Hi, I have been looking for a while for a solution to my particular problem but without much luck todate. There would appear to be a few very knowledgeable people on this forum and I have seen a few questions posed on here that are similar to my issue but the fixes have not helped so far.

 

My 2004 TDI has had the engine light on since I bought it 4 years ago, it has never been an issue and I have never tried to get rid of it, however the other day I started the car as usual, it starts ok but I'm not a 100% certain that all the glow plugs are working so most days when cold it would run a bit rough on start up but blip the throttle and all would be fine, anyway I did about 150 miles this particular day including a trip to an airport to drop off my daughter, we were at the airport for under two hours, got back to the car and it started as usual, drove home the 30 odd miles without issue and parked up in the drive as usual at about 11.30pm

The following morning at around 8am I start the car as usual, reversed out of the drive, selected first gear and started to pull away but this time the engine felt like it was miss firing so dipped the clutch and blipped the throttle but instead of clearing the car stopped running altogether and no amount of turning it over and over has resulted in it going again.

There is plenty of fuel in the car, the fuel pump in the tank appears to be working or at least when I turn the key it whirr's for 2-3 seconds as normal, all the warning lights come on as usual and then go off except the ones that need the engine running to do so.

I have checked the timing belt and it is tight and I checked to make sure that nothing had slipped but the timing marks on the cams and the crank all match up.

I checked the flap in the inlet manifold and it moves freely by hand and is in the open position (spring loaded to that position by all accounts) There is a fair bit of oil residue in the pipes.

I have checked all the fuses and they are all good, including the ones in the engine bay.

The only odd thing apart from not starting is that at the time of the car cutting out I had the wipers on and they have stopped working, they are currently half way across the screen and do not move or want to park even though I have switched them off.

I have disconnected the battery and left it disconnected for over an hour but on reinstalling it still will not start.

I took off the fuel hose from the fuel filter in the engine bay and when the switch is turned fuel pour out till the pump stops, not particularly very high pressure I have to say.

I have another battery on charge as I write,so tomorrow I will put that on to see if it makes any difference, other than that the only thing else I can think to look at would be the crank sensor.

I have a cheap cable for diasgnostic's but the VCDS lite I have only shows the Octavia MK1, however I did do a scan and it came back with the following error codes:

19558 motor for intake manifold flasp (V157) no signal P3102-000

18104 shareware version to decode all DTC's P1696-000 please register/activate

19557 shareware version to decode all DTC's P3101-000 please register/activate

Readiness N/A

 

So from that I assume the shutoff valve is not working correctly, however if it is open then it is allowing air into the manifold, so if turning over fast enough with fuel it should start?

 

Now stumped so any help would be appreciated.

 

Oh and if I do get it started again I will post whatever was found out to be the culprit, unlike some who just leave the post hanging (not cool).

Welcome to the forum.

 

Firstly, what sort of person can ignore an engine management light for 4 years?

 

It may not be your main issue but I would start with the intake manifold flap and go from there. I would also get it scanned properly to make sure there are not any more codes lurking.

 

You can see if the crank sensor is working by seeing if the rev counter moves when cranking

Please check to see if any other electrical systems are not working in addition to the wipers. If so I suspect you have an aux supply relay failure on top of your existing engine problems. In addition, check your glow plugs are working as if I remember correctly, they have a relay in the supply if it is a 1.9 L engine.

Glow plugs are a secondary consideration, a healthy PD engine will start readily without preheat in +°C.

 

Another thought is the injector wiring in the cylinder head may have failed, it is noted for becoming brittle with age and heat.

 

Have the car scanned properly as a first step.

 

If the anti shudder flap is open try squirting a starting fluid into the pipe.  If it offers then you can take diagnostics from there.

 

Just a random extra thought.  I would expect the key fob security is designed to work without power ie passive RFID.

 

It's raining out so I'm not going to check on mine.

 

Perhaps checking your key's battery is in good nick is in order as it may be the immobiliser is active.

Edited 12 August, 20187 yr by MicMac

22 hours ago, SuperbTWM said:

 

Hi,  Firstly thank you all for your replies.

 

I am happily in the camp of if it isn't broke don't fix it and as the car was only £1000 to buy and the engine ran very well and everything else worked I was happy to ignore the light.

The air flap would appear to be close to £200 so replacing it without knowing for sure that it would cure the issue (which I don't thing it will as it stays open and is apparently there to help shut the engine off without shuddering). It would be a lot of money wasted.

 

I agree about the heater plugs, given the temperature we currently have and add in that I have a Mk4 golf diesel that the glow plugs are not even connected at the moment and that starts up without hesitation, so that would not stop the engine from running.

 

No other electrical circuits are affected and I have checked every fuse for power on both sides of each fuse and they are all fine (gave them a wiggle as well).

 

The remote key works fine and locks/unlocks the doors and if held open or close the windows as well.

 

I removed the fuse for the wipers and when I put it back with the ignition on the wipers have now parked themselves but with the ignition on if I turn the wipers on they now do not work, they basically just parked where they should and have stopped working again.

 

The rev counter does move off it's stop but not by much but moves, so assume that the crank sensor is working.

 

I took the top cover off to have a look at the injectors but other than knowing they are in there it was a fruitless job, not surprised that the wires may get brittle.

 

The issue I have now is that as the car is not driveable getting it scanned properly is going to be a pain and or costly, not been funny but if I can't get it moving it will get scrapped which is a shame as I have never had a car that does this amount of miles to the gallon at the speeds that it goes at, coupled with the interior space it has but I can't justify spending a load of money on such an old car especially if this is the start of gremlins setting in.

 

I will get to all the relays I can find and see if any of them are obviously not functioning, I will also have a go at putting easi start in the inlet manifold as it is cranked over and I will also have a go at dragging it down the road to see if that does anything.

I will report back with the results.

Have you checked the VCDS map to see if there is anybody close by that could help out?

 

Have you checked you have fuel after the filter at the tandem pump? (RHS of engine)

 

 

Edited 12 August, 20187 yr by SuperbTWM

Most any aerosol can be used in a pinch to try starting eg. WD-40, deodorant (not anti perspirant).

Well a bit of an update, as I had been turning the engine over and over for a fair while the battery started to labour somewhat, so I put it on charge overnight. in the morning  the charger said that all was fully charged so refitted the battery and tried to start it and it nearly did first turn of the key so I gave it a bit of throttle and tried again and it burst into life. I switched it off and tried again and it fired up as before.

 

As I was not expecting this I decided to leave it and use the wife's car. When I got back I decided not to try to start the car again but leave it alone for a couple of days. I went to it this evening, unlocked via the remote, put the key in and turned it over and it fired right up. I then took it for a drive around our lanes followed by a blat down the motorway and all is as it used to be and the wipers now work again.

 

I'm now unsure of the car but have decided to buy a new Bosch battery for it (on sale this evening at euro car parts), I will fit that and also keep the old battery in the boot with some leads just incase. 

 

If the car continues to run ok I will post back in a couple of weeks, but maybe sooner if it stops working again.