Hi all,

Just took my 2006 Octavia TDI Elegance into the local DM keith to have a few problems looked at. Apparently the problems require a new ECU at the princely sum of £1500!

The issues are:

1. The glow plug light is not coming on when first trying to start the car. When this happens, the car will not start. Repeatably switching the key off/on, eventually will make the glow plug light appear, and then the car will start.

2. The engine cooling fan seems to be running all of the time, rather than just when the engine gets hot.

3. According to CM Keith, they cannot reset the "Service Now" message, after the car was serviced.

Has anyone seen anything like this before?

Get it tested/repaired?

http://www.bba-reman.com/uk/index.aspx are one of the companies out there who do this sort of work.

Any chance of a goodwill contribution from Skoda towards the repair cost?

im sure theres a thread or two on here about similar ECU problems where the fan was running and it was corrosion in a connector somewhere and it just needed that fixing. Have a search on ECU replacement or someone will be along who knows the link. Not sure on the glowplug though.

Sound s like a dealer plugging in the diagnostics & not looking further into the problem than the initial answer

Have a chat with a few of the tuning companies if it comes to needing a new one. Jabba swapped an ECU on my Mk 1 Octy to try & cure a niggling fault. Assuming you can do it on a Mk 2 a s/hand ECU must be relativly cheap as theres little demand for them & a tuner could probably source it anyway

Are 1 + 2 related? Does it think the engine is always hot so runs the fan and does not bother to use the glowplugs?

i.e. is it just a faulty temp reading?

Find another dealer! Or good local indy.

I have spare 2.0TDI ECUs in stock that I could code up to test the ECU theory, but I think it's more likely to be a relay (check the ignition relay number 458 in the relay box under the bonnet) or as someone mentioned, corroded connectors.

I have spare 2.0TDI ECUs in stock that I could code up to test the ECU theory, but I think it's more likely to be a relay (check the ignition relay number 458 in the relay box under the bonnet) or as someone mentioned, corroded connectors.

Problem solved

Best book him in

Thanks for all the replies.

The dealer says that the ECU is showing an error along the lines of "spasmodic ECU control failures.." I know I haven't remembered that exactly correctly, but they do say that there is a specific error code relating to a failing ECU.

They also say that the fan problem is not a relay, it is the ECU sending out incorrect signals.

I have asked about Skoda paying as an ECU should last longer than 4 years, and the dealer is going to contact Skoda UK regarding this. I'm not holding my breath though.

Shark.. if we prove that it is the ECU, can you supply/fit a new one? I'm in West Yorks so a bit away from you, but I will drive down there if we can solve the issue potentially in 1 day.

I should also add, when I questioned if I could have my money back if the ECU did not fix the problems, they said NO, because the ECU is coded to the car.

Does that sound correct?

Intermittent power problems on Terminal 30 is potentially what they mean.

This any many others can be caused by a dodgy power distribution relay (see above) or just a weak and old car battery.

Last year my 2005 Octy needed a new battery, as it had odd symptoms, so I could see it potentially being an issue on yours too.

I should also add, when I questioned if I could have my money back if the ECU did not fix the problems, they said NO, because the ECU is coded to the car.

Does that sound correct?

Well the ECU is then non returnable so someone has to pay for it. However if they say thats what it is then you pay for it, if it doesnt fix it then its either a miss diagnosis or there are further items required.

ECU failure is very rare, if not unheard of. I would go along the lines of getting a second opinion. Ben (Shark_90) comes highly recommended and can most likely sort it far cheaper than any dealer.

ECU failure is very rare, if not unheard of. I would go along the lines of getting a second opinion. Ben (Shark_90) comes highly recommended and can most likely sort it far cheaper than any dealer.

I would tend to agree, It didnt cure my problems on the Octy 1 but it was tried as there was a spare ECU lying around. Ended up a faulty battery earth lead, again unheard of but gave an intermitent fault, transpired it was giving a split second earth issue when the car had a big knock, pothole & the like but not every time.

You definately need a second opinion & ideally find a good tuner like Ben who because they are always tinkering (meant nicely) with the cars they have a far better knowledge of what does what rather than the dealer who justy plugs in a box & bellieves it.

Had a few PD ECUs go down, usually manifesting in injector faults being open/short circuit to positive IIRC.

Got a spare PD170 ECU sat here for diagnostics or might sell it.

Fot my 2 cents worth, DM Keith are useless. After 9 full day visits and a lot of time off work ,and a few un-required warrenty parts, my old Fabia's fault was found byanother dealer and diagnosed and fixed in 5 mins.

Avoid DM Keith!

I can however highly recommend Benfield in harrogate.

Shark.. if we prove that it is the ECU, can you supply/fit a new one? I'm in West Yorks so a bit away from you, but I will drive down there if we can solve the issue potentially in 1 day.

Yes I think I have both variants of PD140 ECU in stock and fitting and coding a replacement is no problem. It's a half day job, so having it done in 1 day is no problem.

3. According to CM Keith, they cannot reset the "Service Now" message, after the car was serviced.

Just re-read this, and the service schedule reminder is in the instrument cluster, and has nothing to do with the engine ECU.

Just re-read this, and the service schedule reminder is in the instrument cluster, and has nothing to do with the engine ECU.

Thanks for your advice, it sounds like you know a lot more that DM Keith! I'll be giving you a call over the weekend on or Monday. Thanks again!.

They can reset it assuming they serviced it, however what they might mean is if its reset now your service will be due before the counter flags up again. Depending on how much time has passed since the service anyhow.

They can reset it assuming they serviced it, however what they might mean is if its reset now your service will be due before the counter flags up again. Depending on how much time has passed since the service anyhow.

Nope, they are stating they cannot reset it because the ECU won't allow them to.. (i..e its broke)

and yes they did service it, so it does need resetting.

The advice doesn't sound correct based on what I'm reading above, so I'll be giving Shark a call as soon as I can.

Nope, they are stating they cannot reset it because the ECU won't allow them to.. (i..e its broke)

and yes they did service it, so it does need resetting.

The advice doesn't sound correct based on what I'm reading above, so I'll be giving Shark a call as soon as I can.

If anyone need EDC16U1 ECU for 1.9TDI... Got one spare here but have to compare the sw number and revision for that........ So post if needed....

If anyone need EDC16U1 ECU for 1.9TDI... Got one spare here but have to compare the sw number and revision for that........ So post if needed....

so here it is if needed

EDC16U1 03G 906 016 DJ/281 011 883

so here it is if needed

EDC16U1 03G 906 016 DJ/281 011 883

Its a 2.0 PD TDI, but thanks for the offer.

Well, just to update everyone on the very happy ending to this topic.

After a visit to Ben at SharkPerformance, it turns out that somehow there was a difference between the engine map on my car, and the standard Skoda engine map. When I say a difference we are talking 1 (byte?) character difference in the whole map. After reflashing the original 140PD map on the ECU again, the car is magically fixed!

How the ECU got changed (corrupted?) is a mystery, as the problem only started happening around 2 months ago, and we had not had any work done on the car.

So it seems that DM Keith were on the right track.. it was the ECU, however the software rather than the hardware. I guess it was too much to expect them to have tried resetting the ECU back to manufacturers settings before asking me to shell out £1500.

So all in all, I'd class this is a right result! Ben saved me a considerable amount of money, and even better I got to spend 2 hours with Angelina Jolie whilst I was waiting!

I'll be adding a review in the tuners section for SharkPerformance as a way of thanks to Ben and also re-become a freedom member to say thanks to the forum for helping