Help appreciated!! ...MK1 2001 1.9TDI (110), 35k on the clock 1 owner (me dad!) . He has been complaining its been "playing up" after driving about 0.5 miles when cold like its "dying"

Went round yesterday and started it up in the garage from cold with bonnet up kept it revving at about 3000rpm, after about a minute revs dropped and horrible noise like the turbo wastegate opening/shuting about five six times then ran rough as anything like it was running on 3 cylinders and filled the garage up with white smoke.

Switched it off started it again and fine, he said it has been doing this for a couple of months then it just clears and drives fine, fitted new fuel and air filter and swapped the MAF sensor with mine and no difference (having said that it only seems to do it as it warms up...it starts perfect when stone cold)

Anyone have any ideas or do I need to find someone with VAG COM? (snap-on device shows no fault codes)

Thanks....Peter

White smoke = unburnt diesel, so maybe an injector is getting stuck open. Mine did this once, 2 Easters ago, and I posted about it on here. One other chap replied saying his car had done it a couple of times.

iirc, the power dropped off, and then the car ran really lumpy with virtually no power at all (I was only a few hundred yards from my parents at the time - having just driven up the road to log some data on vag-com), and I limped into a field gateway.

Turning the engine off and back on did not help for me, in the end I left the car there over lunch, and walked back to it afterwards (with the view of towing it back to my parents), and then it started fine. It has not done it again since.

Edited 9 May, 201016 yr by mbames

If the smoke is more light grey than white, it could be a timing problem.

If the case pressure relief valve comes apart you can get a similar problem. Take a look at

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/VE_Pressure_regulator_Repair.pdf

If the smoke is more light grey than white, it could be a timing problem.

If the case pressure relief valve comes apart you can get a similar problem. Take a look at

http://pics.tdiclub.com/data/500/VE_Pressure_regulator_Repair.pdf

mmm, if that was the problem would it not play up continuosly? Even weirder is he says it seems to do it exactly the same place every time (as he tries to accellerate up the slip road onto the M4) which is about half a mile from home. Once it clears it is fine and he drives 100 miles up to Suffolk??

mmm, if that was the problem would it not play up continuosly? Even weirder is he says it seems to do it exactly the same place every time (as he tries to accellerate up the slip road onto the M4) which is about half a mile from home. Once it clears it is fine and he drives 100 miles up to Suffolk??

Maybe your father should take a different (i.e. longer) route to said slip road, and then see how the car behaves when it is warm (10-15 mins of driving should see it up to temperature), on the same section of road.

Maybe your father should take a different (i.e. longer) route to said slip road, and then see how the car behaves when it is warm (10-15 mins of driving should see it up to temperature), on the same section of road.

Yeah sort of defeats the object a bit though! I will add though the cars probably never been over 3000rpm in its life!! Pottering about obviously doesnt do them a lot of good!!

mmm, if that was the problem would it not play up continuosly? Even weirder is he says it seems to do it exactly the same place every time (as he tries to accellerate up the slip road onto the M4) which is about half a mile from home. Once it clears it is fine and he drives 100 miles up to Suffolk??

Not necessarily, as the timing is affected by temperature. The CPRV affects the range of achievable timing, not the timing itself.

Let the car warm up before driving it, as whatever the problem is, you need to know if it is temperature related.

Not necessarily, as the timing is affected by temperature. The CPRV affects the range of achievable timing, not the timing itself.

Let the car warm up before driving it, as whatever the problem is, you need to know if it is temperature related.

Hence my suggestion, but it seemed that Peter did not like that idea!!!