Hello.

 

About 3 months ago i bought a Skoda Octavia 2006 1.9tdi 4x4 estate.

 

Last week the ESP Light came on, it reset and went away with an ignition change, it has done this a few times since although it will always go away and stay off with ignition cycle.

 

I took it round a mates earlier to have a little play with VAGCOM, and quickly came across a fault i was not expecting to see.

 

02248 - Valve for controlling clutch operating angle (N373) 014 - defective - intermittant.

 

After a bit of reading it would appear to be quite a common fault on audis etc and requires the replacement  of the Haldex controller and its valves, my question is... have any of you had this fault before ? and if so, how did you fix it ? is it possible to obtain the N373 valve by itself as that would surley be the most cost effective route !

 

Thanks in advance.

Sorry, but I don't recall that problem ever being reported on Briskoda.

Hava a look on TTforum.co.uk most TT use the same unit and it should be there if you do a search. A quick search for haldex control of the mk1 TT forum brings up 940 matches

J

Hmm, well i spoke to my Dad (previous owner) and he said it had done it before, but it was removed  cleaned and refitted and had given no issues since !

 

So i took it to work, took the N373 Valve out, cleaned it all out, checked and cleaned all the connections, put it all back together.... now its knackered, god knows why, there is not much in there, but obviously i have disturbed it, put it back on vagcom and its now coming up as perminantly faulty, great.

Sorry, but I don't recall that problem ever being reported on Briskoda.

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/261825-haldex-controller-question-unbelievable-story/

 

Thats one .. though it does seem more common on the Audis, i would be willing to bet thats cos there are a damn site more of them on the road.

Where is there any mention of the N373 valve in that thread?

Where is there any mention of the N373 valve in that thread?

 

It says a Haldex controller fault, obviously the fault codes are not there but it still had to have the haldex control unit replaced to get the ESP light to go out.

I had a Haldex control unit replaced under warranty when I owned a Mk 1 Octavia 1.8T 4X4; the problem was an electronic one - ie checksum error - rather than the N373 valve. Others here have likewise had to replace that control unit, although not necessarily for the fault I had.

I was trying to be helpful when I posted what I did above so that you would't waste time on Briskoda trying to find non-existent posts about the N373 valve. I have since done another search on this forum and there are no posts other than yours which refer to that valve. But as you have found out, there are plenty on other forums.

I hope that you manage to fix your Haldex problem without spending too much.

Thanks, i have found a number for haldex controller faults that have had to have the ecu replaced, but as you say, non that state N373 specifically, mine subsiquently came up with more faults earlier after i had removed and refitted the unit, i cleared them but the two origional ones came straight back.

 

I am wondering now if it is simply the ecu part thats gone up the swanny.

 

These where the initial faults.

 

 

But after today they look like this !

 

Hmm, been doing a lot of reading.... im now convinced it will be the controller thats defective !

 

The reason i say this is because upon removal i noticed some of the sealant was lifting around the outer casing, i put some addtional sealant around it as a precaution, but i just came across this thread. http://www.ttforum.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=575530&start=0 the outside of mine looks exactly like that (sealant wise).

 

I may take it off again and dig the sealant out and have a look.

 

If not it looks like a new unit

Fixed hopefully.

OK so my fault was with the n373 valve, intermittent then perminnant.

I took the car to work today and took the controller off, dug out the sealant to expose the circuit board.

It was heavily corroded, and the lid was corroded, I cleaned the board with contact cleaner, then found the n373 connectors are not soldered but a sprung loaded push fit, the lower joint was corroded and green.

I cleaned it up, and tried my best to carefully blob some solder on it, I then looked for any other dodgy looking bits and put a hot iron over them.

I then refitted the board and controller, and spot on, no more esp light.

Edited 14 December, 201411 yr by Din85

Sorry for the multiple posts, my would phone not let me put all the pics on one reply?

Anyway, you get the idea, last pic is of my rather messy sealing job... Needed a little extra due to the corroded lid.

Edited 14 December, 201411 yr by Din85

Well done for persevering with this, and you did a good job of cleaning up a very messy circuit board and repairing it. In the longer term are you going to try and find a serviceable replacement ECU?

Well done for persevering with this, and you did a good job of cleaning up a very messy circuit board and repairing it. In the longer term are you going to try and find a serviceable replacement ECU?

 

I may well find a spare one yes, the reason i wanted to attempt this first though is simply because any used one of a similer age is just as likley to have the same issue in the future, i am hoping that this repair will last a good few years.

 

I was quoted £623 + VAT for a new one with max discount from http://www.thetradepartsspecialists.co.uk/ so still £750 all in.

 

Or £150 + VAT from a volkswagon breaker in Bristol.

 

I will keep my eyes on ebay i think just in case.

Hi all,

 

I really appreciate the detailed thread.

 

I’m having the exact same issue on my car but I unfortunately I’m unable to get access underneath to disconnect this.

 

is there anyone selling one of these at all?

 

Im based in Scotland.

 

cheers

Inza