Help with an EPC light diag

Hi all,

Hopefully you can help with some diagnosis on my partner's 2000 1.4SE 30k miles please. It has had the EPC light on for a while but has never bothered her enough to moan at me about it. Now she is so I need to try and find out what is going on.

There are 2 current symptoms with the car:
1. Remote central locking not working. I assume this is the CCU that needs a refurb but would it throw the EPC light?
2. Intermittent hesitation and stuttering when pulling away. Worse with the AC on but not undriveable. I was thinking to clean the throttle body as a first step?

My friend owns a garage so is happy to help with scanning etc. He had it on his system and this is what came up.

7 faults.

Evaporator vent temp sensor g263
Climatronic Control Module - J255
Alarm via sensor for Alarm system
Sw. for wind.reg. fr. right,driver-E81
Door rear left
Door Control Module rr-J389
Door rear right

I assume the door warnings are related to the CCU but any ideas on the rest and what may be causing the EPC light? Could it be the CCU?

Thanks,

Dan

Hi most probable reason is faulty brake light switch. This sometimes starts to not work and it puts the epc light on. cheers mike

a2sumo said:

Hi most probable reason is faulty brake light switch. This sometimes starts to not work and it puts the epc light on. cheers mike

Click to expand...

So that can fail without actually affecting the brake light itself? It has just passed the MOT with the EPC light on so I assume the lights are working fine. Interesting, thanks.

Yes they can be temperamental and not work all the time. Surprised it passed an mot though.

The EPC light being on is not classed as a fail.

The warning lights that will cause a fail are typically the air bag and ABS / Brake warnings. This is even after the changes to the MOT.

The EPC being the "Electronic Power Control" is not classed as a safety hazard. (same with any engine management lights, red or otherwise, no fail)

If the brake lights were working when the car was tested then there would be no reason for a fail.

Steve B

Birchall said:

The EPC light being on is not classed as a fail.

The warning lights that will cause a fail are typically the air bag and ABS / Brake warnings. This is even after the changes to the MOT.

The EPC being the "Electronic Power Control" is not classed as a safety hazard. (same with any engine management lights, red or otherwise, no fail)

If the brake lights were working when the car was tested then there would be no reason for a fail.

Steve B

Click to expand...

I have just had a quick look and there is no sign of the brake lights not working when we pumped the pedal. My logic would be that the EPC light would be intermittent if the lights were also intermittent.

DanCake said:

I have just had a quick look and there is no sign of the brake lights not working when we pumped the pedal. My logic would be that the EPC light would be intermittent if the lights were also intermittent.

Click to expand...

HI,

The EPC light, if triggered by the brake lights stays on for several journeys even if the brake lights are now working.

I have had this on several A2s and in every case it has been an intermittent brake switch failure.

I am not saying that this is the case here, but it is a pretty likely suspect.

A VCDS scan would be helpful, if you can swing by Staines sometime, I could scan it for you?

Steve B

Birchall said:

HI,

The EPC light, if triggered by the brake lights stays on for several journeys even if the brake lights are now working.

I have had this on several A2s and in every case it has been an intermittent brake switch failure.

I am not saying that this is the case here, but it is a pretty likely suspect.

A VCDS scan would be helpful, if you can swing by Staines sometime, I could scan it for you?

Steve B

Click to expand...

A scan would be most welcome. Is a VCDS scan much different to the garage scanner that we have already had on it? I only work in Chertsey so could maybe come by early evening one day next week?

DanCake said:

A scan would be most welcome. Is a VCDS scan much different to the garage scanner that we have already had on it? I only work in Chertsey so could maybe come by early evening one day next week?

Click to expand...

Hi,

The VCDS scan shows much more than just codes and they are better than the standard (non-Audi) dealer readers generally.

10 minutes and no cost to you, so it is worth a try.

PM me when you know which day, and I will see what I can do (I am in and out all week but I will try to make a slot that suits you if I can)

Steve B

Birchall said:

The EPC light being on is not classed as a fail.

The warning lights that will cause a fail are typically the air bag and ABS / Brake warnings. This is even after the changes to the MOT.

The EPC being the "Electronic Power Control" is not classed as a safety hazard. (same with any engine management lights, red or otherwise, no fail)

If the brake lights were working when the car was tested then there would be no reason for a fail.

Steve B

Click to expand...

From the 4th jan 2012 any eml-epc-abs- etc basically any warning lamps is a fail.

Birchall said:

Hi,

The VCDS scan shows much more than just codes and they are better than the standard (non-Audi) dealer readers generally.

10 minutes and no cost to you, so it is worth a try.

PM me when you know which day, and I will see what I can do (I am in and out all week but I will try to make a slot that suits you if I can)

Steve B

Click to expand...

Ok will check when I can get over that way and let you know.

Cheers,

Dan

a2sumo said:

From the 4th jan 2012 any eml-epc-abs- etc basically any warning lamps is a fail.

Click to expand...

Hi Mike,

To quote the AA

As well as electronic parking brake and electronic stability control warning lights (where fitted) the MOT test will also include checks for the correct function of the following, where fitted;
Headlight main beam warning light
Electronic power steering warning light
Brake fluid level warning light
Seat belt pre-tensioner warning light


I thought the same as you but when I took one of the A2s to an MOT test after the changes the EPC light came on while driving there so I specifically asked the question and was shown the manual that explained basically as the AA stated above.

Steve B