!.9 Tdi Stuttering Under Load

[DougJones]

Hope someone can help, just had my '53 plate Seat Alhambra 1.9tdi 130 SE with 34,200 miles on the clock given an oil and filter change (correct spec oil used) along with a diesel filter change by an independant garage mechanic.

Since this, whenever I put heavy load on the engine, such as going up a hill, in any gear the engine "stutters" and holds back.

If it was a petrol engine, you would immediatly think it was a misfire.

I have checked with a cheap hand held VagCom I have, and no fault codes have shown up.

Doesn't go into limp mode, and if you drive steady nothing seems wrong, only under heavier load.

Seems to be a fuel problem, so could the new diesel filter be at fault or dragging in air? no leaks are apparent.

Has anyone else had this problem, or any pointers of what to do?

The mechanic is going to replace the Diesel filter this weekend, but just in case this doesn't work, any responses will be welcome.

Many thanks for any anticipated advice anyone can give.

[f0ster]

you will not see any leaks because the injection pump draws up the fuel, the pump is in the front of the injection pump,

sounds like drawing air

[seatkid]

Check the unit injector wiring loom and the electrical connectors theron to the injectors (located inside the rocker cover). This is a problem thats been reported a few times before. A new design of loom was supposedly introduced to address this problem. (Try a search for more info)

[DougJones]

Many thanks for the suggestions so far, seems there may be a problem with the 'O' ring seals on the control valve, so will have to wait until Monday to see if this has any effect.

Will post results for general information.

[seatkid]

Many thanks for the suggestions so far, seems there may be a problem with the 'O' ring seals on the control valve, so will have to wait until Monday to see if this has any effect.

Will post results for general information.

And what "control valve" is that? New one on me.......

[DougJones]

The "control valve" I am referring too, is how it is described in the manual I have (Peter Russek)

It's the one on top of the fuel filter retained by a clip and sits in the filter body, sealed by two 'O' rings.

I've not removed the clip or valve myself, as this was part of the service I wanted done by this independant mechanic.

He replced the filter with a Fram model as opposed to OE so wether or not this has some bearing on the problem, I don't know.

Car was going really well prior to oil and filter changes, so the whole thing seems to point to some upset on the fuel side.

The mechanic is going to get back to me today after talking to a person he knows who works at a VW/Audi outlet as replacing the filter with another one on Saturday had no effect.

Will post the outcome.

[seatkid]

The "control valve" I am referring too, is how it is described in the manual I have (Peter Russek)

It's the one on top of the fuel filter retained by a clip and sits in the filter body, sealed by two 'O' rings.

I've not removed the clip or valve myself, as this was part of the service I wanted done by this independant mechanic.

He replced the filter with a Fram model as opposed to OE so wether or not this has some bearing on the problem, I don't know.

Car was going really well prior to oil and filter changes, so the whole thing seems to point to some upset on the fuel side.

The mechanic is going to get back to me today after talking to a person he knows who works at a VW/Audi outlet as replacing the filter with another one on Saturday had no effect.

Will post the outcome.

1. Fram Filters are crap

2. Its easy to lose the O rings on the fuel filter if you don't know what youre doing - AFAIK they dont come with the filter, you have to reuse the old ones or order them seperately.

[DougJones]

Filter is now going to be replaced by a bosch, with new 'O' rings tomorrow, so will post back results when I get the car back pm.

Will be interesting to see if this cures the problem, hope it does, so I can get back to the reliability I've been use to!

[DougJones]

New filter and 'O' rings have been fitted - still have problem!

Next move is to get it checked with vagcom to see if any faults have"popped" up.

As seatkid said, it could be the injector relay wiring loom inder the rocker cover, so will have to wait to see if anything is apparent.

[seatkid]

Note that injector loom faults do not show up on VAGCOM/diagnostics.

[DougJones]

Right, thanks for that, if no faults show up at least they will be able to eliminate other possibilities and consider such things as the loom.

Are there any reasons why there are problems with the loom, and would just an oil change bring on the problem, or is that just coincidental?

Will post any results when I get them (may be a few days with holiday coming up) so that anyone else that has a similar problem can compare.

Funny old situation though, car performs really well on light throttle, and build up speed at a steady rate, only has problem when you start to push hard.

[seatkid]

Right, thanks for that, if no faults show up at least they will be able to eliminate other possibilities and consider such things as the loom.

Are there any reasons why there are problems with the loom, and would just an oil change bring on the problem, or is that just coincidental?

Will post any results when I get them (may be a few days with holiday coming up) so that anyone else that has a similar problem can compare.

Funny old situation though, car performs really well on light throttle, and build up speed at a steady rate, only has problem when you start to push hard.

Oil in a connector causing high resistance under vibration? Just a guess.....

[DougJones]

As an update the Vagcom check has revealed no fault codes and the Audi/VW service centre said that the Maf sensor was working ok when the took it out for it's diagnostic check.

Following up on the possible replacement loom the Seatkid talks about, I've enquired at my local Seat dealer about Injector looms, who tell me that I have to buy the whole loom as one piece, at

[seatkid]

Sorry for so many questions, but any help/information with this is appreciated, to give me an idea of the best way to move forward.

Clean the connectors to the injectors and examine the loom for damage. IIRC one member cleaned his and the stutter went away. Even if a temp repair it will show where the problem is.

[DougJones]

Thanks for that, will give it a try as soon as I can.

Will post what the results are, for information to other people who may experience similar problems in the future.

[jamesey]

Hope someone can help, just had my '53 plate Seat Alhambra 1.9tdi 130 SE with 34,200 miles on the clock given an oil and filter change (correct spec oil used) along with a diesel filter change by an independant garage mechanic.

Since this, whenever I put heavy load on the engine, such as going up a hill, in any gear the engine "stutters" and holds back.

If it was a petrol engine, you would immediatly think it was a misfire.

I have checked with a cheap hand held VagCom I have, and no fault codes have shown up.

Doesn't go into limp mode, and if you drive steady nothing seems wrong, only under heavier load.

Seems to be a fuel problem, so could the new diesel filter be at fault or dragging in air? no leaks are apparent.

Has anyone else had this problem, or any pointers of what to do?

The mechanic is going to replace the Diesel filter this weekend, but just in case this doesn't work, any responses will be welcome.

Many thanks for any anticipated advice anyone can give.

 

 

this is just what mines doing. mine is exactly the same perfect on slow take up but put my foot down it seems to hold back then it like cuts out for a split second , ive just put a mann filter from gsf on mine but its been ok for a week or so prior to doing that im going down corwall and am worried it wont make it , please let me know what you find , cheers jon

Edited May 12, 2009 by jamesey

[DougJones]

We are just waiting to get son-in-laws Xtrail back (new fuel pump, garage fitting) before starting on the Alhambra, didn't want two vehicles on the go at the same time, will post what results are and what I've found, if anything.

As Seatkid said, at least I can see what is going on under the rocker cover, and checking the solenoid connections will eliminate one of the low cost checks.

Edited May 13, 2009 by DougJones

[DougJones]

PROBLEM SOLVED ;) Was checking rocker cover prior to removal in the next few days, and thought I would have a look at the fuel filter replaced by the independant mechanic just prior to the start of my problems.

Decided to check fuel line connections with manual I have, and tracing through found that this mechanic (who I previously trusted) had crossed over the supply and return line to the filter.

The supply line from the filter to the tandem pump was attached to the return line on the filter, with the return attached to the supply.

All these pipes are colour coded - white and blue so he had replaced them white to blue and blue to white instead of white to white and blue to blue :rolleyes:

Refitted fuel pipes to correct connections - stutter under load completely gone, car back to normal.

The fuel must have been going crazy with the pipes reversed, but it still worked.

Don't know if this helps anyone else, but if you have the fuel filter replaced, make sure that the pipes are replaced correctly.

Next time I won't be so lazy and DO IT MYSELF.

Many thanks though for all the suggestions of possible causes, which will be stored away in the memory banks should anything happen like this happen again :D

Edited May 15, 2009 by DougJones