Fuel pump or summut related

[AllGedUp]

Evening,

Wonder if someone can point me in the right direction. I have the beginnings of start up issues on the G

Instead of getting the normal prime of fuel pump when I turn on the ignition before starting up I am now greeted with an odd, buzzing/grinding noise, which sounds like it's coming from the engine bay just in front of the bulk head. Sound electrical buzzing. After a few seconds this will stop and then the normal noise of fuel pump priming occurs, but not for as long as it should. It then either takes a long crank or four before it starts and normal service resumes. Once running it's the same as it always was.

It is starting to do this cold hot or anything between. Can anybody shine a light on this I am thinking relay maybe?

[Robin]

Sounds like either your relay is about to die or there is a short.

[z3i]

Yeah as robin says, the ecu relay under the scuttle is a bit dodgy after 22 years of exposure. Mine whent bust and had some troubles
If it is the relay you will not be able to get another one from anywhere lol. You have to use a 5 pin from a mk3 golf gti and mess around with the wires

[AllGedUp]

Sounds like fun. Just after I posted I found the location of relay in the Haynes bible of lies. So just got to find a replacement to try. Any of the other mk3 polos use the same relay? I have not got the skills to go messing about to much, replacing a relay sounds easy enough though.

[PeteG40]

is it the ecu relay (5 pin) or fuel pump relay (4 Pin)

the former is a sh1t to get hold of.

the 4 pin is pretty generic. -

[z3i]

I spent nearly a month trying to source one. Obsolete from dealers and tps, even the specialist vw heritage said they were completely obsolete with non anywhere in germany

the relay is also used on gt's and is the fan relay on the t25 bus but again they dont usually turn up at scrap yards, went every weekend an couldnt ever get one
could try someone whos breaking one on club polo but they always go pretty fast
theres a couple on german ebay, they look specially made, but at 50 euros, ill pass
They dont make repo ones so places like gsf,euro parts and camberlys dont do them
Good luck

[ereeiz]

Is it really that hard to get a relay? They're all a standard layout/ configuration I thought? obviously the values of the internals change but I always thought they were off a preset list basically, otherwise the manufacturers would have to custom make them as opposed to buying them off the shelf from a supplier.

Anyone tried a Bosch dealer or similar?

Wish I'd kept my old ones now, I threw about 5 of them out I'd been collecting over the last 10 years or so :/

[z3i]

No they are different, the internalls are different, i tried many different 5 pins relays, ones just like the g40 one with a resistor inside but none of them worked. A couple made the car run but you could take the key out and the engine would still run

so yes, from previous experiance and research they really are a pain in the ass

[AllGedUp]

Thought I would follow up for future reference. It was the fuel pump relay. I picked one up from MAX RPM. I prob paid too much I have no idea what they are worth. All I can say was the service was very fast and efficient, as you would expect from Germany, and I loved the packet of Haribo. Tasted even sweeter when the fuel pump primed as normal, and it fired up as it used to.

Thanks for all the input.

Tom