Few problems with 1.9TDi Mk1 Octavia

[Luke Farenden]

i hope you can help me.

basically my old man has a Mk1 1999 Octavia 1.9 TDi, and the problem we seem to have is its ''Stutters'' when driving randomly. if it was a petrol car i would put it down to a dodgy Plug/ HT Lead/ Coil but as its a diesel i know SFA on these engines lol.

The stuttering happens on any occaision randomly, in any gear and at any RPM, but my dad says its more prone to doing it uphill. Also when it stutters and loses power, he gets plume of smoke from the exhaust about a grey to charcoal colour then is happy as before until the demon stutter happens again.

We took it in the dealer the other day and he wiped 2 ECU faults which are intermittent faults according to the machine:

We know one is for the Airbag as the light is on the Dashboard and after wiping it off he said to try it and see how it goes,

so we got about 1/4 mile down the street and i told dad to whack the hammer down and see if its ok, and it pulled ok, but low down (strangely when the airbag light up and returned on the dash) it started stuttering again so its booked in to dealer for tomorrow night to be looked at wednesday morning but is there anything it could be?

also the heating in it isnt working, well it heats up etc but the fan doesnt work. but if he goes fast enough round a roundabout or left hand bend and get enough G force round it kicks in for a second then turns off..

is it really a whole dash off to get to the heater blower mech?

Thanks

[mbames]

When was the fuel filter last drained? It does not sound like sticky vanes as the car does not drop into limp mode.

The fans for the heater are behind the glove box - quite a challenge to get to, although removing the glovebox itself is quite easy... Could be worn bushes in the heater motor assembly.

[trundlenut]

Could this be a problem with the MAF? What was the second error code? The airbag light could be the connection to the steering wheel airbag, the clock spring type thing that is used is rather delicate.

You could try unplugging the MAF and see if that makes a difference to the performance - the MAF is the thing between the air filter and the turbo with a electrical connection attached to it.

[mbames]

Could this be a problem with the MAF? What was the second error code? The airbag light could be the connection to the steering wheel airbag, the clock spring type thing that is used is rather delicate.

You could try unplugging the MAF and see if that makes a difference to the performance - the MAF is the thing between the air filter and the turbo with a electrical connection attached to it.

I wondered about the MAF, but sounds a bit odd that it drives fine for the rest of the time. I was wondering about dirty fuel, or water in the fuel, or maybe a sticky injector.

How many miles has the car done?

Pic for MAF location.

[Luke Farenden]

unfortunatly i didnt get within eyeshot of the machine to see the codes, all i know is he said they were both "intermittent faults"

the car has almost clocked up 130k and has a FSH at the Skoda dealer since new as we've been the only owner of the car.

[trundlenut]

I wouldn't dismiss the intermittent faults. If a sensor is giving the wrong reading but within the expected range the chances are a fault won't be logged, only when it gives a completely daft reading is a fault logged. The old grey coolant temperature sensors often do this when they fail and the MAF could be doing the same thing.

Of course the wrong reading within the correct range froma sensor will still potentially cause running problems.

[Luke Farenden]

I wouldn't dismiss the intermittent faults. If a sensor is giving the wrong reading but within the expected range the chances are a fault won't be logged, only when it gives a completely daft reading is a fault logged. The old grey coolant temperature sensors often do this when they fail and the MAF could be doing the same thing.

Of course the wrong reading within the correct range froma sensor will still potentially cause running problems.

Sorry what is a MAF?and what does it do. i aint too clued up on cars especially diesels, as im a Motorcycle mechanic.

the main 3 thoughts we came up with is a TPS being a bit funny, then it changed to a sticky injector, like its sticking shut to long then open to long hence the stutter. and lastly i had a guess at the oxygen sensor...well not the oxygen sensor i know diesels dont really use those my amte said it was something else.

[trundlenut]

Mass Air Flow - it measures how much air is being drawn into the engine so that the ECU can get the fuelling right (or something).

[rwbaldwin]

If I had to guess, I would say relay 109 (ECU power relay), especially as you are seeing it at any RPM.

[Luke Farenden]

If I had to guess, I would say relay 109 (ECU power relay), especially as you are seeing it at any RPM.

well the car goes into the dealer tonight after me old man finishes work, but i shall return and let everyone know what it was.