You're sure this is a quality car?

K

Krister

Member
For something made by Audi, I can't say I'm impressed with the quality. Maybe I have a lemon...

Latest issue is the EPC and Engine Monitoring lights came on and so I can't drive the car, even to a garage. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it typically an electronics problem (computer, sensor) or mechanical issue? expensive?

The attached pic is with the engine idling, that's all it does, throttle is dead...
 
My 2001 1.4 has the same problem after coming to a stop - whilst on holiday in France - a couple of days ago, after having power steering problems.

The recovery guy managed to restart the car with a battery booster, but the same warning lights as you have are on and the throttle sometimes work and sometimes not. The Audi dealer in Le Havre reckons its the alternator and battery and wants 750euros for the parts, which I'm reluctant to pay, so I'm getting the car returned to the UK to get another opinion.

I will update if they fix the problem.
 
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Throttle is dead? never known it to be dead, but have seen weird responses to throttle control. Have you scanned the car for fault codes?

What spec is your car? is it a petrol 1.4?

Is the throttle wiring actually connected? Again I would it/ could it be a Earthing problem?! worth checking as it is a cheap fix if it is.


But as always a scan is the order of the day Pal.


Cheers
Sarge
 
Hi Sarge,

Petrol in my case, I have no idea if there are any fault codes (a bit beyond me), but piece of mind is seriously dented.
 
Found some interesting stuff

1.4 petrol it is.

Removed some stuff after reading another thread here.
Inside the intake manifold, throttle body there is evidence of burnt oil.

Two pictures attached showing the bottom side of the throttle and the intake manifold below. There's a layer of soot on the throttle valve probably 3-4 mm thick.

It uses a certain amount of oil, however, there is no petrol in the oil sump, or water. Could it be spewing excessive amounts of oil from the crankcase into the intake? Doesn't blow blue smoke out the back or anything. Had it serviced in march and they had nothing out of the ordinary to report. It does have 200k km on the clock so some grime is to be expected but it doesn't seem normal to me.

How the heck do I clean out everything? I'm thinking it's a major job of removing the whole intake system. :eek:
 
I'll try that. I read somewhere that the connectors for the control box sometimes cause problems. I have some erratic indications. Since I've had this problem, when I turn on the ignition I get different indications. I always get the EPC and Engine Monitoring lamp lit, but sometimes I also get the ABS and traction lights. I'm beginning to think this may be several problems all at one time, electric, and the carbon build up.

Do you know where the control box is located?
 
I had a similar problem at the start of the year with the same lights lit on the dash.

In the end, the fuel filter was cleaned and replaced, and one of the Lamba Probes was replaced in the exhaust system. They did some other things at the Aui Garage, but not too sure what, as some was done for free as I am a regular customer (replaced the temperature gauge that had also broken at the same time).

Hope its of some help, and good luck getting yours fixed!
 
control box in your case is under your feet.
Lift the carpet from the seat end.
Remove the left side trim under the dash while you're there.
Undo the three "bolts" - turn 180 degrees the way they will go - and lift the square-with-a-corner-chopped-off cover out. It will be hooked in at the seat side under the carpet.

The MSG is the one at the bottom (engine black box), the KSG (ccu in English) is the top one. Be careful, you have a *very* large cable coming into that exposed nut with only a 150A fuse. Don't linger.

Check the earthing point under the dash behind that left-side trim (it's the bolt with the brown cables). It should be tight. If it isn't, that may be the source of your problems.

Bret
 
Thanks, I'll strip the thing apart tomorrow, hopefully I can put it back together again with positive results. :)
 
No joy

Cleaned out the intake and throttle assy, tore apart the computers in the floor (after breaking some interior trim pieces, darn!), checked the earth connection, disconnected the battery, twisted myself inside out and - still doesn't rev at all.

While I was at it I looked through the fuse box and pulled some fuses. Noticed that the Lambda fuse didn't cause any change at all in the behaviour so I'm beginning to think that's where my problem is. Pulled the connector off the first lambda, right on the exaust manifold and lo and behold, it revs but doesn't control the response properly. Connected it back again and it ran fine for 2 seconds then began misbehaving again.

So, is there an easy way to measure a lambda to tell if it is working or not? I mean, I think it isn't but as it's a bit pricey it would be nice to check it first...
 
As far as I know no easy way to test.

My Sharan failed the MOT on the lambda sensor. I replaced it sailed through.

Have you had your emissions checked? This might give you an indication.
 
I don't have VAG-COM or any other testing equipment. Can't drive the car to a dealer as it doesn't respond to throttle (well, it does with the lambda disconnected). Haven't had any trouble with emissions or anything like that previously. I have had the EPC come on intermittently and rough running once or twice before but it always cleared by itself, magically. Also had engine light come on for a while without ant discernable rough running. Had it tested and the fault code said something about lean mixture or something. The Audi garage always said "it happens" nothing to worry about...

I'm now connecting all the dots and to me it seems this car is over complicated. 5 wires from a lambda instead of a typical 3-4 wire system? Somebody must have thought of something...

Anyway, with the lambda now out of the car I can start it up and the EPC goes off. Great! The engine light is still on but I think it just needs resetting. Don't want to drive it that way though because the throttle response is not as it should be - too sluggish - afraid of a runaway condition...

Tried to get hold of the PLX kiwi wifi (great name!) but typically US style no useful options of payment. Any other ideas, the less it costs the better, this car is getting the better of my economy...
 
Replaced the first lambda probe this evening. That's the control probe, in the exhaust manifold. Things looked fine intially and the engine ran the way it should for about a minute. Then, shudders and lights on the dash again. But, after switching off and restarting, EPC was gone and it ran normal once again.

I'm thinking that my throttle clean and the new probe may be throwing the computer out of whack, but I'm not sure. Any merit to that idea?

Also, after cleaning the throttle and once I located the probe issue, it seems the accelerator/throttle sticks a bit. If you rev the engine and let go of the accelerator it takes a few hundreds of a second before the engine revs actually drop. Odd behaviour me thinks. Does the same with the new probe or without a probe at all. Any clues?

Does the computer need "reprogramming" somehow or does it learn and adapt to the new hardware in some mysterious way?

I think I'd prefer a Stromberg carburettor to this electronic wizardry...
 
yes, there is a lot of merit to the idea. personal suggestion: run the engine for a while and then stop it, disconnect the battery for a few minutes and then reconnect and retry.

And then, when it's working, get yourself on the ferry to join the rest of us on the ice in Feb ;)

Bret
 
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