Omg So Much Smoke.. No Power And Well Loads Of Smoke!

[lydanial]

OK driving back today, heating on and just got my first ever warning for 4degrees temp :-).

 

i turn a right hand junction and start accelerating, suddenly theres quite a loud rattling noise which stops after about 5 seconds and whoosh everyone behind is lost in a cloud of smoke.. a big cloud of smoke and theres no power.. no power at all.. only enough to push the old gal up to about 50-60 mpg.. !!

 

as i was close to home i completed the journey down some back roads and when i got back home i gently revved the engine and quickly jumped out to have a look.. no smoke from the front but instead seems to be coming from the rear.. out the bumper, up the boot hatch.. into the cabinm.. everywhere!

 

now the other day when i started the old gal i noticed there was no smoke from the exhaust and no presure. i booked it into the garage and was supposed to be there tomorrow getting this checked.

 

anyway any suggestions as to whats gone a popper.. it seems like the turbo as when i was revving it outside the house i couldnt hear the turbo whirling BUT this doesnt seem to explain all the smoke at the back end.

 

help help.. and please help a little more :-)

[Guest neil_wiles]

Definitely sounds like the turbo did you have the ECU remapped earlier in the year?

[lydanial]

Definitely sounds like the turbo did you have the ECU remapped earlier in the year?

 

yes i had a remap.. my main concern is that i never floor the car and have only done 2000 miles since the remap.. this is a second family car used only when i have to.

 

also the smoke seems to be whitish..ish but then again it is dark out so cant really tell.

[familyman]

Definitely sounds like the turbo did you have the ECU remapped earlier in the year?

 

yes i had a remap.. my main concern is that i never floor the car and have only done 2000 miles since the remap.. this is a second family car used only when i have to.

 

also the smoke seems to be whitish..ish but then again it is dark out so cant really tell.

whitish smoke could be a sign of burning oil-the oil seals may have gone in the turbo ;)

[lydanial]

Definitely sounds like the turbo did you have the ECU remapped earlier in the year?

 

yes i had a remap.. my main concern is that i never floor the car and have only done 2000 miles since the remap.. this is a second family car used only when i have to.

 

also the smoke seems to be whitish..ish but then again it is dark out so cant really tell.

whitish smoke could be a sign of burning oil-the oil seals may have gone in the turbo :D

 

but the smoke seems to be coming from the back of the car..??? ? ;)

 

could it be a mixture of.. now let me see if i get this right.. booster heater AND turbo failure?..

 

i am currently searching the crap outta these forums and see that you get smoke with the heater booster.. but i dont see a connection between this and loss of power??

[tim-spam]

Black smoke = excessive fuel to air ratio - could be caused by turbo failure, but unlikely as ECU would reduce fuelling to suit the reduced air intake.

White smoke with 'parafin' type smell = unburnt fuel.

White smoke with no unusual smell = cylinder head gasket leaking water into combustion chamber.

Blue smoke = burning oil.

[sepulchrave]

 

but the smoke seems to be coming from the back of the car..??? ? :D

 

 

You would expect that since THE EXHAUST PIPE is at the back of the car! :D

 

Turbo's dead for sure, bearing failure rapidly followed by oil seal failure possibly even shaft failure. Have you checked the oil? Probably nothing to do with the remap....it happens. :lol:

[seatkid]

Just remind me.. :D ...who was raving about remaps and tuning boxes? :D

 

This one sounds as if it definitely won't pass the MOT smoke test! :lol:

 

If its any consolation, I think Michael Schumacher had a similar problem recently :D

 

However, as a fellow forum member, I really do hope it doesn't turn out too expensive for you....

[Brookydave]

If its a Mk1 TDI theres a known fault whereby the crankpulley moves on the crank. When ours went we managed to get the motorway gantry lights on for 30mph due to so much white smoke. Good news less than

[lydanial]

it is coming from the back...cut not out the exhaust so could it be that its over filling that heater thing at the back and just coming out of anywhere it can (think i read about a second exhaust system bit??).

 

as for the re-map.. yes i raved about the performance and the fuel economy but as for bits going wrong i couldnt say anything about that as i didnt know.. so if its caused a turbo problem due to this then i guess its just badd luck.

however my father ran a full 50 bhp remap on his vw for over 130,000 miles without a single problem, so i cant see a remap being a major contribution.

 

anyway i was speaking to a mechanic friend and hes told me to check water level and oil level so on my way now..

 

chat later :-)

[Dave-G]

The billowing smoke indeed sounds like a faulty glowplug in the booster heater, the clue being your comment about overfilling/leaking out anywhere it can. Mine did this. I temporarily disconnected a wire to the fuel feed pump (last winter) and replaced the glowplug this autumn. It's now tickety boo. you will find info on the FAQ's about "booster heater"

 

The second probably coincidental problem... was this soon after a re-fuel... with petrol maybe?

[DubDriver]

I think from the description of the symptoms in the original post then the auxiliary heater is not connected to the problem, just a coincidence that Aux. heater produces a lot of smoke when they are faulty. This will only be when the coolant temp. is low as well as the ambient temp.

 

As for the problem re. cam pulley slipping. Don't think this is likely, the problems were with older generation 1.9 TD engines. I had a Mk3 golf with the 'Umwelt' engine. The crank pulley came loose and lost power. Unfortunately the woodruf key on the pulley had worn the crank, so no amount of tightening would hold it firm. But NO smoke, if timing went that far out due to pulley the pistons would be hitting the valves.

 

I would say turbo has had it.

[jwilliams]

What's the diagnosis?

 

Do you think it may have been because of the remap

[lydanial]

What's the diagnosis?

 

Do you think it may have been because of the remap

 

i have been told now by many many people that the remap will have not contributed to this at all..

 

anyway its now in the garage and they seem to think its the turbo although 1 guy did mention that it could be a timing issue..

 

anyway it ticks over peachy!!

 

now futher to answers..someone mentioned earlier different smokes, the smoke coming out is definately white.. and lots.. with a hint of parafin (unburnt fuel).

with the bonnet up we cannot hear a single turbo type noise.. whirling, whooshing.. rattling (oh hang on it shouldnt really rattle).. nope not one noise.

 

the garage is pushing towards turbo failure but it doesnt show up as a turbo failure on there scanner machine. would it??

 

anyway keep your answers coming!!

[seatkid]

A few possibilities

 

White/Grey smoke is usually unburnt fuel.

 

Could be:

 

Your compression has gone (Piston or valve failure).

 

The fuel is not being injected correctly - knackered injector - but this would not be an suuden failure

 

Could be pump timing, but on a PD this is electronically controlled. Can you reflash your ECU back to its original state?

 

Could be turbo has failed and oil is entering the inlet manifold......most likely candidate.....especially if the remap increased the boost pressure.

Edited November 16, 2006 by seatkid

[Sharanfx]

Have you checked all the Turbo hoses to and from the turbo and intercooler.

 

A leak would lead to a lack of power and loads of extra smoke due to excess unburnt fuel due to the air leak. It could just be a split and you dont always hear a hiss.

[jkspoff]

Does sound like a turbo failure, I don't believe the remap would have caused this, however it does put slightly more pressure on the engines components as to be expected, so if the turbo was on its way out anyway, then this could have caused it to go prematurely. I have never heard of an ECU remap causing any type of obvious engine component failures though, and I know of quite a few people who have very high mileage remapped cars with no issues whatsoever.

Your car is the same year and almost same mileage as mine, same engine, bhp etc, have you had it on a rolling road to see what the BHP increase is ? Who did your remap ?

[lydanial]

Does sound like a turbo failure, I don't believe the remap would have caused this, however it does put slightly more pressure on the engines components as to be expected, so if the turbo was on its way out anyway, then this could have caused it to go prematurely. I have never heard of an ECU remap causing any type of obvious engine component failures though, and I know of quite a few people who have very high mileage remapped cars with no issues whatsoever.

Your car is the same year and almost same mileage as mine, same engine, bhp etc, have you had it on a rolling road to see what the BHP increase is ? Who did your remap ?

 

ok was the turbo and all is fixed.

 

angel tuning did my remap and before the failure i hard a rolling road of 157bhp, (i was promised 40-50bhp so was happy, especially as the 115ps is not actually 115bhp) i may go back and get it checked again at a later date to see if a nice new full boost turbo is giving it more increase, but first i am taking my new turbo steady for a little while as i want to make sure every thing else is ok before thrashing the ass outta it.

[sepulchrave]

...the turbo you say?

 

Boy, that's a surprise, I didn't expect that!

 

Shouldn't you now change your name to lyDENIAL :)

[Bigjeeze]

...the turbo you say?

 

Boy, that's a surprise, I didn't expect that!

 

Shouldn't you now change your name to lyDENIAL :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well one out of the last half dozen isn't bad!! :)