1997 Polo cutting out

[Misc]

My sister has had a 1997 Polo for around a year & up until a couple of months back it randomly started to cut out whilst driving, since then it's been to 3 different mechanics & no one can find the problem. The last mechanic said it was something to do with dirty fuel so he gave it a clean & it ran fine for a few days & then went back to cutting out.

It mostly cuts out when you're braking, my first thoughts were an electrical short somewhere but sometimes it'll cut out at the exact same spot.

Any ideas?


Cheers.

[cagiva gezzer]

Idle control valve blocked, but in this case it'd have issues idling when starting . . .
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"because one stroke isnt enough and four strokes waste two"

[Misc]

[nasty]

Fuel filter?????
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ZX6R F3

[dabigginger]

Just it slowly die at idle, or just randomly cut out when driving etc? Could be one of many things. I'd probably check/replace:

Air filter
Distributor cap & rotor arm
Hall sender
Spark plugs
HT leads
Fuel filter
Coil

That's all I can think of right now. Obviouslly, when replacing parts, try and do the cheap things first. Knackered hall senders and distributor caps are often the cause of cutting out problems with these cars.

[Misc]

[ram_doom]

Throttle butterfly dirty?
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TL1000s, KDX200

[Robby]

I've seen this before on a peugeot 205 with a corroded earthing strap mounting. I think it was meant to have two earth straps, one was broken. The other one had a lot of corrosion on the body where it mounted, so it cut out at idle when warm (low alternator load, low alternator output). It was an auto I think, so you couldn't even hold the clutch down and raise the revs.

So check the earth straps. One could have a bit of a dodgy connection that is being broken when the car brakes and the engine leans a bit in its mountings.

Cleaning the throttle body and idle control valve costs nothing. Look at the fuel filter, if it's shiny it should be ok, if it looks old and rusty then replace it.

Fuel tank breather is a possibility.

Many, many possibilities here. Check the stuff that's free to check or clean first.

[Misc]

Thank you for all the help & comments.

I'll tell her to check all the things listed first but if it's not any of that, i think she'll just try & get rid of it as she's already spent money on 3 mechanics & it's still not running right.

[J0Al1]

My first car was a polo (J reg). It used to cut out. I remember it happening when it was age about 4/5 in a traffic jam... a guy bump started me. No idea to this day why.... electrical? Unsure, bt it was abit embaressing... It didnt do it until Id owned it for a year or two.... Maybe I ragged it.

[dabigginger]

[Misc]

Ok, thanks for the above dabigginger & all other comments.

I think she's just going to try & sell it & i don't blame her really. As said, it's been to 3 different mechanics, 4 technically as a friend looked at it. And so she's throwing money right down the drain.

[sc125]

checked to see if the crank sensor is dirty?

Fuel pump on its way out?

[Misc]