Questionwhere is it located. i cannot find it
1988 VW Fox GL 1.8L CIS-E Fuel injection
All repairs done according to 1987-93 vw fox repair manual published by Bentley
some back-story:
got car for free from second owner neighbor with warped cylinder head,had been sitting for five years
had head rebuilt, reassembled.
noticeably loud whirring from fuel pump (standing 20 feet away while engine running) did not immediately replace
car ran with loud whining noise coming from timing cover,
deduced that timing belt was too tight,
replaced timing belt tensioner and belt
the car ran for about two weeks
engine started dying like running out of fuel (full tank of gas) first sporadically until finally it stopped altogether and wouldn't start again
thinking that the filter was the problem, i replaced fuel filter, sound from rear pump no longer noticeably loud (hot wiring from fuse block)
car still not starting
pulled spark plugs,
carbon fouled heavily
cleaned with wire brush, reinstalled
car fires for about two seconds when starting for the first two or three starting attempts then nothing.
trying to calmly diagnose possible electrical problems i look in the Bentley VW Repair manual, it suggests some electrical tests to run on the cis-e control unit wiring harness connector (to diagnose oxygen sensor, fuel distributor module and other problems)
CANNOT FIND CIS-E CONTROL MODULE IN ENGINE COMPARTMENT
and does not tell of location in book.
frustrated, i slammed the drivers door and, not knowing my own strength, shattered the window thankfully it was rolled down and i know where i can get a replacement one form a pull-a-part junk yard, but the car still wont start
please help, I'm considering cutting my losses and pushing the car down the hill and into the woods towards the back of my property and delighting at whatever trees it hits on the way down.
AnswerHi Anthony;
Remember that engines are only air pumps, and fuel, and spark, are the only 2 ingredients for operation. So, it's either fuel, or spark.
The CIS-e control module is under the wiper cowl. I doubt that that is the problem.
If the car sat for five years, the gas tank got rusty. Get it out of the car. Clean it, and also clean the debris screen at the high pressure pump(inside the tank). My guess is that as soon as the engine starts, and demand for fuel is fairly high, the debris screen in the tank sucks up enough crap to clog it again, and the engine dies. I would replace the pump too. It's probably had it. The screen in the tank is like a coarse nylon stocking, and it holds onto stuff that gets imbedded in it. When you try to start the car again, and again, it still has most of the crap from the last try, attached to it. It's close to the bottom of the tank, so the stuff can't fall far from its inlet, and when an attempt to start is made later, it just sucks that stuff that fell off earlier, right back up, until it is clogged again. I would find a source of shop air, and blow out the fuel lines too. Sorry about the window. Good luck.
