Fixes - Part One

So I finally got fed up of the misfires, mis-starts, f*cked up power window, epileptic headunit and the bunch of wires that kept hitting my foot as I try to brake. Off went the relay and under dash panels, and I find this:
I had no idea what it was, and it had a "1996" sticker on it, so I assumed it was factory, although VW symbols were nowhere to be found.

I went to Matt (a.k.a. Golf Loon on VWW - kinda like the Dan J Reed of our forums) and he confirmed for me that it was not at all factory. This was kind of a giveaway though, as all the wires surrounding it were all spliced and crudely twisted and taped over. Matt went through the wires like I would run through a can of Pringles. I eventually ended with this, with the car running the same (if not better) than before:

Yeah, all those wires that look like they do something, did nothing at all. Matt's guess was that it was an aftermarket immobiliser or alarm of some sort - thing is, I don't have a remote for the car, and the car opens and shuts fine without one. So that's that.

I also got Matt to look at why my headunit was always turning on and off by itself. It was basically resetting on its own again and again - as if there was a loose wire. I managed to get the Clarion headunit out easily with Louis' removal prongs (he actually had a Clarion headunit too and carried those in his car - so convenient, lucky we drove down together!). All wires were very secure, but Matt was able to pinpoint the exact wires causing trouble by manually tugging on each one. He found out there was a problem with the live/ground wires, which were connected to the ignition barrel - jiggling it with the keys in would make it reset. He ended up reconnecting the live wire to one of the many empty connections in the relay box, and voila, it was fixed. He's a bit of a genius, Matt :D

I also went to Pedro's to start swapping some parts over - but that didn't happen. Probably end up doing that in a week or two. He did help me with my window regulator though - the rear driver's finally works now.

Now I've got the misfires and mis-starts to fix. The misfire would be due to an electrical problem, maybe spark plugs or leads (I'm thinking the latter). The mis-starts would be attributed to the fueling, as predicted by my Dad and Matt. Quite obvious with the blatant smell of fuel everytime I start the car. Matt says the fuel pump or fuel pressure regulator. I just hope the total of these fixes won't be too harsh on my pocket :( After all I want to sell it.

It's being booked in for a service tomorrow. Probably have it scheduled for mid next week.