Hi all, back in December I purchased from the auction a 2008 58 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI Hatchback in Red for a very tasty price indeed, too hard to believe at the time infact.

 

Now firstly, i know it was ex-taxi, and it looked rough with a few warning lights so I expected problems...

 

Bought new vacuum pump, window regulator and motor.

 

When I took the car back out the garage for a little drive, it was lacking some serious power and the engine management light was on, also the steering angle sensor (light came on to show that was faulty), had it plugged in and checked, it came up with boost pressure sensor and inlet motor. The vehicle also only started when applying the accelerator for about 5 seconds.

 

Another mechanic of mine lifted the engine cover, and there was a Golf BXE engine in it, the Skoda SHOULD have had the original BKU engine. The mechanic has since put a Golf BXE ecu in there, however the car cuts off and the mechanic is saying I should have the key programmmed by Volkswagen...

 

Whats everyones thoughts on this?

For a correct ECU swap, you need the code for the immobiliser and the ECU needs telling this code to work.

 

I don't think the ECU was to blame for the symptoms, but not easy to tell.  A replacement 2nd hand engine is not uncommon for taxis, and i bet in reality BXE and BKU are probably exactly the same underneath - both pd105 1.9 engines.

Yeah even I was thinking it was an immobiliser problem, the vehicle is currently in Peterborough quite a few people round there dont seem to be too sure on what to do for whatever reasons, iv had a few people say they wont touch VW immobilisers? 

BXE engines were fitted to Skoda's. Mine is a 57 2008. The engine code for your car is printed on a sticker fixed to the inside cover of the service book and a duplicate under the carpet in the boot next to the spare wheel.

A BXE engine is exactly what I would expect an Octavia 1.9 of that age to have. I've never heard of a BKU engine in an Octavia??

Mines a BXE too.

 

Phil

A bit of research indicates a BKU is a 1.8 petrol fitted to a VW Santana.

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The mechanic must have told me something wrong then? Apparently he checked the codes to the ECU and it didnt match up with the engine, however even with a bxe ecu fitted, the car is not starting up

Perhaps get the car transported to a specialist who has experience of Skoda, Jabbasport are just outside Peterborough in Crowland.

 

The car would have had a BXE engine when new, and the engine currently fitted is most likely the original one. This can be confirmed by looking a the data sticker in the boot which has both the engine code and engine number on it, I would expect any mechanic familiar with VW group cars to know this. I guess your mechanic is using Autodata or simillar to try and diagnose a fault in what is a complex system of electronics.

 

The 1.9 TDI engine was a BXE

The 2.0 TDI engine was a BKD

 

Perhaps he is getting confused as the BKU has never been in an Octavia.

I think he might have mean BKD, I will confirm what he said tomorrow. He might have made a mistake when telling me off the top of his head? Not sure but he was 110% sure it wasnt the right ecu with the engine, apparently he even rang a company specialising in ecu's who said it was wrong.

 

Though I doubt any of this has anything to do with the sluggish power and how the car struggles to get past 40/50 mph.

My 59 1.9PD Octavia has a BXE.  They are a bit sluggish, but should cruise at 70 effortlessly.  Are you getting amazing mpg and hesitation when you put your foot down?  If so, could be a bunged up fuel filter.

Trust me this aint normal, if i put my foot flat down while the car i standing still in neutral, the car will hardly rev above 1500 revs or so, with the old ecu in, the engine management light was coming up with inlet motor and boost pressure sensor.

Put the original ecu back in. It wasn't needed.

Have the original faults been resolved/checked before diving in with a new ecu?

If the new ecu isn't coded correctly it may be masking the original fault.

You cannot just swap the ECU, the car will never run with another unless its matched correctly to the immobiliser in the instrument cluster, this requires a dealer or a specialist to complete. The ECU also holds more data than that needed to run the engine, the VIN number, the mileage, the service interval and more are all contained within the ECU as well as the encryption key for the immobiliser.

 

Get the original ECU back in and start again, chances are it is the correct ECU despite what you are being told. The reason for this assumption is in the first paragraph.

 

The car really needs to go somewhere who understands how modern canbus signalling cars work, what could have been a simple fix is getting more complex than it needs to be.

 

The car is not revving correctly with the original ECU because its gone into limp home mode, most likely due to a faulty boost pressure sensor.

 

Replace the boost pressure sensor and the Intake Inlet Manifold Throttle Flap motor and go from there (with the original ECU installed)

 

For example

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Golf-Mk5-1-9-TDi-BXE-Intake-Inlet-Manifold-Throttle-Flap-Motor-EGR-Valve-/221349779255

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ORIGINAL-MAP-Pressure-Sensor-boost-pressure-for-AUDI-SEAT-SKODA-VW-038906051B-/271184807646?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3f23dfc6de

 

Check the part numbers before buying anything though, and the replacement flap motor will require a specialist or dealer to run the adaption process.

I'd say the ECU swap was not needed. Get the faults addressed rather than swapping the ECU.

 

My 59 1.9PD Octavia has a BXE.  They are a bit sluggish, but should cruise at 70 effortlessly.  Are you getting amazing mpg and hesitation when you put your foot down?  If so, could be a bunged up fuel filter.

 

I'd hardly call them sluggish... they're not fast but not sluggish. But then again I've never driven a manual version.

It may be as simple as the 'inlet motor' has not been adapted. Take it to a VAG specialist.

Yeah thanks for the advice so far guys, here is today's plan...

 

Ring another mechanic who is very reputable and has dealt with a few of these cars before (a friend gave me their number) - Ring and seek advice and then get him to take a look

 

Personally I think from reading what everyone has said, put the original ecu back into the car, and put a new Intake Inlet Manifold Throttle Flap Motor and a new Boost Pressure Sensor and go from there like mannyo has said. 

 

The mechanic the car is already at told me he knew what he was doing and knew how to collaborate the ecu to the immobiliser however it looks like he cant and i think iv wasted £100 on buying the ecu he told me to go aswell as rushing off to Northampton -_-

 

Thanks a lot guys, will keep this updated

...and put a new Intake Inlet Manifold Throttle Flap Motor...

It may just need adaption to teach the ECU the flap positions. Try that first.

If you can explain more on the adaption, sorry for my ignorance but I just like to know what im talking about when talking to the mechanics lol

 

Also iv done a little research and if you type in bkc skoda, a few octavia's do come up (from around 2005 models), according to my mechanic that was the ecu that was in it already, iv bought the bxe one to put into it now, I think the mechanic wanted the correct ecu in the vehicle. 

...If you can explain more on the adaption, sorry for my ignorance but I just like to know what im talking about when talking to the mechanics lol

Also iv done a little research and if you type in bkc skoda, a few octavia's do come up (from around 2005 models), according to my mechanic that was the ecu that was in it already, iv bought the bxe one to put into it now, I think the mechanic wanted the correct ecu in the vehicle.

Put the ECU that came with the car back in. If the mechanic doesn't understand adaption, you've taken it to the wrong place. Use a VAG specialist.

Adaption is a process initiated by diagnostics that forces the ECU to learn the positions of the flap motor. You can't just stick one in and expect it to work correctly.

I suspect that your underlying problem is that the actual flap position is offset from the requested position. In simple terms, it is more closed than it should be.

When starting, it should be partly open but is closed. By pushing on the pedal you open the flap enough for the car to start.

When driving with the pedal fully down, the flap should be fully open, but is only partly open.

This may cause other faults to be reported. If you post the fault codes you have we can help more.

Brilliant, thank you