Volkswagen: FUEL INJECTION, vacuum leaks, air sensor

Question
Hi Ron. I recently purchased a 76 FI bug on ebay and have had it for a few weeks now. Lately it's been at the body shop and was being repainted. When i picked the car up today, i was driving it to the upholestry shop. When i cranked the engine, it started fine, but when i soon went to a stop just a few seconds after cranking the engine, the engine stalled. I cranked it again and it started fine then almost died when i went to another stop. Any ideas? Before takin it to the bodyshop a couple of weeks ago,my mechanic tuned the engine, installed a new fuel pump,installed new spark plugs, set the ignition points,and  did some other things as well. He's been working on VWs since 1964, and told me that he recommends a FI bug over a carb bug. If the info a gave you is vague i apologize, but i've spent an arm and leg on restorations and don't want to have to deal w/ this problem everytime i crank the engine. Thanks

         Mike

Answer
Hi Mike,

This sounds like a vacuum issue.  Check all the hoses (particularly the one that is up under the hood).  It is the decel valve, and if the hose falls off it will give those symptoms.  Also check that rubber boot that the intake air sensor connects to and make sure it is clamped snugly on to the throttle body, and it is not cracked.

The two top issues that create problems with fuel injected bugs are:

1) Vacuum leaks
2) Bad grounds/connections.

Otherwise, the system is very reliable in my opinion.