Engine Cutting Out

I've cleaned and greased the main earth behind the left headlamp and the one on top of the cam box. No idea how to remove any of the interior trim to get to the A pillar ones. I tried to start pulling it apart but things started breaking.

Remember all this only started after the RAC changed Number 4 Cylinder Ignition Coil at the beginning of April.

Since then I have fitted a new Crankshaft Sensor and a new Camshaft Sensor.

The VARTA Battery is the one my A2 came out of the factory with in 2003. It has never let me down. Never any signs of being down in power. Why would the Battery make any difference when the engine is running ? The Battery is out of the system then. The Alternator is doing all the work , isn't it ? I have had cars where you could take the Battery off the car with the Engine running. The Alternator on this A2 failed maybe 4 years ago. I could still drive it to the Auto Electrician 12 Miles away. No problem driving. Just the. Charging Light was on. He fitted a new Regulator.

Fuel Cap ? Well there is a big rush of pressure to be heard when taking it off at the Petrol Pumps, so I guess that means it is OK. ? How do these work anyway ? Does the Pump pressurise the Tank, or pull a vacuum on the Tank ?

What is " the secret compartment " please ? Never ever head of that one.
 
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Got this running in 2 Threads now unfortunately. This one and " Santa Claus ".

A2 fooled me into thinking it had " fixed itself " again by not cutting out at all on the usual trips to work and back yesterday.

Had to go the same route but not as far as work today to drop daughters car off. A2 OK all the way there then Cut Out 2 times on the way home.

Have finally taken the plunge and wrenched the front carpets and inner sill trims off, as per Brets instructions. They may never go back how they should be again. Found the Earth Points at the bottom of both " A" Pillars. They looked like new to be fair but I have unbolted them, cleaned them up, earth points on body, bolts, washers, threads, earth connectors and re fitted them. Even ran a Tap down the bolt hole and a Dye Nut down the bolt. See how that goes now.

Regards,

Steve
 
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Hi Bret, can you comment on the secret compartment. As the name would suggest I don't know where it is as no-one has told me the secret :)

Thinking about it do you mean the compartment where the CCCU and ECU are located? If so it is not that much of a secret :cool:
 
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your close but its the passengers side under floor compartment that hides the ECU and CCCU you may of found your rear speaker amp if youv 4 speakers ;)

bassically pull both sets of carpets up, youl see a triangle alloy cover with 3 twistys in the corners , turn these 90 degrees and hey presto it lifts up and off to reveal your A2's computers :)
 
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I've only ever been in the passenger side one to get to the Fuel Pump Relay and ECU.

What's in the drivers side please ?

Steve
 
Not sure on standard cars but this is where the toolkit gets moved to for cars with BOSE and the sub in the boot.
 
There,s nothing in the drivers side Steve... empty space. Cars fitted with the Bose sound system however utilize that space for the car jack and tools as the space in the boot is taken up by the sub woofer. :)
 
yes, there are two. The driver's side for me is the one - LHD - with the CCCU and ECU in, and the other is the one which is normally empty or has BOSE car's toolkits.

Unless it's mine, at which point there may well be a 10" subwoofer in there at some point soon....

"Secret compartment" is a shorthand we've used for years over on the German forum - "geheimfach" - because lots of drivers obviously don't look in there, even though its easy to get to. It's just not obvious until you look at the car closely :)

- Bret
 
Special edition said:
There,s nothing in the drivers side Steve... empty space. Cars fitted with the Bose sound system however utilize that space for the car jack and tools as the space in the boot is taken up by the sub woofer. :)
Click to expand...

That is not the case on all A2's, if you have factory fitted rear speakers there is a small amp to drive the rear speakers nestling away under the drivers feet (RH drive cars)
 
BAD NEWS again guys ! Santa is not coming again . . . . . Ever !

No, cleaning the Earths at the bottom of both "A" Pillars has not worked.

I am interested I Brets theory about the new Number 4 Cylinder Ignition Coil fitted by the RAC being faulty. After all that was the only thing that had just happened when the Engine started Cutting Out back in April. But how could I prove that it is that one new Coil that is faulty please ?

Steve
 
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JIGSAW,

What Fault Code ? There are no Fault Codes !

Have said before that maybe the Fault is that it is not recording any Fault Codes.

Regards,

Steve
 
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The cause on my car was the coil packs. I had isolated and could replicate the problem at will and changing coil packs resolved it.
 
mrbroons said:
The cause on my car was the coil packs. I had isolated and could replicate the problem at will and changing coil packs resolved it.
Click to expand...

Good to know. Thanks James.

So, did everyone involved in this thread conclude that the crankshaft position sensor was not part of the solution?
 
some great info in this thread, but on our silver a2 we were getting it randomly lose power (electrical), this would happen generally when going over a bump (or should i say pot hole!!) , turning sharply or any sudden movement. I looked at the earth behind the passenger headlight and all was good. I decided to look in the boot where the battery was and was rather surprised to find the battery swimming in water!! The compartment next to the battery with the diversity unit (for the radio) was also rather full of water. I dried out the boot area and guess what a week has gone by with no loss of power (it was typically happening at least once a day). So I guess the sloshing around of water was leading to the electrics in the boot getting splashed and causing a temporary short.

I still need to work out how water got in the boot (ive seen a thread mentioning the boot seals behind the rear bumper),though suspect it might be because the boot does not always shut fully and is not noticed by the wife, many times I find it not securely shut when I go to drive it. But for now at least no more loss of power.
 
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