TeamGreen

Well knowing how lucky I am with the Lottery, not, then I think I'll change the glow plug etc and hope. Cheers.

Hi everyone,well winters just about done now and I've been warm and toastie all winter long. My car is a 2008 Sharan thats done 60k and I was wondering at what sort of age / mileage the glow plug starts to get fouled up, my commute is 14 miles each way so the heater is always good and hot but I'd rather prempt any probs during the summer rather than wait till the snows on the ground and so possibly change it now. Thanks.

Hi everyone, I know this is the wrong page for this but hopefully the people in the know can sort it out. Last two times I've been on the site my Nortons security software has flagged up this error Only happens on this site.

The other possibility is that one of the dealers technicians serviced it in his own time i.e. on a Sat morning and stamped the book. A lot of dealers let their technicians do this and is what happens with me. VW dealer, VW technician using VW parts but not VW prices. :rolleyes:

Have to agree with chrispb with regards hardly any difference in fuel economy between auto and econ, I've tried switching between the two and it hardly makes any difference but the big difference is no steamed up windows now that the colder weather is arriving when using auto.

also worth checking if the wires to the fuel pump haven't corroded as well.

Hi Keith, having seen the scare predictions for this coming winter I've been looking around myself for prices etc but what is the legal / insurance situation if you have winter tyres on the front and summer on the back? I would have thought that you should have all four the same? What size and make of tyre did you go for in the end. Stuart.

Hi Dave, VCDS can be used to check / adjust the timing but only if it is a fully registered version and also only on non PD TDI's. The PD engines timing is adjusted electronically and can't be altered. http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-com/cars/tdi.html I managed it on my old 98 Sharan with an AFN engine using VAGCOM (previous version of VCDS) and the Haynes manual. You don't need any special tools just a decent set of tools, time and a few plasters for when you skin your knuckles! If you do decide to do it then spend a while working through which bolts to undo to make sure you can get to them and your sockets will fit the restricted access, however, if the timing is out and you correct it then sense of satisfaction is well worth it! Stuart.

Hi Everyone, thanks for the help. The jury is out at the moment with regards towing, not been given permission yet, but nose weight is something I'd not thought about so great point there. I'll have a look at your suggestions knowing that they are good to use rather than trying to guess which one to go for. Cheers.

Well, after nearly doing myself no good putting the bikes on the roof carrier I've decided that I'm getting too old for this lark and have decided it's time to go down the route of a tow bar mounted rack for the four bikes. I've got a 2008 TDI Sharan and would welcomes anyones input on make etc. Cheers. Stuart.

Give The Trade Parts Specialists a call as they are doing 10% off Cam Belt kits from 18th to 20th October. I found this out by chance on Saturday when I popped in to my local branch for some bits for my wifes Polo and despite the name they do sell to the general public and they do new offers every week. http://www.thetradepartsspecialists.co.uk/

Hi John, yes you can check the timing using the 409 version of VAG COM however it must be the a full version not the shareware version. The AFN engine is not a PD or CR engine. On the AFN engine you set the basic timing of the engine then dynamically check the timing using TDI Timing Checker http://www.ross-tech.com/vag-scope/TDIGraph.html If the timing is out then it is a case of advancing / retarding the fuel injection pump to achieve the optimum setting. Team Green.

Hi Andy, I had that error wth my ABS and it turned out to be the ABS fuse had blown. I could turn the igntion on and the system would run through the checks and the light would go out however it would come back on when setting off. Also check re-seat all your connections for the ABS pump. Hope it's as cheap as that.

I'm not sure if a faulty temp sensor will cause the car to go into limp mode but it will result in a lot less power. It may well be that as it's intermittant then the ecu is reducing the power when it gets the faulty signal. First thing I'd do is check the connections to the temp sensor and the coolant fan control, if all seems ok and after clearing the fault codes the problem returns then it might be worth changing the temp sensor. For my AFN TDI it cost

I would try making sure that all connectors to the ABS unit are properly seated and also that the fuses for the ABS unit are ok. My car had the ABS light on and there was no communication with VAG COM. I eventually tracked it down to a blown ABS fuse despite the garage spending quite a lot of time, and my money, trying to fix the problem.

Thanks guy's, here's hoping for a dry weekend and permission to have a look but then again it's Mothers Day weekend so that might be an issue. Will let you all know how things turn out re the hoses.

have to agree, missed the site BIG STYLE!

Update. Having struggled with no power for a while I noticed that if the car had been stood for an hour or so after getting up to temp the low down power was greatly improved so I changed the coolant temp sensor as I believe that if it's giving false readings then the fueling will be way off. This seems to have sorted out the low down power prob as even from stone cold, -5 air temp, there is plenty of power. I now need to change the ecu vaccum hose as there is a hissing behind the dash / footwell area and whilst I can trace the hose from the footwell to the ecu and also along the bulkhead but where it drops down in the engine bay to pass into the car I loose sight of it. Can anyone tell me what I need to remove in the engine bay to change this so I can stop the overboost? Cheers.

Hi Axel, just had a quick look at my 98 Sharan AFN and on mine that cable does not plug in to anything either and has what looks like an official cover. My car has alwas run fine apart from the usual overboost.

Had this on mine and I replaced the ABS fuses even though they looked fine and it cleared it. Worth a try before you strip it all down again.

Hi everyone, my 98 Sharan 1.9 TDI AFN engine has got the usual overboost problem which I'm working my way through with just the vaccum hose to the ecu to replace and a good dose of Millers as a first attempt at the limp mode. I have been trying to avoid going into limp mode by keeping the revs below about 2500 revs but there is just no power. I've tried it with the MAF both connected and disconnected with not a lot of difference between the two. I know from everyone elses posts that this points to the MAF having failed, it was last replaced 5 years ago, but as the engine warms up it does improve a bit so I was wondering if there is a temp sensor that might have failed leading to the ECU running at incorrect settings? Thanks in adavance.

I store my rear seats in my mum-in-laws in a spare room. She did complain at first but when I said that I'd have to tow her electric scooter with her in it instead of putting it in the boot she relented! I have a mate who stores his in his garage loosely covered with plastic and has had no probs.

I've just been looking my 98 TDi as I get a hissing noise from behind the dash / footwell area and this hose goes to my ECU. I've taken off the lower dash trim and also taken out the clocks and when you look inside to the ECU it is connected at the back left side of it. I'm not sure if you'll need to undo any of the ECU fixings to reconnect it though as mine was still firmly attatched. Couldn't find any holes in my hoses so I'm going to take the ECU out when the weather next permits. If you do have a go at this just make sure you disconnect the battery first.

One thing I would do is to make sure the fuel pump for the booster heater is ok as the terminals can corrode and break off. I went through the whole process of changing the glow plug, the original turned out to be fine but changed it any way, only to find that it still didn't work and it was then that I discovered that it was the pump was the problem.

Thanks Mirez, will keep looking for a Mk1 tailgate then.