tb = timing belt or throttle body. you mean new turbo, right?

what did you do to increase fueling to match the increased airflow? if the answer is "nothing" you're likely running waaaaaay lean at high RPM's and cooking your engine.

did you hook up all the oil and coolant hoses correctly?

how's it driving? rough? strong? weak?

 

Okay I did change to a 4 bar fpr only to find out that the stock passat runs that one anyway. All lines are connected properly. Checked them like 10 times. As far as the drive it's alot stronger. But keep in mind the old turbo's wastegate was shot so any new turbo would make the car feel like a rocket. Can I get an fpr from the dealer? Like from the audi tt

 

Are you running with stock ecu? I've heard from A4 guys that a clogged cat could cause that too.......... is everything running smooth though?




Josh

 

Can you see it glowing in the daytime, or only at night?

How quickly does it stop glowing when you let it idle in the driveway?

 

[marvin martian]
Where's the ka-boom?
[/marvin martian]

 

[marvin martian]
Where's the ka-boom?
[/marvin martian]

Rusty...how about adding something useful :lol: Like, log some data or something?

 

Rusty...how about adding something useful :lol: Like, log some data or something?

[Martin Lawrence voice] DAYUM! [/Martin Lawrence voice] :lol:

 

At a minimum (repeat minimum), I'd throw a 5 bar FPR in as a quick fueling upgrade. Fueling with programming would be the better solution. Any extra fuel will cool your EGT's some. If you have access to a vagcom, what are your block 032 fuel trim readings?

The Engine Coolant Temp sensor is probably a coincidence and a pretty simple fix, $25-50 total, DIY.

 

okay the turbo only glows at night. If I let the car sit at idle it cools down after about 3 mins to where it doesn't glow. ECU is stock right now. The weird part is the car runs strong. I don't think it's the cat because the cat doesn't glow at all and seems to have no restrictions. I don't have access to a vag-com the only thing I can use is a regular scan tool like the ones at auto-zone.

 

With the stock chip and fueling, I think you're running very, very lean at high RPMs. You need engine management that is tuned for a K04 or you need stand-alone fuel management that makes up the difference. You will eventually break something expensive if you keep running lean.

 

if I add the 5 bar fpr. Can I at least hold off on the chip for a while. I was planning on doing it within a month.

 

Anybody? I was told that I wouldn't need anything else right now cause I'm using the stock ecu

 

Turbo swapping is not plug-and-play. You need to log data and make sure that your fueling is sufficient. Adding the 5 bar FPR will likely help with running lean up top, but it *may* not be enough. Conversely, it may add too much fuel at idle and part throttle, leading to fouled plugs and a burned-out cat.

I'm sorry someone told you it was plug-and-play, but you're playing russian roulette with your engine. Read *everything* Rusty has posted about engine tuning in the past 6 months, buy a vag-com, and log some data.

 

Contrary to public opinion, I'd try dropping the fuel pressure. Increased fuel pressure will decrease fuel trims, narrowing the fuel pulse. Decreasing the pressure will increase the trims, widening the fuel pulse. The gain you get from widening the pulse is more than the loss you get from decreasing the pressure. Conversely, the gain you get from increasing the pressure is less than the loss you get from narrowing the pulse.

What else you got goin' on there? Do you really have a totally stock engine, with stock injectors, and stock boost? It seems that a K04 at stock boost shouldn't give you problems, but maybe the increased MAF is just too much for the stock fuel map. Kinda hard to believe, though, 'cause the stock map is good for about 10 lbs boost on a K03.

But you really can't do anything productive until you find out exactly what your engine is doing. Do you have a boost gauge? Do you have a VAG-COM? You need both of these to troubleshoot this problem, otherwise we'll all be chasing our tails.

In the meantime, if you have to drive it, take it easy. And be sure and idle it for a minute before you turn it off. Let that turbo spin down and cool down to keep the oil from coking, else you'll have bigger problems.

 

Contrary to public opinion, I'd try dropping the fuel pressure. Increased fuel pressure will decrease fuel trims, narrowing the fuel pulse. Decreasing the pressure will increase the trims, widening the fuel pulse. The gain you get from widening the pulse is more than the loss you get from decreasing the pressure. Conversely, the gain you get from increasing the pressure is less than the loss you get from narrowing the pulse.

But you really can't do anything productive until you find out exactly what your engine is doing. Do you have a boost gauge? Do you have a VAG-COM? You need both of these to troubleshoot this problem, otherwise we'll all be chasing our tails.

I think I get where you're going here. If you increase pressure, most of the time driving around on part throttle you'll be trimming back fuel, so when you do go WOT, high rpm, the trims will be taking away fuel too and if you're already lean, you'll be leaner.

On your second point, I guess the underlying assumption is that he was at 0 trim to start which is probably not the case.

 

okay only engine upgrades are the following, k&n filter, k04 as you know, tt diverter valve. That's it, the only other thing was a new fpr which is simply a stock 4 bar. I have a boost gauge but no vag-com.
Now I did notice something else today, the coolant in the tank did not move at all after driving in to work. I always thought it is supposed to fluctuate. It's also higher than the normal mark on the tank. Is it possible that something is blocking the coolant flow?

 

Oh and I noticed boost is at normal levels 8 psi max. If it helps

 

Okay so I installed the k04 on my 99 tip. Now I have a cel which is telling me that it's the coolant sensor. I also noticed after almost every drive 10min or 2 hrs the tb glows red hot. Is this normal. I can understand alot of heat on a long drive but on a 15 min ride home from work and it glows. Any suggestions on this? I'm afraid to drive the car in fear of screwing up the new tb.

OK, since you are a good turbo owner and have a boost gauge :thumbup: , and boost is normal - back to square one.

How do you know that your CEL means bad coolant sensor - did you have it read at Autozone or something? Assuming this is correct, then here's one possibility:

1) Your bad wastegate, resulting in little or no boost, has caused your fuel trims to lean out a LOT. It takes time for trims to readjust.

2) Bad coolant temp sensor could cause timing to advance if temps are reading too low.

3) Combination of advanced timing and lean fuel trims cause turbo to run hot.

But like I said - without a VAG-COM, we could really be chasing our tails...

Another thing you could do, if you have to drive the car until this gets figured out, is disconnect the N75 electrical connection. This will keep boost near zero...

If you are going to tinker with your car, a VAG-COM is a must-have.

And again - tb = timing belt or throttle body. Don't confuse us old guys any further, please.

 

okay I'm trying to get to somebody with a vag-com today. I'll let you guys know the results as soon as I get back

 

Rusty,

I think it's a safe guess that the Throttle Body is the item that's glowing.
generaly-- A glowing TimingBelt points to some catestrophic failures elsewhere.

 

Rusty,

I think it's a safe guess that the Throttle Body is the item that's glowing.
generaly-- A glowing TimingBelt points to some catestrophic failures elsewhere.

gz2 I think grnvdub meant TB = TURBO and Rusty is saying don't use TB for turbo because TB is an acronym for EITHER timing belt OR throttle body, neither of which can or will glow. I can only assume you scrolled to the bottom of the thread without reading the entire sequence of events. Please don't take offense, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but "a glowing timing belt points to some catastrophic failures elsewhere" is one of the best things I've read in a long time

I should be doing the turbo upgrade later this year and this thread just reinforces the fact I need to get a vag-com STAT!

 

okay so here's what I got so far. Went to a shop they had a scan tool but no vag-com. The only code that came up was for the coolant temp. Sensor was bad and wire harness was frayed and insulation was coming off. this supposedly was also causing fuel curve to lean out. (not sure that even makes sense). Could that possibly be causing my problem?
So I changed the sensor and harness. Cel went off after a short ride. But, turbo still glows slightly after a 30min drive. Not nearly as much as before though and glows for less time than before. I'm lost at this point so any suggestions?

 

Sounds like you have pretty-much fixed it. Not much more you can do without a vag-com -- you need to know the fuel trims and log some air:fuel and knock retard data.

 

If the sensor was bad and the harness frayed I think all evidence points to that. A glowing turbo is normal after a freeway run or if you get into boost a bit around town. Our K03's glow too... sometimes it can take more than a minute to stop glowing (or get close to dimming out) while idling w/ the hood open.

 

okay I'm gonna try to get hold of a vag-com. Anyone else have any ideas? Also where can I get a vag-com for a good price? I have a palm pilot and heard there is a vag-com prog. for them.