Hello all!

I've had a mk1 225 for almost a year, and I've noticed a few odd things cropping up:

The passenger side window seems a little slow and has a tendency to only roll up about 90% then go back down. To remedy this I have done the window reset where you roll it up all the way then hold up on the switch for 10 seconds or so a few times and doing the same for going down.

Starting has gotten slow but only once every now and then. Most of the time the car starts fine and almost immediately but every now and then it either doesn't start until the second start or takes up to 3-4 seconds (which is a long time in comparison to under 1 second).

The cluster has an odd tendency to level out on all gauges in only 2 situations; starting and downshifting and accelerating. The light stays on so the cluster is still getting port and no other lights come on, so my guess is it's a loose connection maybe in the fuse box (not sure what it is called) on top of the battery. I have tested the battery before and during operation, and the voltage looks good; 12 while on and 14 while the engine is running. This also tells me the alternator is good. This does not happen often, but usually at high speed when accelerating.

I'm also looking for replacement panels for the underside of the car as well as the plastic panels around it (like the molsing in the wheel well), so if anyone knows where I can get that please let me know.

Im also looking into possible upgrades for the turbo and would like something bolt on, as i already have a milltek 3" exhaust with an upgraded downpipe as well. Shooting for around 350HP, nothing too big but a little more jump off the line would be nice.

Any and all input is accepted, I know that I'm not an expert but I got this car with 11k worth of upgrades from a racer and its been in very good condition with no engine issues and a new timing belt, now running at 154k miles and still well loved. I would hate to let it die on me 😭

 

First thing I would check is is the battery and alternator. Low voltage could be the source of several of your issues.

 

I tested the voltages and it seemed to be within normal values both resting and while running. Around 13v resting and 14.5v while running.

 

but was the 13V measured after sitting for a day to check for battery shorts or parasitics in the car?

 

It was measured after an 9 hour work shift, I can measure again after sitting overnight and some and see. Are there any other possibilities? Battery makes sense but I don't know how sure I am of that considering it's only at very specific moments that I have these issues instead of being consistent.