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JT3341

New Member
Hi, this is my first post so please be gentle. I’ve had my 2002 1.4tdi (75) A2 for coming up to 6 years now and I’m very keen to make sure she’s around for another good few.

Unfortunately about 12 months ago she began developing an issue on cold start up. Basically one of two things happen.

1 - On turning the ignition the glow plug light comes on for 2-3 seconds before going out. On start up the engine will rough idle at about 1000 rpm (or just under). It feels and sounds like the engine is choking/panting and is about to cut out. If I give her some revs (around 2000 rpm) for about 10 seconds she’ll then dump a load of grey smoke out the exhaust. Following this she'll idle smoothly and run perfectly.

2 - On turning the ignition the glow plug light comes on for about 6-8 seconds before going out. On start up the engine will then idle at about 2000 rpm for about 3-4 seconds on its own before settling back to around 1000 rpm with a smooth idle and no grey smoke. She then runs perfectly.

The vast majority of the time scenario 1 happens. This is becoming increasingly annoying as I’m now regularly smoking out unsuspecting passersby, neighbours and work mates.

had her in a few different garages and so far tried the following:

- EGR valve cleaned in situ with aerosol based cleaner.
- Glow plugs replaced twice.
- Glow plug wiring loom checked.
- Glow plug relay checked
- Injectors removed and sent off for testing, refurbished and reinstalled.
- Injector loom checked.


Diagnostics have also been checked but I’m told that no fault codes are showing up.

Any advice or help would be really appreciated as I’m running out of ideas and getting fed up of spending money without seeing any improvement.

Thanks in advance, JT
 
How many miles has the engine done? Have you done a compression test on all cylinders? This would be my starting point to ensure basic mechanical robustness of your engine.

It sounds like at least one cylinder is not firing from the off - but I'm sure others will chime in with their superior knowledge.
 
HI
If the compression test comes back ok, and you are not losing oil. I would suspect it is air/fuel related.
What engine code is your diesel?
Is the egr valve working? On the AMF engined tdi, along with the recycle valve, it has a vacuum operated anti shudder valve which, i believe should close on stop of engine. If you cannot see it operating, then there could be leak on the vacuum side or a potential valve failure.
To totally eliminate the egr valve, if it was me i would remove it from car, completely clean, test it then replace.
Check out this thread
Have you checked out your air filter and filter box/pipework?
Have you had the engine ecu scanned for faults? Is the coolant temperature sensor working(dual circuit one side for gauge one side for ecu), and also the fuel temperature sensor?
Cleaned out/checked the mass air flow sensor?
Best of luck
Steve
 
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id try a coolant temp sensor, my pd130 bora used to do the exact same thing no fault code or nothing changed that and it sorted it, im not saying it will fix it but for the sake of £10ish worth a go
 
How many miles has the engine done? Have you done a compression test on all cylinders? This would be my starting point to ensure basic mechanical robustness of your engine.

It sounds like at least one cylinder is not firing from the off - but I'm sure others will chime in with their superior knowledge.
Hi DJ, thanks for your reply. I’ll look into a compression test. Any ideas how much it should cost? Thanks, JT
 
HI
If the compression test comes back ok, and you are not losing oil. I would suspect it is air/fuel related.
What engine code is your diesel?
Is the egr valve working? On the AMF engined tdi, along with the recycle valve, it has a vacuum operated anti shudder valve which, i believe should close on stop of engine. If you cannot see it operating, then there could be leak on the vacuum side or a potential valve failure.
To totally eliminate the egr valve, if it was me i would remove it from car, completely clean, test it then replace.
Check out this thread
Have you checked out your air filter and filter box/pipework?
Have you had the engine ecu scanned for faults? Is the coolant temperature sensor working(dual circuit one side for gauge one side for ecu), and also the fuel temperature sensor?
Cleaned out/checked the mass air flow sensor?
Best of luck
Steve
Hi SteveC, it’s the AMF engine and she’s fine 131000 miles or there abouts. Full service history and prior to this issue always been reliable. I’ll going to look into the compression test.
Thanks for the pointers re EGR valve, anti shudder valve, And air filter box and pipe work. I’ll have a go with these on my next day off.
She’s been scanned about 4 times in the last 12 months and so far no fault codes found. I’ve also had the mass air flow sensor cleaned. In inspection it looked okay.
Thanks, JT
 
id try a coolant temp sensor, my pd130 bora used to do the exact same thing no fault code or nothing changed that and it sorted it, im not saying it will fix it but for the sake of £10ish worth a go
Hi Audisean89, hanks for the pointer. I’ll add it to my list of things to look at. Really appreciate all the help everyone has chipped in with! Thanks, JT
 
Hi DJ, thanks for your reply. I’ll look into a compression test. Any ideas how much it should cost? Thanks, JT
Well my garage would prob charge 30 mins (I think) in labour - or else waive this charge if they did the repair / replacement that followed if this was the issue - so £30 + VAT.
 
Hi, well after finally getting around to it I’ve managed to have a look at the starting issue with my A2. It turns out after spending about £600 over the past 12 months it was the EGR valve. I’ve followed the thread posted by SteveC and on disconnecting the pipe that runs to the top of the EGR and plugging it with a bolt the starting issue has gone. I was a little unsure about removing the intake manifold though. It appears to run back to the bulkhead and I could only find 3 bolts, should there be a 4th? I managed to find the 2 screws at the front of the intake manifold. If I can remove it then I’m confident I’ll be able to remove the EGR and clean it. It was oozing oily gunk so I’m convinced it’s blocked. Thanks again for all the help and advice! Ta, John.
 
Hi John,

It might be useful for you to update your profile to include your location Town or County.

There are many helpful members on here who are willing to drop around to local owners who have issues or need scans, and that normally only incurs a fee of tea/coffee and some polite conversation.

I'm pleased to read you're getting on top of the issue, but it's a shame to read it's cost you so much to do so.

Cheers
Jeff
 
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