Hi All,

I'm after some help diagnosing some faults with my 2001 Octavia 4x4 1.8T.

I had some lumpy acceleration issues so I cleaned out the throttle body, for the second time in owning the car for almost 10 years. Anyway, since cleaning it I am now getting a lot of fluctuation in the idle revs and the EPC light flashes on and off as the revs go up and down.

In addition to this, and I don't think it's related, the ESP light now comes on and stays on.

So I used VCDs-Lite and got the following error codes.

4 Faults Found:

17705 - Pressure Drop between Turbo and Throttle Valve (check D.V.!)

P1297 - 35-00 - -

17704 - Shareware Version. To Decode all DTCs

P1296 - 35-00 - Please Register/Activate

17608 - Shareware Version. To Decode all DTCs

P1200 - 35-00 - Please Register/Activate

17953 - Throttle Valve Controller: Malfunction

P1545 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent

1 Fault Found:

01314 - Engine Control Module

013 - Check DTC Memory – Intermittent

I have had issues a few weeks ago with the engine management light coming on which reported the 17704 error code, but after clearing the error, it didn't come back. Also the first error 17705, I'm not concerned about, this has been there for as long as I have owned the car and never shows any signs of a problem.

I'm looking for help and advice on what to do/look at in order to fix these issues. Have I damaged the throttle body or something. I never had problems before when I cleaned it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Sounds like you need to get the throttle body recalibrated. This should really be done when cleaning the throttle body, if you have disconnected it to do the clean up.

Also try disconnecting the MAF, then car should run on defaults, the ESP light will stay on but it should run better.

Regarding the 17704 code , do you have a green coolant sensor? They was a factory recall back in the day IIRC.

Hi All,

I'm after some help diagnosing some faults with my 2001 Octavia 4x4 1.8T.

I had some lumpy acceleration issues so I cleaned out the throttle body, for the second time in owning the car for almost 10 years. Anyway, since cleaning it I am now getting a lot of fluctuation in the idle revs and the EPC light flashes on and off as the revs go up and down.

In addition to this, and I don't think it's related, the ESP light now comes on and stays on.

So I used VCDs-Lite and got the following error codes.

4 Faults Found:

17705 - Pressure Drop between Turbo and Throttle Valve (check D.V.!)

P1297 - 35-00 - -

17704 - Shareware Version. To Decode all DTCs

P1296 - 35-00 - Please Register/Activate

17608 - Shareware Version. To Decode all DTCs

P1200 - 35-00 - Please Register/Activate

17953 - Throttle Valve Controller: Malfunction

P1545 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent

1 Fault Found:

01314 - Engine Control Module

013 - Check DTC Memory – Intermittent

I have had issues a few weeks ago with the engine management light coming on which reported the 17704 error code, but after clearing the error, it didn't come back. Also the first error 17705, I'm not concerned about, this has been there for as long as I have owned the car and never shows any signs of a problem.

I'm looking for help and advice on what to do/look at in order to fix these issues. Have I damaged the throttle body or something. I never had problems before when I cleaned it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

When you cleaned throttle body did you unplug the sensor? Sometimes you may need to do a throttle body re calibration so the throttle, and drive by wire are calibrated together. You can do this through VAGCOM. Instructions are on this site in the VAGCOM section. Can post then if i find them. Your error codes do seem to point to this, especially as that is the area you were working on.

Failing that you could be unlucky and have a AFM malfunction. To test that unplug MAF. If the car does not run any worse then this is a good indication the MAF is faulty.

Only other item is a temp sensor on the gearbox side of the head this can cause initial poor starting and lumpy running until car warms up.

good luck...

You'll need a full working version of VAGCOM/VCDS to do this iirc

Throttle Body Alignment

Also check for any leaks leading to the intake mani

Thanks for your quick responses. Answers to some questions are below:-

1. I didn't unplug the throttle body when doing the clean. I guess I could have strained the harness and possible causes a temporary disconnection, but I would have thought this was unlikely.

2. I have the new green temp sensor, this was replaced years ago.

3. I don't have the full version of VAG-com so a recalibration is an issue.

4. I have also replaced the MAF, again many years ago.

More Questions:-

1. Is the ESP light/fault code linked to the engine fault codes then ?

You don't need to realign the the throttle body with Vagcom the ECU will realign it over a few driving cycles. As long as you didn't force the butterfly flap open on the throttle body when you cleaned it the TB should be ok.

Odd that you say you've had 17705 code without any issues as that code usually causes the ECU to go into limp mode!

17704 code is usually down to a faulty CTS or a stuck thermostat.

Edited 6 November, 201114 yr by pauldazzle

Hi all,

More bad news :(

Although the car showed the warning lights yesterday, it drove OK. However, this morning it started OK, but after a few miles went into limp home mode with the engine management light staying on. I ran VCDS-Lite and got the following:-

2 Faults Found:

17953 - Throttle Valve Controller: Malfunction

P1545 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent

17608 - Shareware Version. To Decode all DTCs

P1200 - 35-00 - Please Register/Activate

I cleared the errors yesterday, which is why there is now only 2.

The car now sounds terrible and runs really rough, as if it was only running on a few cylinders.

When I cleaned the throttle body, I did inadvertently move the butterfly valve, putting too much pressure on the disc when trying to clean it......so have I messed it up?

I did disconnet the MAF, which seem to have no affect on the running.

I'm really stuck for what to do to fix this. Is the throttle body knackered or does it just need recalibration and how can I resolve this with a full license of VCDS ?

All help is appreciated.

Cheers

I'd say you've screwed the throttle body up.

You could try disconnecting the TB, & plugging it back in, turn the ignition on & you should here a whistling sound which is the TB realigning itself, wait for it to stop then start the engine. To be honest I think you'll be looking at a new TB as you are not supposed to move the butterfly flap at all.

The best way to clean the TB is to remove it but leave it plugged in with the ignition turned on & put something on the throttle pedal to open the flap.

Edited 7 November, 201114 yr by pauldazzle

Thanks for the feedback, I will try what you say unplugging.

If I get a new TB, does that require a calibration? Also, any idea on the approx cost of a new one?

Cheers

You need to find a nice friendly nearby member with a full copy of VAGCOM to scan your car

17608/P1200/004608 - Boost Pressure Control Valve (N249): Mechanical Malfunction

Possible Symptoms

• Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL) ON
• Power Loss

Possible Causes

• Boost Pressure Control Valve (N249) faulty
• Diverter Valve faulty

Possible Solutions

• Check / Replace Boost Pressure Control Valve (N249)
• Check / Replace Diverter Valve

Throttle body will align itself over a few driving cycles. New TB from Eurocarparts is about £350ish. Usually a few TB's on ebay, & check the forum classified.

Update:-

I tried unplugging and even disconnecting the battery to clear any settings, and no luck. So I stripped the whole throttle body off the car and took the plastic cover off to look for any damage. No signs of any damage, and as an mechanical engineer I couldn't see how moving the butterfly valve could damge the unit at all. I have a fly-by-wire version (i.e. no cables at all) so maybe that's the reason, but this is a really simple design, a motor some gears and a potentiometer. If you move the valve all you do is turn the motor. The potentiometer has no adjustment, it has 2 end stops (start and end of travel) and that's it, so there is no way that could be damaged or inadvertently moved/adjusted. The only way I could see that this could be damaged was if the motor/gears were stiff and forcing the valve might damage the gears, shaft or something like that.

Anyway, I reconnected the unit and checked whether turning the ignition on, moved the valve in it's auto-calibration stage. It moved the valve a small amount (about 10 degrees or so) and then closes it and then whines/wistles for about 10 secs or so. I also checked whether pressing the accelerator opened the valve and it did fully when hard down.

After checking this a few times, I reassembled the body and cleared the faults in VCDS-lite.

I started the car, and waited a few secs - no warning lights (good so far). But the car was popping through the exhaust and sounded rough as anything. Almost as if the exhaust was blowing.

I took the car down the road (slowly) - no warning lights. But still didn't sound great.

Took the car for a run (about 10 miles) - no warning lights. Started to sound better.

Stopped the car for a while (15mins), took it out again for about 3 miles - no warning lights, sounding better. Revs have also started to settle down, not hunting so much anymore, and exhaust doesn't sound so bad.

My questions are now:-

1. Does this sound normal, and do you think it's fixed (before I take the risk of a long motorway commute again).

2. Does the TB auto-calibration sequence I discribe sound normal. (The whinning worried me. I also thought it would try and move the valve more i.e. to max opening or something like that)

3. Is the rough running/sound and popping through the exhaust before settling down normal as well.

I'm going to leave it until tommorrow evening, and try and run the car again then from cold before I risk the commute nightmare again, but any feedback on the above, before then would be appreciated. It might help settle my worries.

Sorry for the lenghtly post, but I thought this might help someone else with similar issues.

Manual throttle body adaptation:

"The Throttle is "Drive By Wire" and adapts to your particular driving style. Do a TBA Throttle body adaption).

1. Get in your car, it doesn't matter if you close the door or not.

2. Turn the key to the on position, the position just before the starter turns over.

3. Press the gas pedal to the floor with the key in the "on" position.

4. Hold the pedal to the floor for five seconds, then turn the key back to the "off" position(don't remove the key), then release the gas pedal.

5. Wait 2 mins. for a full alignment. During this time you may hear very faint noises and clicks. I

only heard one sitting in my car, if I got out and popped the hood I might hear more.

6. Drive the car as you always do.

Depending on your driving style, this may or may not be a big factor. I do a lot of city driving so

I noticed a big change after erasing my history. It is not hard to do this, just follow the

instructions - Key on, pedal down, 5 sec, key off pedal up, wait 2 minutes.

Keep the key in for the entire thing. "

Dont know if it works or not.