Michael_H

Drove on the M1 on thursday and I had power loss intermittently. Good speed pick up and cruise, and then car would slow down barely maintaining 60 mph. Engine seems fine, if I floored the pedal it would gear down and the revs would go up, but no pulling power. I have replaced the MAF three times alredy, and when in no power state, it felt as it did before AMF change in the past. But now the power loss is intermittent. I tried reading the ECU with VAG COM, but all I get is "no response from controller" or something similar to that. I have been told that a clogged cat converter can be the culprit? The day before I had removed and opened the air filter box to check its state, and this happened after. Have I done something wrong with the air intake? Also, what is the little pipe which is plugged into the air filter box in the back? Another query. When A/C is on and the compressor kicks in, there is a hissing noise from behind the glove box, which slowly grows louder, and the stops, and this happens with every cycle of the compressor. My GAL is a 1998 Auto TDi 110 AFN engine.

When in reverse, the box seems to remain in neutral until I accelerate and then engage only after after a short lapse, then revert to neutral as soon as I decelerate. So during one reverse into the drive maneuver for instance, it may do this two or three times until I complete the parking. I will accelerate and the engine revs will go up for half a second or so, and then engage reverse. Anybody familiar with this behaviour? Also, I would like to know if there is a version of software for self diagnostic I can download and use, as VCD-Lite appears not to be compatible with my model, 1.9 TDI 1998, as it seems to be using a Ford Engine and not a VW, consequentially, the VAC-COM will not read the codes etc; Can someone confirm this? I know there are many posts about the VAC-COM, but I had found any post which would give me a definite conclusion. Thanks, Michael

My GAL is a 98 Tdi. I have bought one of those interface on E Bay, it connects fine but all I get is "no response from controller". Anybody can help?

Thank you for your reply. Would you take a wild guess and tell me how it would affect performance if said sensor is not plugged/functioning?

Is there an Air Intake Temeprature Sensor in the Galaxy MK1, Tdi, besides the MAF? How would the engine's perfomance be affected if it is not installed when it sould or unplugged etc? I just purchased this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310299580750&ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:GB:1123 as I thought mine has shorted/burnt out. Thanks for your help

GALAXY GHIA X Tdi 1998 AUTO I wonder if anybody has any ideas: Three years ago I had the gearbox rebuilt after gears had seized, upon testing the car the first thing that was not normal was that when it shifted from first to second, it did it with a bang, B) at times around 40mph in forth gear when it tries to downshift, say going uphill on cruise control trying to maintain the same speed, the whole car rattles; either I select 3 manually or I must throttle down to correct it. c) After driving on motorway for about 45 minutes, it dowshifts to 3rd even at 70Mph and then to 2nd, at which point I must stop the car and wait ten minutes before driving off again. - Replaced transmission ECU: all of the above improved but not corrected - Replaced wire loom: again an improvement is achieved, but still all issues there. Gearbox garage took down whole unit, opened it and inspected and found nothing wrong with internally. Diagnostic returned a fault with the torque convertor but garage said impossible for it to be faulty as it would not drive the way it does now. What else?

What is the connection between radio and speed? Regarding the antenna my GPS unit works with both signals: speed and antenna. ANd how would I find this wire you are referring to? Thanks for your reply.

I have an Alpine Navigator system which came with the vehicle when I bought it second hand. Previous owner had it installed and apparently it was an expensive unit at the time. It now started to act erraticly and not following the car very well. Called Alpine tech support and was told to check if the navigator detects the speed of the car. Long story short, there is a cable which connects to the speed sensor; navigator reports speed at "0" no matter actual speed. I lookied into it a bit, and I cannot figure out where I need to ensure this cable needs to connect to. Apparently there is more than one speed sensors in this car: 1998 Tdi Auto. And why are they installed in the gear box? Isn't it supposed to be somewhere around the wheels? Any ideas?

Thank you, I will try this

Thanks for your reply. I have had the Turbo replaced with a reconditioned unit 18 months ago, called the company just now and described the problem, and was told that it was probably a fueling issue, considering that if I let the car run for 10/15 minutes prior to driving, the sympoms do not manifest. Fuel heater? Is there one in my Gal? Suggested I start with the cheaper fuel filter replacement try, I do not know if it was ever replaced, and see from there. Thank you anyhow.

I wonder if anybody else has had this situation. My Gal, 1998 TDi GHia X Auto, is not able to rev up beyond 1500rpm with a cold engine, a situation which gradually corrects itself, and the way it does is not by slowly gaining rev speed, but by waving up and down with power, as it if were hesitating, until finally being able to reach normal power. I have had in the past a similar experience, nut then it would only drive that way, until I replaced the Mass Airflow Meter. Now I doubt the MAF would cause this only with a cold engine. Thanks for your reply, whoever you might be. Michael

Thanks SEATKID. But would that not simply move the problem to the right? Or are you simply suggesting a diagnosis method to see if it is caused by the wheels/tyres?

My Gal has 324K on the clock. I still repair it and not thinking about replacing. Better the devil you know... BTW, what could be the cause of the car pulling to the left after alignment, tracking, ball joints and wishbones replaced?

By the way, I found online on Eberspacher's web site, the manufacturer of these units, that they have to be serviced yearly. What was Ford/Seat/Wolkswagen plan when they installed these units in the vehicles? I am going this week to have mine serviced by an Eberspacher's franchised dealer. More knowledgeable and experienced with them than any dealer would be, and no need to replace the unit as Ford would have you do it. Eberspacher themselves are not so innocent either: the glow pin when supplied by them cost some Heater_dealer_list_Aug_09_list.pdf

Thanks

Cannot communicate with ECU, even thou it seems that it is doing its job. Problem is I have to service the Engine coolant heater, and then once done, the fault needs to be cleared. Would removing the battery for awhile clear the faults? Any other option? Thanks

As of tonight my main beam lights went out; both of them... fuses are fine, bulbs are fine, lights are off!!

I have got 322k on my MKI 1.9 TDi, Auto, GHIA X Problems I have had with it? Everything! You name the part and I will tell you if I have had to fix, repair or replace it. Now after it is basically a new car, th electric system is failing everywhere... Why do I keep it? Got no money to replace it, as simple as that.

ECU was reset. Has the problem from first to second gone after the Valve-Body issue had been addressed? Where is Robbs Garage and what is his number?

Torque converter was not replaced... How expensive is it?

Thank you big_kev for you quick post; it is plausible that it is indeed a wire problem as I have had quite a few of those throughout the car. If the ECU is indeed faulty, your opinion is that it could affect the auto gearbox performance? Can you describe how so? I am experiencing an unsmooth change from first to second, more like a bang, and severe shaking under torque, going about 50mph uphill, it is like it hesitates to downshift; it corrects itself only if I put it in 3 manually, or if I give it more power. Also at cruising speed on motorway, it feels as if there is some sort of skidding, for lack of better descriptive word. Thank you for your opinion.

Hi. Hope somebody can help me here. I have an 1998 MK1 Galaxy TDi, Auto; gearbox never worked properly. Brief history: 1) Gearbox rebuilt - working now but not well 2) New gearbox ECU - working better but not there yet 3) New gearbox wire assembly - working better than after step 2, but still not right. Now, since I have had a diagnostic computer plug in, wchich returned with an Engine Management ECU fail, could there be a correlation between the two? The gearbox specialist told me that the engine management ECU does not affect the Auto Gears performance, but I am not convinced.

Speed sensor feeds the speedo on pin 9 of the green plug at the back, mine was making poor contact, the same signal then feeds the CControl from another pin (can't remember off top of head). I linked the input to the output and has been fine for 2 years Thank you very much. I shall check the contacts. I have quite a bit of electrical issues with the vehicle.