Re: VAG scan tool & codes for V8

[David Saad <dsaad@micron.net>]

This is unbelievable!!!
Last night I was poking around under the hood trying to find the cause of me
surge problem when I noticed the electric fan was all but siezed up. Further
inspection showed it was toast. Literally. That must be the code I got.
On the bright side, I found all the pieces I need to fix it for $28 at a local
auto electric shop. New brushes, brush springs, front bearing, and had the
commutator turned down. This should make it good as new for a few hours work
and a few brewskies.

In my 200 20v manual it says that only California cars have the check engine
light hooked up. Mine has the bulb in place but is missing a jumper wire on the
instrument cluster to enable it.  Any idea if it will work if I connect this
jumper up or do I need the CA motronic box?

Thanks for all the info...

        Dave

"Buchholz, Steven" wrote:

> > And finally, does anybody have a list of fault codes for a 1991 V8Q? I
> > am getting codes 3433, 3434, 3443, 3444 and can not find them listed
> > anywhere.
>
> ... I think I figured out what was going on ... by any chance was the dash
> alarm bell chiming during the 3444 code?  The sequence of numbers that you
> saw are the codes that are displayed when you run the instrument cluster
> output diagnostics!  I did not see them listed in my paper copy, but on the
> fiche they were there ... and there were some pretty cool diagnostics.  As
> most V8 owners know, the radiator's electric auxiliary fan is controlled by
> the instrument cluster.  One of the output diagnostics runs the rad fan
> through all three of its speeds, another sets temp and pressure gauges to
> specific levels for testing.  When I get a chance I'll try to write more
> down (kinda tough to transcribe from the fiche while standing up in the
> garage ...).
>
> I couldn't find anything that was specific to the Rapid Transfer format for
> the VAG1551 as you requested, but I did make some notes about the four
> connectors on the V8.  The leftmost connector (black?) is actually only to
> provide +12 and ground.  12 volts is on the upper pin and ground on the
> lower.  The next connector (blue?) is the one that provides the path for the
> rapid transfer format, and the bottom pin on the connector is used to
> activate the flash codes much like the old 5k's fuse in the fuel pump relay.
> A jumper from the ground pin on the bottom of the leftmost connector to the
> bottom pin on the adjacent connector for 4 seconds activates the ECU flash
> codes.  If your car doesn't have a check engine light you can connect a low
> wattage lamp from the top pin on the leftmost connector (12V) to the top pin
> on the rightmost connector.  The third connector is used to read codes from
> the instrument cluster.  You can hook a test lamp from the 12V pin on the
> leftmost connector to the bottom pin on the third connector from the left to
> read the IC codes.  Grounding the pin on the third connector activates the
> diagnostic sequence.  Automatic transmission codes are read out through the
> PRNDL display, but I didn't look into the method for activating them.
>
> Finally, contrary to my statement from yesterday, I found that even on the
> V8 the 1551 provides the ability to do more than simply read out the error
> codes.  There are 10 blocks of information which include sensor values and
> ECU parameters that the VAG1551 can read in rapid transfer mode.
>
> HTH!
> Steve Buchholz
> San Jose, CA (USA)