Engine will not start after rebuild - suspect electrickery.

Good info there, and correct, the coloured relay is triggered from the starter motor. Once this is energised it passes voltage to fuel pump and cold start.

As you got the pump to fire bypassing the relay I'd say back to the original suggestion I'd say.

You need to check you are getting power to the starter, (which if it's cranking says you are), so if you aren't getting any at the coloured relay when cranking then you have a break between starter motor and DR.

Check the connectors on the starter, check the wire from starter to DR, give the DR connectors a good clean up and check it goes back in correctly and try again.

Don't think you are far off, just a little wiggling and testing and you'll have it

 

What connectors do you have on the starter at the moment? Can you trace the ones on there and see where they go?

 

yes push on spade, the recepticle of a spade on a solenoid is called a lucar.

 

didnt you fit a new starter rick , just wondered sorry ta butt in .

 

So, the fancy fuel pump supply - either when cranking or when the air meter senses the van is running, is all there merely to stop the fuel pump running when the ignition is on and engine not running. If it was me I'd run a wire from coil+ to pump instead and remember not to leave the ignition on for now.

 

we obviously had to remove the alternator wire and any associated off the starter to drop the engine @zed assured me all were replaced but i didn't look how many wires come off the starter to this DR? as previously stated the red/white was never on it

 

ages ago mate it was loads better after that

 

The question is - why was the red/white wire disconnected in the first place? As it leads directly to one of the relays, I'd set meter to ohms, jab probe up connector, stick other end on the chassis somewhere to check it isn't chaffed and grounding. If not, bung it back on the starter and see what happens.

 

yeh this is what made me wonder if ....?

 

or manually touch the wire to a battery as cranking and see if it fires?

 

You can do, it will be the bypass the relay. It will cut out the VW failsafe to make sure the pump stops when the engine dies etc but it would solve a theory to see if the engine build works.

 

The rogue red/white wire, how thick was it?

 

not thick at all about as thick as one half of a speaker wire

 

No need as you know the spade on the starter is live when cranking or it wouldn't crank, bare the wire and jam it in place with the other connector.

 

with no fuel in the lines or pump due to pipe replacement is this theory of @stevebay 's any good that it's airlocked? or would the pump run anyway? will i damage the pump running it empty?

 

Thin - like a trigger wire would be.

 

Don't know if this will help rick but I'll stick it up anyway.
My starter with red/white wire arrowed.

 

i meant a wire to the pump if we overrid the relay

 

We know the pump works.

 

Not that red/white wire. That's the feed for all things dash.