UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

hi,
ive just got hold of a 1999 (R) polo 1.4 cl,its got a few bits that need sorting on it and after reading all these problems in the posts above,its scared me im gunna have alot more! the central locking does not work at all,previous owner said it just whurrs and whines and does nothing so its disconnected now and u have to lock it all by hand,anyone got any ideas bout what could be wrong with it? and also the engine cuts out sometimes whenon idle,no matter if hot or cold it just sometimes (rarely) cuts out and has to be started again.this to do with the throttle bodies or this just an idle problem and if i take the car to my local VW dealer they going to be able to help me with both these things? thanks alot for any help.
Reuben

Hey Rueben,

Don't be too worried, the Polo isn't a bad car by any means.

The central locking system works by vacuum, so it is possible that one of the hoses have got a leak in them. The pump itself is located in the boot, near the right hand side rear light. Peel away the carpeting on the side of the boot there and you'll see it, it's worth checking out.

The pump itself can also fail, but you could replace that with one found on a breakers' yard - the MK3 Golf pump will also fit.

The idling problem is usually a faulty temp sender, located on the thermostat housing. It should be described somewhere on this forum or in the sticky threads at the top. In any case, it's a 20 quid part that can cause havoc with the idling of the car. If that doesn't help you can clean the TB, or have it reset by a VW dealer.

Hope this helps.

yeh i got the car off my dad and he loves the thing and part from those 2 problems nothing else has really gone wrong,the central locking has been gone for a while he's been climbing in the boot to get in for the last year! the pump is wrapped in a plastic bag i'll try and find out some more details on what happened to it but can this be sorted by my local dealer too? and as for the idleing would you suggest i get a mechanic / normal mechanics shop to look at it rather than a VW shop for prices?
thanks alot for your help

The pump is wrapped in a plastic bag? I take it you mean outside the car?

It's a possibility that the rear light leaked some water in, that may have landed on the pump right below it, which may have caused its demise.

You'll notice plastic tubing coming from it, that's the vacuum line. If that's disconnected, it won't do anything but whirr.

That sender is pretty VW specific, so I don't know if any shop can get it or replace it. A VW specialist would, though. The replacement itself is 2 minutes max. The only thing that takes time is waiting for the engine to cool down, as the sender is plugged right into the cooling water. If it's hot, you'll burn yourself.

The TB cleaning can be done DIY style, or by any garage. The normal procedure would be to take it off the engine, and then let is soak in brake cleaner or petrol (that is, not the electronics bit, if any). After it's been soaked, you can rub it down to get rid of any residue. The thing is though, that you need to have a dealership reset the TB to relearn it's normal position. I couldn't be bothered, so I let the dealership clean it as well. Didn't help. Replacing the sender (twice) did, however.