Engine Management light

[Guest Lauryn]

OK my engine management light has been on since I bought the car. I was told by the chap I bought it from that it was some sort of sensor that needs replaced, and he was quoted £110 for it inc labour.

I was in a garage getting something done and asked them about this, and they said its to do with the ECU, is it likely to be the lambda or could something else cause this then? Car appears to be a slight bit smokier around the exhaust when its started, but tbh I couldnt really comment a lot because as I said its been on since I bought it.

I used Vagcom to try and see and it came up "cannot find baud rate" (or mode??), what the hell?! We couldnt clear the light either! Car runs perfectly fine, just this light on!

Any advice would be great thanks

[smithy]

OK my engine management light has been on since I bought the car. I was told by the chap I bought it from that it was some sort of sensor that needs replaced, and he was quoted £110 for it inc labour.

I was in a garage getting something done and asked them about this, and they said its to do with the ECU, is it likely to be the lambda or could something else cause this then? Car appears to be a slight bit smokier around the exhaust when its started, but tbh I couldnt really comment a lot because as I said its been on since I bought it.

I used Vagcom to try and see and it came up "cannot find baud rate" (or mode??), what the hell?! We couldnt clear the light either! Car runs perfectly fine, just this light on!

Any advice would be great thanks

i bought my car with the light on, paid 140 to change the lambda sensor, stayed off for about two months and now it turns itself on and off as it pleases!

[Guest Lauryn]

I just dont want to spend a fortune getting things done when theyre not the problem! I dont have a clue what it is, as I keep getting told different things

[Jonny70]

I thaught i needed my lambda sensor replacing, the problem being there is 2 in an arosa apparently :S so they cleaned them out and now they are fine and engine management never comes on

[Niche]

If it is the lambda sensor there is a possibility it has become contaminated by the use of 95ron.

I took my lambda sensor off whilst I was changing the downpipe catalytic converter and immediately noticed the contamination.

So I ran the car on 98ron for a month and used some petrol injector cleaner with a full tank of 98ron. One month later the contamination was gone.

[Guest Lauryn]

So I ran the car on 98ron for a month and used some petrol injector cleaner with a full tank of 98ron. One month later the contamination was gone.

I'll give that a bash thanks - I'm just concerned in case I'm causing problems by not actively fixing whats causing it, although I dont know what it is and garages are telling me different things, plus I dont want the car to be losing any power etc

[GtiFox]

OK my engine management light has been on since I bought the car. I was told by the chap I bought it from that it was some sort of sensor that needs replaced, and he was quoted £110 for it inc labour.

I was in a garage getting something done and asked them about this, and they said its to do with the ECU, is it likely to be the lambda or could something else cause this then? Car appears to be a slight bit smokier around the exhaust when its started, but tbh I couldnt really comment a lot because as I said its been on since I bought it.

I used Vagcom to try and see and it came up "cannot find baud rate" (or mode??), what the hell?! We couldnt clear the light either! Car runs perfectly fine, just this light on!

Any advice would be great thanks

A Lambda sensor detects how rich or lean your engine is running, if it has been contaminated with somthing then the sensor cannot work properly I.E. Putting your light on the dash. But if you think the car is smoking alot then it could be something more serious and costly. The light might be on genuinly because something is causing your engine to run rich/lean. This could be a simple case of spark plugs..

If i were you i'd clean the sensor, both if you have two. That should send the light off, but if it comes back on i'd get it diagnosed by a mechanic.

Hope this helps!

[CasperGTI]

I bought mine with the light on aswell.

I took out my lambada and it was clogged up as it had been running lean according to vagcom, Possibly caused by the previous owner being a cheapskate and using 95Ron.

I left my lambada soaking in meths overnight and in the morning cleaned it with a wire brush and a scotchbrite pad, Opened up the sniffer holes a bit with a screwdriver and plugged it back in. Cleared the fault code and it hasnt troubled me in over a year now. Thats the cheapest method, and id start with that before involving a garage.

With your vagcom problem, is that using a cheap ebay cable and free version of the program by any chance? I had that problem and had to fiddle about with the controls in the settings page to get it work, trial and error.

John

[Guest Lauryn]

I bought mine with the light on aswell.

I took out my lambada and it was clogged up as it had been running lean according to vagcom, Possibly caused by the previous owner being a cheapskate and using 95Ron.

I left my lambada soaking in meths overnight and in the morning cleaned it with a wire brush and a scotchbrite pad, Opened up the sniffer holes a bit with a screwdriver and plugged it back in. Cleared the fault code and it hasnt troubled me in over a year now. Thats the cheapest method, and id start with that before involving a garage.

With your vagcom problem, is that using a cheap ebay cable and free version of the program by any chance? I had that problem and had to fiddle about with the controls in the settings page to get it work, trial and error.

John

Its my friends Vagcom and it worked fine on his Lupo GTi, so I'm a bit puzzled! I think I'm going to clean the sensor, run it on 98Ron again, and use some Redex or something similar. I'll be honest - I dont know where the Lambda is or what it looks like, can I get a garage to clean this?! I dont like touching stuff like that when I'm not 100% in case I **** it up!

Also, the car isnt smoking a lot at all, just seems a wee bit smoky at the exhaust when you first start it, but then clears fine - and when its smoke its not even bad, I'm probs just being paranoid!

Thanks for the help everyone

[Guest Lauryn]

This was carried out 1 week exactly before I bought the car, and the light was still on:

Y - Oil change service

Y - Inspection service

Y - Additional work

Y - Spark plugs changed

N - Fuel filter changed

N - Toothed belt changed

Y - Air filter insert changed

N - Brake fluid changed

So I think it must be the lambda or such like because the spark plugs etc were done on the above service

[Little Green Giant]

i dont know if it will help, but i know that a few VW places around me are doing a free check up on cars. may be worth trying that! see if they can figure it out for you! obviously you will then have to pay if you want it sorted but its worth a check?

[Guest Lauryn]

i dont know if it will help, but i know that a few VW places around me are doing a free check up on cars. may be worth trying that! see if they can figure it out for you! obviously you will then have to pay if you want it sorted but its worth a check?

Yeah I think thats what I'm going to do, I need to pop into a few places about getting the cambelt done so I'll ask about this at the same time - I dont want any poxy garage telling me rubbish, had 3 different opinions now on what the problem is!

[RobG]

Yeah, the vagcom i've got is the same with my sport, it'll do a couple of the ancilliary systems but won't talk to the ECU. Worked fine with mcbeal_88's GTi though. V strange

[Niche]

Any VW garage can do a free inspection check on your car...although as far as I'm aware its only a visual check on everything, so its unlikely that they may pick up the fault regardless of the light being on.

[Guest Lauryn]

What exactly is the ECU? There is a "Lupo sport ECU, from 2002 "02" reg model" on eBay atm and I have an 02 sport, its dirt cheap so if theres a chance its that I may just buy it and try it? Grrr I wish the light would just bugger off!

[andyp]

The ecu is basically the electronic brains of the car...

[Guest Lauryn]

The ecu is basically the electronic brains of the car...

Gotcha. Some pikey garage quoted me for a new "ECU sensor" saying that needs replaced, ffs!

[one litre wonder ;)]

if you want a garage you can trust lauryn then talk to W.Livingstons as they are brilliant in my opinion. when my ECU light came on the AA man said that it was a faulty lambda sensor , livingstons had te car for 20mins and said it was a dirty sensor inside the carbon canister and cleaned it and it did the treat and also tightend up my hand break for like £25

[Guest Lauryn]

SORTED!

Used another Vagcom tonight and found out that its the potentiometer for the EGR that needs replaced, just an electrical fault. Apparantly it does no damage at all to the car, but I'll get it sorted asap! I'm so relieved Thanks for all the help everyone!

[Guest Lauryn]

Address 01: Engine Labels: 036-906-034-APE.lbl

Part No: 036 906 034 AT

Component: MARELLI 4LV 3421

Coding: 00011

Shop #: WSC 00046

WVWZZZ6XZ2B055627 VWZ1Z0B2032834

1 Fault Found:

17851 - Potentiometer for EGR (G212): Signal too Low

P1443 - 35-00 - -

Readiness: 1110 0101

Can you actually get a potentiometer or just a new EGR valve?

[one litre wonder ;)]

i had a spair EGR valve up untill about 3months ago when i chipped it . well atleast you now know what it was that was tripping the fault