Volkswagen Passat Forum banner

So, I assumed I could diagnose the 1.8T from 4 hours away....

1K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  r0llinlacs 
#1 ·
My youngest went up to the cottage last Wednesday, he took the Passat, said he made the trip in record time and all was well. Thursday evening he calls to tell me the CEL is lit and the engine is rough running. I assume that it probably needs new ignition coils, because all Passats with 1.8T with flashing CEL and rough running respond to new coils? well the net is full of it.

Buy 4 coils at VW dealer. No, you don't get a discount buying 4 on a Friday afternoon before a Canadian long-weekend from VW, I digress. Parts tech: "what's it doing?" I say flashing CEL and rough running..."well, these should fix you up." $ 271 CAD and I'm away.

Get up to cottage in the Ford Flex, wife drives. Arrive at 10:00pm Friday evening. Saturday morning, I set up my operating theatre for the coil-ectomy, done in 11 minutes (checked oil level) and then youngest confirms that it still runs like crap. What?

Not a bit of improvement. Asks me if I even opened the hood yet?:wrench:

I go get my Autel 619 scanner, after some VW OBDII to non-german speaking software dialog, I get P0302 and P0202. Cylinder 2 misfire and Cylinder 2 Open Circuit in Injector. Pull out more tools and remove injector # 2 and see if there is something plugging it? nothing obvious. Drat. Closest VW dealer= 2.5 hours. Drat again. Put all back together, and enter planning stage. Part of me is happy that the Autel managed to communicate with the VW, my past efforts with the Autel 619 + VW were silent.

We decide to head home early, with Dad (me) driving the old CEL flashing VW running on 3 cylinders ? I manage to get her home, it sort of managed to run okayish if you kept it over 95km/h or kept cruise on all times. Biblical rains on the way home, but made it in 4 hours with 1 stop for fuel. Last 2km were the highest stress, as she wanted to stall at lights.

Now the Passat sits at my German mechanic waiting for him to find it Tuesday morning and tell me what a doofus I was to spend $271 for 4 new coils when I should have just got 1 new injector? I decided Saturday afternoon that this car needs professional attention, no more throwing parts at it to see if I solve problems.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I've been in a hurry and wrongly certain that I knew the solution, more times than I can remember. My most impressive was spending the whole weekend trying to get the 1.8T to run, starting with coils, plugs, finally deciding that there was no fuel pressure, but the pump would run: Turns out the thing was out of gas, taking the last drop just as my wife shut it off in front of the house.

The open-circuited injector is certainly the clue, but that doesn't mean the injector is at fault. Anywhere in the circuit, wiring, connectors, even the ECU, could be where the breakdown is. Hopefully your guy doesn't have to spend too much of your money figuring it out.
 
#7 ·
I've been in a hurry and wrongly certain that I knew the solution, more times than I can remember. My most impressive was spending the whole weekend trying to get the 1.8T to run, starting with coils, plugs, finally deciding that there was no fuel pressure, but the pump would run: Turns out the thing was out of gas, taking the last drop just as my wife shut it off in front of the house. ...
I have an equally stupid story. For years I have fixed people's no-start and similar electrical problems by wirebrushing or sandpapering battery terminals and connectors. My A4 often sits for a few days at a time, and sometimes the battery was too flat to crank the starter. I assumed I had either a failing battery or some ignition-off power drain, but the last time my charger gave weird readings, I took the time to sand the thin layer of silver crud off of the positive battery terminal and clamp. It now goes at least a week between cold starts just fine -- evidently, I was undercharging the battery in the past. Sometimes we need to take our own advice. :<
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mtech
#8 ·
My youngest son is very pleased that Dad (me) forked over the extra money to fix the Passat, he relies on this car for his social life like any other teenager. I take comfort in the solid chassis and redundant safety the B5.5 provides all whom ride within.

I know that I've saved buckets of money by being a member here, and a general DIY'r, so if I occasionally make a doofus move - so what? I'm still way, way ahead. Also, others benefit from the situation to maybe save themselves spending on parts they don't need. Too bad I can't get a tax receipt :eek:)

Next on the to-do list: Secondary Air Pump motor - presently kaput, might go ebay for $100. And then 2 rear shocks from FCP Euro - Sachs or Meyle.
 
#9 ·
Ha. Reminds me of when I went through the daunting task of replacing the fuel pump on an old Expedition. Pump won't turn on, must be bad right? Nope, it was just the fuse. 2 1/2 hours later, I felt pretty stupid when the new one didn't work either. At least now it's got a new fuel pump. :thumbup:

Also, on the secondary air pump, I had a code for that, (insufficient flow, I believe), I thought it was bad and it ended up being a vacuum line. I would check those before I go replacing the pump.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top