If you have a 1.6 FSi with random misfire, READ THIS.

I thought I would share this with anyone who is interested.
The wifes 1.6 FSI has been driving like a pig for weeks. After replacing all coil packs, spark plugs, camshaft and crank sensors at a cost of 250 quid, I got the circuit diagrams out and the fault was traced to a poor coil pack earth which is earthed to the body behind the front passenger head light. A quick clean and retighten sorted the problem. Basically I could have save £250 for 10mins work.

My fault codes were,
4 Faults Found:

16684 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0300 - 35-00 - -
16685 - Cylinder 1: Misfire Detected
P0301 - 35-00 - -
16687 - Cylinder 3: Misfire Detected
P0303 - 35-00 - -
16686 - Cylinder 2: Misfire Detected
P0302 - 35-00 - -

Readiness: 0000 0000

I hope this helps someone in the future on the forum, afterall, sharing things like this is what it's all about!

cheers
 
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PlasticMac said:
I'd think very carefully before spending quite a few pennies to buy a set of injectors, (especially used), then pay the labour costs of fitting them, based on nothing, (my opinion only), but a mechanic's guess.
I'd want convincing evidence from logs, before I spent a single one of those pennies.
You cannot diagnose a running engine fault, particularly on an FSI, without data showing what the symptoms are.
Find someone, a friend or work colleague, who's "good with computers" and get them to set up an old laptop with VCDS Lite for you. Probably a quarter of the injector swap costs.
Imagine how you' would feel if you spent many hundreds of pounds getting the injectors changed, (I'd guess a days labour at least), and it was no different. You'd be in exactly the same position as now, but much poorer.
Sorry if it sounds like a sermon, but I hate waste, especially if it's money, that's not easy to come by.
Mac.
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It's fine I appreciate the advice and I do no intend to spend anything until I have at least performed the earth strap clean that is the title of this thread. I'm not quite understanding what can be achieved from your suggestion and how it would differ from what @Teresa did for me last year, which provided a basic set of results - images attached
 

Attachments

Please don't empty your account on the price of those injectors!!! I have a set here and am a fraction of that price!!!! Inbox me if I can help.
 
simes2024 said:
It's fine I appreciate the advice and I do no intend to spend anything until I have at least performed the earth strap clean that is the title of this thread. I'm not quite understanding what can be achieved from your suggestion and how it would differ from what @Teresa did for me last year, which provided a basic set of results - images attached
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What you’ve sent is the results of a fault scan, all it is telling you is that there is a misfire, not what the cause of the misfire is. This could be many things, bad earth cable, bad coil packs, an oil leak from the rocker cover into the spark plug wells, bad high pressure fuel pump/regulator, bad injectors, bad/dirty spark plugs, lack of compression, and I’m sure several more causes that I’ve missed. Of this list, (apart from bad compression which would probably need a new engine) the injectors are both the most costly, and most labour intensive to swap by a considerable margin.

VCDS can scan for errors, like the files you sent, but it can also do a huge array of other useful things, like coding different features/ optional extras into your car, coding/pairing new car keys, or as Mac means, to read information directly from the ECU about the various sensor data as the car is running, which with some logic and process of elimination can help fill in the picture a bit more than just an engine code can.

While many of the causes I listed are unlikely given the information you have provided, I agree with @PlasticMac that it makes much more sense to solve the problem logically rather than throwing what would probably be well over £500 on parts and labour, when there are still ways to narrow down some more possibilities.
 
oldcar said:
Could there be a photo of location please. I keep getting a misfire on cylinder 3 but changed plugs and coil pack but still does it .
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Good Evening,

I will offer this as well...

Earth tag below NS light?

Hi, Can someone tell me the exact location where the large Earth tag connection is supposed to be below the passengers side headlamp? Cause it looks like I don't have one. I have an intermittent misfire and I'd thought I try this mythical creature first. Photos would be good! I...
www.a2oc.net www.a2oc.net

Remove N/S headlight (might be a game in itself) and use a socket extension.

Andy
 
Indi said:
What you’ve sent is the results of a fault scan, all it is telling you is that there is a misfire, not what the cause of the misfire is. This could be many things, bad earth cable, bad coil packs, an oil leak from the rocker cover into the spark plug wells, bad high pressure fuel pump/regulator, bad injectors, bad/dirty spark plugs, lack of compression, and I’m sure several more causes that I’ve missed. Of this list, (apart from bad compression which would probably need a new engine) the injectors are both the most costly, and most labour intensive to swap by a considerable margin.

VCDS can scan for errors, like the files you sent, but it can also do a huge array of other useful things, like coding different features/ optional extras into your car, coding/pairing new car keys, or as Mac means, to read information directly from the ECU about the various sensor data as the car is running, which with some logic and process of elimination can help fill in the picture a bit more than just an engine code can.

While many of the causes I listed are unlikely given the information you have provided, I agree with @PlasticMac that it makes much more sense to solve the problem logically rather than throwing what would probably be well over £500 on parts and labour, when there are still ways to narrow down some more possibilities.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I know what you're saying - Stealth racing used the process similar when I had my TDI remapped. I'm not a thickie, I'm just missing why car owners need to do this and so-called Audi specialists don't do it when you pay them £45+vat for the scan. Clearly I need to find the right diagnostic, as you point out....and the're most likely hundreds of miles from me (always the way) - food for thought though. I'll endeavour to acquire more diagnostic before I purchase possibly unneeded parts. I Cheers
 
PlasticMac said:
Good luck, it's a job worth doing, fix or not.
If you're interested in understanding why data logging is useful, have a read of this post.
Mac.

Post in thread '1.6 FSI no idle and no throttle when hot!' https://www.a2oc.net/community/inde...le-and-no-throttle-when-hot.55528/post-569669
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I did about 10 miles yesterday after cleaning the earth strap and noticed a slight change - now when I put my foot down a little bit the EML no longer flashes warning (just stays on solid) - in the past the EML has gone off by itself after a while. Though I don't know if it was because a misfire was no longer detected OR it cancels itself on a mileage or time schedule (I hope the latter as that will afford me a extra indication that the cleaning of the earth has had an effect.
 
I think there's a few reasons why data logging is an "enthusiast only" thing.
First reason is money.
Imagine the cost of a "Technician" driving around in your car to gather the data. Minimum of an hour's labour, so not much short of £100. Then the data has to be analysed by a "Technician" who understands data from a twenty year old car, (let alone an FSI). Such "Technicians" simply don't exist in an Audi dealership and, probably not in most VAG specialists.
Indeed I'd venture to suggest that they don't exist at all outside of the A2OC, and similar, (are there any?), owner forums.
Then there's the kit. Dealerships, and VAG specialists, have very expensive, high quality diagnostic kit, but it is workshop based not mobile, and often needs an Internet connection.
Model specific diagnostic packs have to purchased, or used online, at an hourly rate, if support exists at all for our "oldies"
(There's only around 600 A2 1.6 FSIs in mainland UK, so who's going to invest in kit specific to them).
VCDS is costly for a business, because versions to be used on many different vehicles, multi VIN, are expensive. Hard to justify if you've already got a state of art workshop diagnostics kit.
I won't go on, but I'm sure you can see why us "enthusiasts" are the only way that effective diagnostics are going to be available, and be effectively analysed.
I use VCDS Lite, which cost $99, a third party lead, <£10, and a Windows laptop. Plus, it's a hobby, so hourly rate is quite reasonable.
Mac.
 
bdub said:
I thought I would share this with anyone who is interested.
The wifes 1.6 FSI has been driving like a pig for weeks. After replacing all coil packs, spark plugs, camshaft and crank sensors at a cost of 250 quid, I got the circuit diagrams out and the fault was traced to a poor coil pack earth which is earthed to the body behind the front passenger head light. A quick clean and retighten sorted the problem. Basically I could have save £250 for 10mins work.

My fault codes were,
4 Faults Found:

16684 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0300 - 35-00 - -
16685 - Cylinder 1: Misfire Detected
P0301 - 35-00 - -
16687 - Cylinder 3: Misfire Detected
P0303 - 35-00 - -
16686 - Cylinder 2: Misfire Detected
P0302 - 35-00 - -

Readiness: 0000 0000

I hope this helps someone in the future on the forum, afterall, sharing things like this is what it's all about!

cheers
Click to expand...
Hi
I am living in Sweden and are thinking about buying an A2,1.6 FSI, 2006 years modell. It has run 130 000 km. The cambelt was replaced at 90 000 km. Is it a reliable engine worth buying? According to the seller it runs smoothly without any problems.
Grateful for any advice.
Greetings from Egill
 
They can be very good, but also, not very good.
I would very strongly advise getting the engine scanned with a scan tool called VCDS
If the engine is not in good condition, the EML, (Engine Management Light), will have been on, probably for some time, but may have been cleared temporarily. This is a bad sign.
A very specific check with VCDS, which an experienced user will understand, is to check Measuring Blocks, Group 089, Block 1.
This will give you the number of Kms the car had been driven with the EML on. Ideally, it should be 0.
A very basic check is that all the dash warning lights, especially the EML, come on at the first click of the ignition switch, and all go off when the engine starts.
The FSI must be run only on E5 98/99 octane Super Unleaded fuel. The engine is incompatible with E10, due to the 10% alcohol content. So that's an important question to ask the seller, and a significant financial consideration for a new owner perhaps.
A good FSI is a joy. A bad one definitely is not.
Mac.
 
Egisla said:
Hi
I am living in Sweden and are thinking about buying an A2,1.6 FSI, 2006 years modell. It has run 130 000 km. The cambelt was replaced at 90 000 km. Is it a reliable engine worth buying? According to the seller it runs smoothly without any problems.
Grateful for any advice.
Greetings from Egill
Click to expand...
It’s a great engine, debatably the most fun engine fitted in the A2, but it’s a rather fussy engine, and needs to be maintained properly.

It’s probably the least reliable of all the engine options, though that’s partly because the 1.4 petrol and TDI engines are both very reliable engines.

There’s lots of faults that the FSIs are prone to, and it can take a lot of knowledge of the engine’s different systems to properly diagnose and repair.

If it has good service history, no engine warning light, has not been run on e10 petrol, and has been generally taken care of then it should be ok.

Cambelt needs doing every 5 years
Possibly worth changing the ‘death pipe’ as well if there’s no evidence of this being done already (this is a coolant pipe at the back of the engine that is prone to cracking and dumping all your coolant on the floor)

Requires more of an enthusiast owner than the other engines…
 
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