Ready to throw in the towel (Randomly cutting out)

[touch107fm]

Hey guys

Having a bit of nightmare with my van randomly cutting out.
Its a 2.5 petrol 1997 t4, it has recently starting cutting out and I have had to get towed home twice now.

I recently changed the fuel pump as the old one was (I thought) not working. The van will drive along for a bit then just cut out leaving me stranded or blocking a road. The van will not start straight away, usually after about 30 min it will start.

Its a tricky faulty to track down due to the random timing of the fault.

When it failed I ran over to the local garage and got a new coil, no difference.
I tested the spark and it appeared Ok.
I sprayed some started fluid down the carbie and it started !!! for a couple of seconds then died.
Now thinking it was fuel related I pulled up the cover to the fuel pump and inspected the out feed from the fuel pump and when I turn the key it pumps fuel. I then started inspecting the fuel relay 167 and the ECU relay 30. After messing around with the fuel pump relay the van started up fine. Now thinking it could possibly be a faulty relay 167.

Now I know you will say plug the computer in to read error codes. I have a macbook so the software is not compatible. The local vw is so so and I want to see I can repair myself before the big dollars are needed to fix the fault.

Any thoughts? Also thinking the crank sensor could be faulty. I must add I changed the hall effect sensor not so long ago.
Cheers

[Transporter]

You will definitely spend big dollars if you’re throwing the parts at it without a proper diagnosis and testing.

[Umai Naa!!]

The ECU relay is a common fault, and cheap enough. Might as well throw one in now.

[touch107fm]

Not going to start buying random parts for the van, but buying a relay has got to be cheaper than bringing it to the garage who charge $140 per hour. The hardest part is I have a small window when the van dies to try and figure out what the issue is. I am going to get the relays today and see if it makes any difference.

[gregned]

Thinking outside the square, it's not a blocked breather in the fuel tank?

[Sunny43.5]

Sounds like the relay to me as mine did the exact same thing , the dealer could not diagnose it on their computer because it would only show a fault if it happened while connected to the computer . Mine did it randomly without warning even left me on a main road once and I had to put it in gear and use the starter to kangaroo hop it onto the footpath . Ten minutes later it fired up all good again . Now I went back to the dealers pleading with the service guys that the van was going to get me killed if it cut out in the middle of an intersection . While they tried to tell me about diagnosing it a spare parts guy overheard the converstation and chimed in that I should replace the relay $20 bucks later and one minute to fit and it NEVER cut out again . Sadly I managed to kill the van totally some years later , but thats another story .

[touch107fm]

Well I had a sort of a win. The relay has fixed the issue with the van cutting out. Its been two days now and it has not cut out and stalled... But.... but I am still having an ongoing issue with the van cutting out for a spilt second, the revs flick and I lose power for ms and it kicks back in. I have the fear while I am driving now that its going to die at any moment.
I know you are probably going to say bring it to a shop to get inspected and hook up the computer etc, The issue is the fault is very random happens for a spilt second.

[Sunny43.5]

Strange one although my van at idle displays a similar thing , almost like an engine hiccup but it runs fine on the road . Mines a petrol 2.0 T5 so different to the T4, mines due in for a service shortly so if they give me an answer I ,ll let you know .

[LogicprObe]

Changing the relays is the cheapest option if you've ruled out the ignition coil and the fuel pump itself.

edit...........as for that hiccup thing...........changed everything.
Coil, spark plug leads and the dissy cap/Rotor.......fixed mine.
(pretty sure it was the cap though)

[touch107fm]

Hey Guys

Just an update:
So my gut feeling in what was causing the problem was right!!! I ended up having to buy another van for work an iload crew.
I left the van over at the garage and said I have a max budget to fix it if not will sell as is. MY gut feeling was the crank sensor was the issue as i had did all the other diagnostics myself, the only problem was I didnt a pc to read the codes.
The garage had to get another garage to run diagnostics on it, the logs on the t4 did not show the fault so dont know how they came to suspect the crank. Anyways $500 dollars later the t4 is back to life and is running mint.
Problem is I know have two vans, I love my t4 the sound system is mint compared to the iload but it has 340k on the clock so getting a little old (1997).
So ya if you are having an issue with the van randomly cutting out for a spilt second it cut be the crank sensor.