk3 coil? or should I just go get a new coil?

[CajunSpike]

From reading the Mk3 threads, it might be the engine speed sensor or the engine computer.

Where is the computer on a 98/99 cabrio located?

[gtidaddy]

n the rain tray passenger side.if i recall

[CajunSpike]

Bought and installed new ignition coil.
Bought and installed new crank position sensor. This was a b-iatch to get changed. Took about 5 hours and lots of sweat. For those who don't know, the sensor is directly behind the front/center engine mount. You have to remove the starter and that mount just to be able to see it. It was only slightly easier to change because I had the top radiator support removed. I could move the radiator out of the way to access the part, once the mount was removed.

Cranked car...still no start. Put separate spark plug into #1 plug wire, ground, crank engine, no spark.

Pulled codes using a code tester, error code for crank sensor now gone.
No codes showing.

Check engine light is on while engine is cranking. Other forums indicate this might
mean the ecm has died.
I've also found that the car has a ecm relay in position 3 that might be the problem.
Also grounding issues on the ecm relay seem to be common.

So as of now no start on engine because of no spark even with swapped new parts.

Also hit the local junkyard.
Snagged several hoses which were bad on cabrio, from other dub's.
Found perfect climate control knob set. Cabrio's one is damaged and missing knobs.
Grabbed headlight plugs since the passenger side plugs were cut off cabrio.
Still need the actual bulb holder that clips into the headlight assembly.

Found an 82 Rabbit convertible. Car is mostly intact, not much rust.


This last pic for Kammy.

Found three late 90's jetta 4 doors.
One had an intact ABA engine still in it. Others are missing both engine and tranny.
None had the ECM still in the car.

Not sure what to do at this point.

[kamzcab86]

This last pic for Kammy.

Now there's one needing to be rescued... If only I was in LA...

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

I'm curious to see what the engine problem will finally be The gas is an issue on long standing cars,but you said that you removed all old gas and put new in it...good luck and waiting updates

[CajunSpike]

Worked on the car most of the weekend. My middle son helped most of saturday afternoon with the job. Decided to put new a/c compressor instead of j/y one. Cost $ but saved much time pulling an unknown quality one from the yard.

There was a 'next oil change' sticker on the windshield. next expected oil change was in late 2009. The title I got had 05/2011 as the acquired date. So sometime around late 2009 is when the car got towed.

The low fuel warning light was on when i hooked up a battery. We added 3 gallons of gas. Fuel might be an issue, but since there is no spark on the test plug, haven't gotten there yet. Really don't know if the fuel pump is working at this point either.

I have found numerous small issues with the car. No one thing that would have kept it from running, but put them all together and if this car ran, it ran very badly. From the vacuum leaks to the coolant leaks, it wasn't very well maintained.

I bought an ECM for a 97/98 Mk3 off ebay blindly, without verifying part number. it was cheap enough to take a chance. I'll pull the one in the car to get an exact part number. Then maybe somebody can help find the correct one. Would vag-com(never used it) identify if a ecm is bad?

Stopped by the junkyard with the parts cabrio and talked to one of the guys there about pulling the ecm off 'my' parts cabrio. he said that was a flooded car and didn't think the ecm would be any good. How well is a ECM sealed? is it water tight?

I should probably also test the hall sensor in the distributor. need to find a 'how to' on that.

I did grab 5 of the 6 chrome body moldings from that 82. the drivers rear was wedged between the car and the forklift and had been bent from the forklift making contact with the car.

[mabbonizio186]

When I had a no start issue in my VERY well maintained 1998 Jetta (same engine as your cabrio) the problem was a bad crank sensor, and the bad sensor had fried the distributor. The car would crank fine but not start. Just a FYI- the crank sensor, or hall sensor will cause a no start, or it could also be the timing. You may want to post this in the 2.0 forums or MK3 forums as there are many people who have had similar no start issues.

[CajunSpike]

From the code reader, the crank sensor WAS bad. Its since been replaced, no code now.

On a mk1 I was working on, the distributor would heat up and cause the motor to drop dead with no spark. Once it cooled off, it worked again...until it heated up again. Replaced distributor and problem went away.

If anybody knows a way to test the hall sensor..I'd appreciate a link to it.

One of the jetta cars in the jy still has its distributor..I may snag it. Its cheap enough and easy enough to do a distributor swap as another test.

Also bought a new electrical end of the key switch on the way home.

cheap ecu on the way also.

I did post a synopsis of the problem in the mk3 forum..hasn't gone very far yet.
Appreciate the input.

[CajunSpike]

Been net searching on this issue.
Some have changed the ecu relay to solve this problem.
anybody know where a fuse panel chart for a 99 cabrio can be found?

I'd like to know where the relay is and maybe change it.

edit: it seems the ecu relay only applies to 95/96 cabrios...grr....

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

Aren't any professional VW mechanics,not dealer,that could give you an advise on this,on your area?

[CajunSpike]

Aren't any professional VW mechanics,not dealer,that could give you an advise on this,on your area?

New Orleans is a vw waste land. The dealer wants nothing to do with me. Just when I asked for help with the key, the told me it was too old to worry about.

There is supposedly a guy that does specialize in the older vw's. I'd have to get the car towed to him. I just hate admitting I can't fix it, quite honestly.

Tonite I stopped by napa and asked them to see if the 98/99 has an ecm relay. They said it did, so I bought it. I had expected the ecm relay to be in the upper row, position 3. Pulled the fuse box cover on my cabrio and that position is empty.

Anybody else with a 98/99 mk3, look at your fuse box. Is there a relay in upper fuse box row, position 3 from the left?

Or does anybody know for 100% sure where the ecm relay is?

[CajunSpike]

Downloaded vcds lite(free vagcom). Connected cable I bought to reset airbag light on my mk1 to the cabrio obd connection, from a laptop.

Guess what. vcds was able to communicate with the car. It shows no error codes on the engine, no codes on the tranny, and an antilock error code on the rear wheels.

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

Anybody else with a 98/99 mk3, look at your fuse box. Is there a relay in upper fuse box row, position 3 from the left?

Or does anybody know for 100% sure where the ecm relay is?

Is this any help?

http://www.a2resource.com/electrical/CE2.html

[CajunSpike]

ty!

[DubLuv1]

Nice work so far!

Definately check/replace the ECM relay. My next thing to check would be the grounds. Look for the one on the top of the valve cover. (ive seem them rip off before). Also, check the ground that runs to the top-front trans bolt. Its attached to the front of the bolt with a 13mm nut. I replaced my trans once and forgot to hook that back up and I got NO spark.

[CajunSpike]

I replaced my trans once and forgot to hook that back up and I got NO spark.

I blew the computer on my 92 by cranking it over without that ground hooked up..not good.

I've done tons of searching on the ecm relay. it does supposedly go in relay position 3, but i've seen people who have running cars with no relay in that position.

Still have no firm answer on this question, as to if a 99 needs that relay or not.
I bought one..not sure where to put it.

ecm due in today. should know by tonite if it helps or not.

[csrgti]

Usually if your ECM is bad the cel light won't light up.
Before spending anymore money on parts I suggest you buy the Bently Service manual.
There are steps you can take to trouble shoot diferent components, it will save you from throwing money at parts you don't need.
Stupid question but have you checked your timing belt?

[CajunSpike]

have not checked timing belt..and no question is stupid.

I did pull the distributor cap and crank the engine over. the rotor did turn.

i want all the ideas ya'll great people have.

[DubLuv1]

wow.. guess im lucky i didnt do more damage then

I can take a picture of the fuse box later today if that helps. I also had a problem like this recently and it was my ignition switch. If the ignition switch is bad, it will prevent power from getting to the coil. Also if the teeth on the timing belt are bad, then it wont start.

[CajunSpike]

to do list:
i do have a new electrical end of ignition switch.
try that first.
no joy, try the ecm.
after that..dunno.

i just want to know if you have a relay in the top row of the fuse box..3 from left...or is it empty.
and thanks.


it may not sound like it but i've been researching this for hours and hours besides asking for help here.

possible solutions i've found:
replace ecm
replace distributor
replace crank position sensor
replace ecm relay
replace key electrical end

again, I'm pretty good on mk1's but total neophyte on the mk3's...so thanks to everybody for being interested enough to try to help.

[DubLuv1]

FYI Cajun-- Here my thread from when I had a similar issue. Some good info here..

http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthrea...trical-problem)

[CajunSpike]

ECU came in today..but I got home too late to try it.

Going to swap key switch first, then ecu if needed.

[Golf Cabrio 3.5]

ECU came in today..but I got home too late to try it.

Going to swap key switch first, then ecu if needed.

This also might be useful,as a reference http://www.2carpros.com/articles/car...but-wont-start