Hello
Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2011 7:12 pm
So, this is what I've been bombing round the peak district in over the past 6 months or so...
Truth be told its about as rough as a car can get and still be roadworthy(ish) but whilst thats probubly not very good for it come the end of august when the MOT runs out, for the time being it seems to be reliable seats and a steering wheel, without much else!
It started life as a pesent spec golf, I'd say a "DL" spec though ecomatics seem to be CL's only lack all the bits CLs have like heated washers, central locking, tinted windows(?) and whatever. Only features it does seem to have is programerble wipers (yet to find a mk3 without them) and a sunroof (don't like it but I might as well use it - don't think it actully lets in water though I've blamed it in the past. Its a 94 (R) model built in the P factory - guess all ecomatics were RP models too?
Registerd the day the M plate came out (aug 94) in Wimbledon, London, the extended warantee seems to say it got its first owner around the end of the year - I therefore recon it was a dealer demonstrator for a few months and eventually found an owner when heavily discounted to get rid of it - whilst the ecomatic is an interesting idea, if I had to pay £1500 extra for it I don't think I would, neather did anyone else I suspect!
I remember seeing an eco in a dealer when I must have been about 9, looked interesting and I guess always stuck in my mind. I've been sort of looking for one for years but never seen one for sale. All I really wanted to do was see how it worked. Just at the right time where I needed a cheep car for work (my old landy needs a lot of serviceing if you do rediculous miles in it! Its also a bit slow for long distance site visits in a day) one apeared on ebay, really cheep with a years MOT!
Its really rough now, the shocks are very poor, the doors are rusty and I think the sills would need more welding come the summer. Headlineing had gone due to water damage and it was soon aparent the car leaked badly. I had to rip out the carpets as they were ruined and holding moisture, drilled some extra drain holes in the floor and added some mastic to the windscreen. Someone had sealed up some of the sunroof drains which I had to unblock. I've herd the issue with mk3 windscreens is they are bonded in (as is now common but was quite new at the time) and if not bonded in corectly when the screen is replaced it leaks badly, as the paint is also often damaged in the process it makes the shell rot around the screen which all seems to be true on my car.
I think its too far gone to ever be a good example but it does still work. Engine is excelent, so strong. I have a 1.6TD syncro van which is gutless and though the golf is lighter the 1.9D feals like it has more go in it,actully it probubly does these days! Ecomatic wise its all there and apart from the fact it seems to loose vacuum fairly quick its not too bad. When I first got it it seemed to not want to coast for more than about 5sec with the engine off but now it seems to go for longer, maybe 30sec at times - don't think its right but don't know if its realisticly fixable - the vac lines seem okay but the clutch unit makes a groaning unit when stationry like its letting air in.
I usally drive it in engine brake mode but have recently started using proper eco mode. I know in engine brake mode it does 46...51mpg (about 5.8l/100km I think for anyone lucky enough to not to measure fuel economy in stupid units that don't relate to what you buy!) which doesn't seem bad though I'm sure a normal 1Y golf would do the same and a TDI doubtless better. I do engage eco at traffic lights though which I have to say is such a great feature! I'm not convinced eco mode coasting down hills will save that much when not in traffic jams, which I don't have here.
One thing thats stopped me using eco mode much is the amount of night driving I've done over winter and the fact the lights keep dimming when the engine (constantly) restarts. I noticed last night however that this only happens to dipped beam, not dimdip or main (when on main I can see dip fade when the engine starts, I fitted twin headlamps as the original H4's had broken housings - this means dip stays on with main). I have vague memorys early mk3s had a recall when new due to a headlamp failure issue and Ithink this car has had the recall and its messed up the eco aux batt feature. Only today I found the affending relay (looked like a mod but used VW components which is why I think it was a dealer mod) and bypassed it - we will see if this sorts it out. Of course when I got the car it had its original VW 9Ah battery still fitted, 16 years old and with bone dry cells! A new one ment I could actully listen to the radio! I've serviced the engine and done some of the cheep tweeks/fixes that make it less iritating but its not ment to be in my perminant fleet so only gets the essenchals, Save the cash for the syncro as thats rather good at eating money!
Thats really about it. Just got a VAG COM cable for it but it doesn't claim to have a lable file for my digiswing (the suffix A type) which makes it of limited use. Something odd I could spot though was it seems to have 2 temp readings (is there more than 1 sensor?) and whilst 1 reads about what I would expect, like the dash clock does, the other seems to give an implausable signal that flutters around and can be 130deg when you've just cold started! The heaterplug light doesn't always light when I think it should but its always started really well so I've wondered if it actully heats the engine when the door is opened so you don't have to wait so long - compaired to the old JX in the syncro its a very different and happy starter, though habit means I always use the cold start lever (which took me a good few months to notice its much more advanced than the "in" or "out" setting on the van).
Well that'll do for tonight, not sure when I'll be back on line so I might not reply for a bit but I'm sure I will soon,
Glen
Truth be told its about as rough as a car can get and still be roadworthy(ish) but whilst thats probubly not very good for it come the end of august when the MOT runs out, for the time being it seems to be reliable seats and a steering wheel, without much else!
It started life as a pesent spec golf, I'd say a "DL" spec though ecomatics seem to be CL's only lack all the bits CLs have like heated washers, central locking, tinted windows(?) and whatever. Only features it does seem to have is programerble wipers (yet to find a mk3 without them) and a sunroof (don't like it but I might as well use it - don't think it actully lets in water though I've blamed it in the past. Its a 94 (R) model built in the P factory - guess all ecomatics were RP models too?
Registerd the day the M plate came out (aug 94) in Wimbledon, London, the extended warantee seems to say it got its first owner around the end of the year - I therefore recon it was a dealer demonstrator for a few months and eventually found an owner when heavily discounted to get rid of it - whilst the ecomatic is an interesting idea, if I had to pay £1500 extra for it I don't think I would, neather did anyone else I suspect!
I remember seeing an eco in a dealer when I must have been about 9, looked interesting and I guess always stuck in my mind. I've been sort of looking for one for years but never seen one for sale. All I really wanted to do was see how it worked. Just at the right time where I needed a cheep car for work (my old landy needs a lot of serviceing if you do rediculous miles in it! Its also a bit slow for long distance site visits in a day) one apeared on ebay, really cheep with a years MOT!
Its really rough now, the shocks are very poor, the doors are rusty and I think the sills would need more welding come the summer. Headlineing had gone due to water damage and it was soon aparent the car leaked badly. I had to rip out the carpets as they were ruined and holding moisture, drilled some extra drain holes in the floor and added some mastic to the windscreen. Someone had sealed up some of the sunroof drains which I had to unblock. I've herd the issue with mk3 windscreens is they are bonded in (as is now common but was quite new at the time) and if not bonded in corectly when the screen is replaced it leaks badly, as the paint is also often damaged in the process it makes the shell rot around the screen which all seems to be true on my car.
I think its too far gone to ever be a good example but it does still work. Engine is excelent, so strong. I have a 1.6TD syncro van which is gutless and though the golf is lighter the 1.9D feals like it has more go in it,actully it probubly does these days! Ecomatic wise its all there and apart from the fact it seems to loose vacuum fairly quick its not too bad. When I first got it it seemed to not want to coast for more than about 5sec with the engine off but now it seems to go for longer, maybe 30sec at times - don't think its right but don't know if its realisticly fixable - the vac lines seem okay but the clutch unit makes a groaning unit when stationry like its letting air in.
I usally drive it in engine brake mode but have recently started using proper eco mode. I know in engine brake mode it does 46...51mpg (about 5.8l/100km I think for anyone lucky enough to not to measure fuel economy in stupid units that don't relate to what you buy!) which doesn't seem bad though I'm sure a normal 1Y golf would do the same and a TDI doubtless better. I do engage eco at traffic lights though which I have to say is such a great feature! I'm not convinced eco mode coasting down hills will save that much when not in traffic jams, which I don't have here.
One thing thats stopped me using eco mode much is the amount of night driving I've done over winter and the fact the lights keep dimming when the engine (constantly) restarts. I noticed last night however that this only happens to dipped beam, not dimdip or main (when on main I can see dip fade when the engine starts, I fitted twin headlamps as the original H4's had broken housings - this means dip stays on with main). I have vague memorys early mk3s had a recall when new due to a headlamp failure issue and Ithink this car has had the recall and its messed up the eco aux batt feature. Only today I found the affending relay (looked like a mod but used VW components which is why I think it was a dealer mod) and bypassed it - we will see if this sorts it out. Of course when I got the car it had its original VW 9Ah battery still fitted, 16 years old and with bone dry cells! A new one ment I could actully listen to the radio! I've serviced the engine and done some of the cheep tweeks/fixes that make it less iritating but its not ment to be in my perminant fleet so only gets the essenchals, Save the cash for the syncro as thats rather good at eating money!
Thats really about it. Just got a VAG COM cable for it but it doesn't claim to have a lable file for my digiswing (the suffix A type) which makes it of limited use. Something odd I could spot though was it seems to have 2 temp readings (is there more than 1 sensor?) and whilst 1 reads about what I would expect, like the dash clock does, the other seems to give an implausable signal that flutters around and can be 130deg when you've just cold started! The heaterplug light doesn't always light when I think it should but its always started really well so I've wondered if it actully heats the engine when the door is opened so you don't have to wait so long - compaired to the old JX in the syncro its a very different and happy starter, though habit means I always use the cold start lever (which took me a good few months to notice its much more advanced than the "in" or "out" setting on the van).
Well that'll do for tonight, not sure when I'll be back on line so I might not reply for a bit but I'm sure I will soon,
Glen