[Vwdiesel] RE: sudden TDI death

[greg rich]

I am not much help for your running problems, but your check engine light 
can be cured in 5 minutes if it is the glow plug problem-pull the harness 
off the glow plugs and remove the plugs,give the tips that contact with the 
harness a good cleaning/polishing with steel wool or similar, then  a little 
grease and reinstall, this usually cures the CEL but it will have to be 
reset. You can also check the glow plugs while they are out, run jumpers 
from the battery. The light comes on when it sees a different resistence 
value between the glow plugs, usually it is the paint or oxidation on the 
contact area that causes it, a new harness is not usually needed nor glow 
plugs. Learned the expensive way...cured the second car the cheap way!

The check engine light is only an emmision related item on the TDI engine, 
it is not likely going to cause catastrophic failure if you drive with it 
on, you still have an oil pressure warning circuit aswell as a coolant and 
charge circuit. With no 02 sensor the engine has no real knowledge of what 
is happening after combustion either (like running rich or oil burning)
Infact, it doesn't come on when it should in most cases (failed MAF sensors 
or clogged intakes).

>Message: 6
>Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 14:31:08 -0500
>From: Shalyn Shourds <sshourds at flash.net>
>Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] sudden TDI death
>To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>Message-ID: <40A7C17C.1000703 at flash.net>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
>The check engine light is always on anyways.  Bad glow plug harness
>probably (code PO380).  Even with a check engine light. I don't have a
>copy of VAG-COM yet or even a laptop to run it on or a Bentley for that
>manual.  Up to this point, I haven't needed it.
>
>I suppose I've now reached that point.  I'm going to try and drag it
>home this afternoon and look at it from there.
>
>-Shalyn
>
>Doyt W. Echelberger wrote:
>
> > Did the check engine light come on to indicate that engine problem?
> >
> > Doyt
> > 1985 Jetta TD
> > (no TDI because all the ones I looked at were showing check engine
> > lights)
> >
> >
>Message: 7
>Date: Sun, 16 May 2004 19:24:59 -0500
>From: Harmon Seaver <hseaver at cybershamanix.com>
>Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] sudden TDI death
>To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
>Message-ID: <20040517002459.GA9883 at cybershamanix.com>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>On Sun, May 16, 2004 at 02:31:08PM -0500, Shalyn Shourds wrote:
> > The check engine light is always on anyways.  Bad glow plug harness
> > probably (code PO380).  Even with a check engine light. I don't have a
> > copy of VAG-COM yet or even a laptop to run it on or a Bentley for that
> > manual.  Up to this point, I haven't needed it.
>
>    Autozone will do a free engine code check for you. Driving with the 
>engine
>light always on isn't a real great idea unless you know for sure what the
>problem is and it isn't life threatening. For instance, my wife's '96 RAV4 
>had
>the light on for awhile, but it was only giving the "fuel mix too rich" 
>code,
>which usually means (for that engine) the O2 sensor is bad, but I replaced 
>them
>and it would still come on, then I'd manually shut it off and it would go 
>for
>awhile before coming on again. I noticed that when it did come back on, it 
>was
>always after a fast highway run, then a quick slow down off the ramp with 
>engine
>braking. So finally I decided that it had to do with the fact that the 
>engine
>(at only 64K needed the valve guide seals replaced) was using oil again, 
>and
>*that* was the "rich mixture" problem, and was, in fact, only a momentary
>problem -- but once the light comes on, it doesn't go off by itself, it has 
>to
>be turned off, at least in the Toyotoa gassers.
>    So anyway, I sure wouldn't just keep running with the check engine 
>light on,
>I'd really recommend to keep turning it off and trying really hard to find 
>the
>problem. What the code was the first time might not be the same the second
>time. And if you don't have real guages, like temp, oil pressure, oil temp,
>boost, etc., that's your only protection -- why ignore it?
>

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