Its just not right!

CBendall

CBendall

Member
Hi All!

Just wondering if anyone can give me some clues as to whats going on with my car. Im hoping someone will have the answer before I have to relent and take my car to the garage!

My rev needle is fluctuating occasionally. This can be on start up, sitting stationary with the engine running or whilst driving. After a few revs it seems to disappear but its concerning me. (this has only been occuring over the past 2 weeks)
Also, seems to be on cold mornings or just coincedence, I seem to be getting a beeping/alarm sound coming from the rear when I start up some mornings. Again this is a recent problem after I got it back from the body repair gge (after a rear and front shunt)!!

Apart from that my cars wonderful ;), and I dont know what Id do without it/her or what on earth I would replace it with as whatever I look nothing seems to quite compare.

Clare x
 
Hi Clare,

From looking at your profile, it would seem you've got a diesel A2. Is that correct?
Can you say a little more about the beeping from the back. Does it just beep once, does it continue indefinitely until you switch off and restart?

No doubt a guru will come to your rescue, but they'll need a little more info.

Cheers,

Tom
 
Hi Tom,

Yes I have a 1.4 TDI. The beeping I think might be the alarm, but when it does sound its only for 3 beeps and then goes off. From the reply on FB I was told that it might be to do with the wiring after the body work I had done on it after my accident in Feb.

xx
 
The alarm unit is behind one of the panels in the boot, so the beeping will certainly be caused by that.
A diagnostic scan could reveal the cause of both problems. The beeping could be caused by a faulty Central Convenience Unit and the fluctuating revs could be caused by a faulty EGR valve, but this is all just conjecture. Do you know anyone who is able to do a full diagnostic scan? Many independent garages can't afford to purchase specialist diagnostic equipment for every make of car, so use simple hand-held devices that don't work as 'deeply' as a dedicated VW/Audi scanner. Do you usually take your car to a VW/Audi specialist, or do you generally have work done by a more general mechanic?

Perhaps a club member in the Birmingham area could do a VCDS scan for you... ...anyone?

Tom
 
I did have a look at club members that can scan but couldnt see one by me :(
I take my car to VW Rescue in Wombourne (www.vwrescue.co.uk) and theyre usually pretty good. Will be calling them tomorrow anyway as I need to get this sorted.
Im also pretty sure there is a turbo fault that needs looking into (usually on m/ways when you go above 70mph the engine will loose power till its at approx 50 mph and then takes forever to build speed again). Would a scan pick up on this aswell??

Thanks for the advice so far xx
 
A glance at VW Rescue's website would suggest they do have all the diagnostic tools needed. Get them to do a scan and see what results you get. The Central Convenience Unit on the A2 is a known weak-spot within the electrics and can cause all manner of bizarre electrical behaviour. If the guys at VW Rescue seem to be scratching their heads, post the results of the scan here and someone will help you out.
It sounds like you've also got a boost leak problem; basically, the pressurised air created by the turbo is leaking into the outside world, probably due to a split in a bit of rubber tubing. It should be fairly simple and cheap to fix, but only once the point of leakage has been found! ...and I'm afraid a diagnostic scanner can't find the precise location of the leak, only that one exists.

All the best,

Tom
 
Ill be getting her into the gge tomorrow for a scan if they have space. I cant wait to have her back in tip top condition.
I had to consider replacing my car this year after my accident (bloody insurers didnt want to pay out full costs) but luckily my mother (who appreciates how much I unhealthily love my car) paid the extra to get her back on the road.

Ill update once the gge have had a look.

Thanks again for your help Tom xx
 
That's really good to know that an A2 was saved from the scrap yard, especially a TDI. I'm really pleased to hear how much you love your little car. :)
 
I did have a good laugh down the phone to the body shop when they said they would try to get a quote using parts from scrapped cars! I wished them good luck. Surprise surprise they didnt find any! Although I wanted new only anyway!

I work at a "national" breakdown company and whenever I get a call from someone in an A2 I always recommend them to look up this site and join. You guys (and Im sure some gals) have a great wealth of knowledge.

xx
 
Hi clare glad you posted on here and already have some help. I see your in birmingham so not far from southam where the super knowledgable stealth racing is located. vince and his team are super and will soon have your car running all sweet---you could talk to them about an engine re-map for added performance and economy. cheers mike
 
Hey Mike

I did have a look at their website as everyone seems to rave about their work. But with the way its running at the moment I dont want to risk driving it down the m/way, especially with my turbo problems!
It will be on my list of things to do soon though!
I was tempted to come to one of your meets, but I would be too embarrased with its current state! But it will be on my list as soon as I have her back to normal!

xxx
 
Very true, Mike, Vince and his lads know the A2 extremely well and will no doubt solve all problems thrown at them. However, Wombourne to Southam is 50 miles. Also, whilst I'd recommend a remap for the same reasons you have, it requires moving to a modified insurance policy, which may cost Clare more. As A2 nutters, we're all on modified policies anyway.

Clare, I appreciate you have other priorities regarding your car right now, but you may wish to talk to Adrian Flux (www.adrianflux.co.uk) about insurance. They insure oodles of treasured cars and are frequently cheaper than others because they recognise that people who love their car are statistically less likely to crash them. They also offer a decent discount if you're a member of an owners' club, which you undoubtedly are!

Tom
 
I currently have my car insurance with Tesco! However I will be looking at getting a quote elsewhere nr to renewal this year.
Without trying to bore the pants off you all . . . In feb I was hit, whilst stationary, from the rear and shunted into the next 2 cars in front. I had to have new rear and front bumpers and a new intercooler. My insurers would only pay £3500 and (luckily mum to the resuce) we had to pay the rest, another £1100 to get it back on the road. They really didnt appreciate the value of my car (especially to me)
Just to add insult to injury, I pay extra for a replacement car, but because the idiot who hit me drove off and we didnt get his name (only his reg) they wouldnt give me a replacement car!!! grrrrr
So I will definately give Adrian Flux a chance to quote me this year!
My dad also has an A2 1.4TDI 54plate so will pass this info onto him aswell.

As a single parent I would have to see what the cost differences are for moving to a modified policy If I get my car remaped.
Thanks again guys

xxx
 
Goodness me! £3500 should have covered new bumpers and an intercooler.

Have a word with Adrian Flux and see what they say. I have known them to be a little pricey when insuring cars in bigger cities, but they're definitely worth a call. Also, I found my insurance went down when I went onto a modified policy, so it may be worth getting another quote, pretending it's modified.

Tom
 
Great! Ill certainly look into it!
I didnt understand the quote they gave me either but it seemed that we paid for the parts and the insurers were charged for the labour! Im obviously in the wrong business as they only had the car for a week and I couldnt seem to understand how they could charge so much! Hey ho, all done and dusted now.

xxx
 
sorry to hear your troubles, but I hope this site can help you with the rest of your problems.

Firstly, the beeps from the rear. It should be the alarm siren unit in the bottom of the driver side rear wheel arch. Open the flap cover and you may be able to see it under some foam cover. Known issue with other audis. The internal battery of the unit could be dead or dying, cold weather certainly affects condition of batteries. Replacement is £75 (last I remember) but getting to it is a pain. I had that issue before, but my main battery was dying so I replaced it and never heard the beeps anymore.

Second, idle fluctuation. Could it be a dirty throttle body that can be fixed it a good clean? Or try a can of BG244 (BG44k for petrol) and see how it goes. Kwikfit will sell you a can for £20 and will even pour it in the tank for you (it comes in a pull ring can which is a pain in the backside to pour into the tank unless you have a funnel). Pour it in on empty, fill up, drive steady for 1/2 tank, fill up again for 2nd stage cleaning. See how it goes, £20 is cheaper than getting a diagnostic scan from a dealer!

Lastly, losing power at speed sounds like a typical turbo boost problem experienced by a lot of A2 tdi. There must be a leak somewhere in the pipes or charge cooler. May be a workmanship problem with the repair? Vince and co at Stealth should be able to help, they are very experienced.
 
Thanks Humps for your feedback!

Although forgive me if Im being a bit blonde here, but as I have a diesel engine surely putting petrol into my engine is gonna cause me more problems lol

Going to my gge at 2pm today for a diagnostics run. If they find out what the rev problem is and it goes in for repair I will get them to check the turbo pipes and sort the alarm out.
When I had the body work done (after rta) the intercooler was changed aswell.
 
CBendall said:
...I have a diesel engine surely putting petrol into my engine is gonna cause me more problems lol...
Click to expand...

BG244 http://www.powerenhancer.co.uk/product.php/3/bg-244-diesel-fuel-cleaner is a fuel additive (for diesel, BG44k is for petrol engines) but unlike the other common ones. This is not something you add to your fuel every tank. It has been rather widely mentioned on forums and reported to do what it says on the tin although I offer no guarantee on validity of any claims by the manufacturer or other forum posts. It does seem to cue a lot of rough running problems people had. Friend of mine is a manager of a kwikfit garage and he says these cans are very popular. I have not used the diesel version.
 
Right, Ive been to the gge and they have run Diagnostics and found nothing!!
They have suggested it could poss be dirty fuel (with recent fuel panicking). So Im going to see how it goes over the next 2 weeks with letting it go as low as possible and then filling half way to help flush through.

Surprise surprise the rev fluctuation fault hasnt showed its ugly head today grrrr!
Anyway my gge didnt charge me the £40 for diagnostics as they couldnt find anything and Im due (my car) for a service in August.
They really are decent guys down there at VW Rescue.

Thanks again to everyone who replied, it has been a great help x

Clare xxx
 
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