Had the flashing red oil can warning light come on today whilst touring the car parks looking for a space.

When I managed to park-up (About a minute later) and switched off the ignition and then re-started the engine, flashing red went-off and e yellow engine management light came on. Water temperature didn't move.

Cycled the ignition again and EML stayed on.

Checked oil dispstick and level was half way up the braided area , as it was yesterday when I checked it.

Strikes me its another electronic falsey.

Seem to get no end of electronic false errors near my place of work - can't imagine why ?

I also noticed that the number of times the engine keeps cutting out at idle at junctions seems to increase in promixity to my place of work.

Out with the VAG-Com tonight.

Nick

Your car don't like you going to work!

Don't go to work and your car will be fine.

Are there any sources of RF interference near to your work?

Your car don't like you going to work!

Don't go to work and your car will be fine.

Strange you should say that . . . .

Nick

Are there any sources of RF interference near to your work?

A 200ft radio mast with lots of point-to-point microwave dishes and some curly-wurly satelite aerials (K or S band ?).

Used the car at lunchtime. On start-up EML still on. Took it for a 20 mile burn-up up the motorway. Cycled ignition several times during run - light still on. Topped-up the tank with £20 worth, light goes out and stays out.

Who knows, EM interference, water in petrol, water in wiring loom, dodgy fuse or relay, take your pick.

Strangely, with the EML on, the engine seemed to pull better -even though it should be in limp mode and when the light went out the power went down. Is it possible for the activation of limp mode and standard power to become reversed ?

Nick

A 200ft radio mast with lots of point-to-point microwave dishes and some curly-wurly satelite aerials (K or S band ?).

Used the car at lunchtime. On start-up EML still on. Took it for a 20 mile burn-up up the motorway. Cycled ignition several times during run - light still on. Topped-up the tank with £20 worth, light goes out and stays out.

Who knows, EM interference, water in petrol, water in wiring loom, dodgy fuse or relay, take your pick.

Strangely, with the EML on, the engine seemed to pull better -even though it should be in limp mode and when the light went out the power went down. Is it possible for the activation of limp mode and standard power to become reversed ?

Nick

With the EML light displayed doesnt mean that the car will be in limp mode. For example disconnecting your EGR will bring on your EML light but wont put your car into limp mode.

As for RF interference, I would be very surprised if its anything to do with that. Not impossible, but in my opinion unlikely.

All vehicles and the components fitted to them are tested for their RF susceptibility and also their RF Emissions before vehicles are sold in mass (I work in an EMC - (Electromagnetic Compatibilty) dept. of a leading industry test facility). VAG have fairly stringent test requirements from an EMC perspective.

Also if your car was getting affected that badly by RF field in the vicinity of your work I would think that other people at your place of work would have noticed something also.

Lewwy

Hello ClunkclickWhat car model is giving you this trouble.??

Hello ClunkclickWhat car model is giving you this trouble.??

2003 Fabia saloon 1.4 16v (100 BHP) (BBZ engine) owned from new and main dealer serviced (Once a year) from new. 50,000 miles now reached.

Ran a VAG Com (VCDS) diagnosis on it this evening - ignition on, engine off. The first and second reports (cycled ignition between first and second diagnostic runs) I generated showed an intermittent signal from both the engine speed sensor and the steering position sensor, faults in the engine control module section dealing with the ABS and short to plus on power supply relay J317 in central electrics. This is the first time I've seen the sensor and ABS errors codes. You think if any error would show it would be the oil pressure sensor . I suspected that these reports were spurious and erroneous. So I cleared all the error codes using VAG. Com and then ran the dianostic again (Third time) . All clear !!!!!!

I then took the car on a 6 mile run and on return did another diagnostic (Fourth). No show for the engine speed sensor, steering sensor faults, ABS and power relay.. The only fault showing was the one I've had from the start of ownership in 2003 indicating a faulty temperature flap motor in the aircon. The dealer seems to have given this a stiff ignoring from the start (Difficult to replace motor) , despite me mentioning it 2 years ago and in consequence the dealer replacing the evapouration sensor (Easy) !.

I just don't trust any of these car electronics anymore. IMHO, from a design stand point, the systems are just not robust or technically sophiscated enough to deal with all the situations they are likely to encounter. And as a consequence, the number of false and spurious errors is appallingly high -giving Microsoft a run for their money if that's possible.

Also, I have been having other apparently unrelated major trouble with it recently in terms of engine stutter and high oil consumption (see my numerous other posts) - in between services I've had to top-it up with 4.25 litres over the last annual mileage of 5,100 miles. It first started to use oil at the 30,000 mile mark and built from there. I suspect piston ring wear (Oil quickly blackens after the annual service) and oil blowing by into the exhaust. Very occasionally I get an EM light, which I suspect is oil containmination of the oxygen sensors and this is usually extinguished by a "Burn-up" on the local motorway.

And occasionally, I get an engine stutter where the engine sudddenly in the space of one to 2 seconds dies and then recovers whilst going along. This is so violent that it throws you foward in your seat. A bloke who posted back to my enquiry on Honest John reckoned the latter effect was a relay supplying power to the EMU, as he'd had an identical problem on his VW caddy pick-up and cured it by replacing the relay.

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=88829

My local dealer says its probably oil in the exhaust system landing on the oxygen sensors and fooling the EMU into thinking its overfuelled and "Scramming" the EGR valve. In the past, I've attributed this effect to anything ranging from radio frequency interference to sticking valves. Now, I really don't know.

You'd think that VAG would like occasionally, just from technical interest, to get to the bottom of these sort of problems, and take a customers car off them for a week or so and do a comprehensive suite of tests and exminations just to find out what the hell is going-on, for the benefit of all effected parties, including the dealers, who seem to be clueless.

Some of the joys of owning amodern VW group car - I had none of this with my conventional carburetted and distributor driven ignition on my 1981 Golf.

(VAG COM reports availble, if you want a look).

Nick

Edited 4 February, 201115 yr by Clunkclick

With the EML light displayed doesnt mean that the car will be in limp mode. For example disconnecting your EGR will bring on your EML light but wont put your car into limp mode.

As for RF interference, I would be very surprised if its anything to do with that. Not impossible, but in my opinion unlikely.

All vehicles and the components fitted to them are tested for their RF susceptibility and also their RF Emissions before vehicles are sold in mass (I work in an EMC - (Electromagnetic Compatibilty) dept. of a leading industry test facility). VAG have fairly stringent test requirements from an EMC perspective.

Also if your car was getting affected that badly by RF field in the vicinity of your work I would think that other people at your place of work would have noticed something also.

Lewwy

Seem to recall reports by mobile Ham radio operators (2 metre Band) having great fun in the 1990s pulling-up besides BMWs in the fast lane and then pushing their PTT buttons and watching as the BMW driver lost all power - the proximity of the radio transmission (Although only in the tens of watts) having trashed the working values within the EMU prompting an automatic reset. There's got to be more radio controlled taxi's and public service vehicles on the road now. IMHO, the risk of this eventuality is greater, unless manufacturers have taken measures in the intervening period to improve shielding on EMUs -doubt it.

Nick

Edited 4 February, 201115 yr by Clunkclick

Since doing the Fault code clear last night, the engine is now running (Coincidentally ?) as if its been remapped. Its pulling much better at low RPM.

I wonder whether its been operating in a reduced state for some time ?

Again, coincidentally when I loaded VCDS, it happened to be the first time use of a new version and it similutaneous loaded another bit of software which it declared as being an updated for programming in the Ross-tech interface. Significant ?

Nick

I get the momentary losses of power that you mention. I've got a 1.4 16v 100 bhp (AUB code) - the rev counter drops to zero and it is like you've hit the brakes and then everything is back to normal again a second or two later - I get this about once every 500 - 1000 miles. I've seen it on this forum quite a few times, it just seems to be another design flaw of this engine like the surging tickover. I've no idea what causes it or how to cure it, the main things I find that help are: using good branded petrol (BP, Shell), using super unleaded most of the time, keeping the crankcase breather hose clean, running a bottle of redex through the petrol occasionally, getting a throttle body clean and re-alignment, getting an EGR valve clean and finally giving it the beans occasionally.

I hope you get to the bottom of your Christmas tree lights, it does sound like something electrical.

Edited 5 February, 201115 yr by tag1_uk

have a good look around the wiring in the engine bay

i had a problem with the flap valve wiring on my 07 roomster a fewm months back (had done 120k miles at the time) and my old octavia several similar faults over the 236k miles i had it

basically two common faults,

1:- wiring rubbing and shorting out

2:- wiring breaking due to vibration

the second is the common problem with the blue sense wire to the alternator where it breaks by the gearbox