Loss Of Power Above 3000Rpm Resettable

[Scorpiorefugee]

I've just been for a trip in a friend's '98 TDI Ghia and I'm still trying to get him to do a swap for my Titanium. More to the point, he apparently has only one problem with his and that is a sudden loss of power if he takes it above 3000 rpm which resets on restart. This vehicle only does about 2K miles a year and has less than 90K on the clock. I am sure that this must be one of those common faults but it's not one that I ever had. Can anyone offer help on this 'cos armed with that information I might be able to make him an offer he can't refuse.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Scorpiorefugee

[BrianH]

Sounds like its going into limp mode - Best bet would be to get a look at any codes being logged using vcds and search for them on here if you want to try and narrow it down a bit.

[Scorpiorefugee]

Thanks Brian, my thoughts entirely. Unfortunately I am 200 miles from my tool box and trying to be helpful. I've always found that each and every fault has a set of unique symptoms but the fault code would be an enormous help. In this case it has been into Ford Garage a time or two for this and they've not been very helpful and I only see this chap 2 or three times a year. My guess from studying earlier posts is that it could well be something to do with turbo over boost but mine did 250K without anything like this so I'm hoping for an " I had that problem...." . Perhaps I should suggest an Italian Tune Up.

One thing I have been reassured over this is that Ford made a bl00dy mess of the MKIII. My missus didn't want to get out of it.

[BrianH]

going over the vacuum pipes and checking for any that have come loose/split would be sensible if you still have access to it. Trouble is it goes into limp mode as a result of seeing something it can't understand properly. I can't see an italian tune up doing any harm if you can get it to so.

[Scorpiorefugee]

Thanks again Brian. I'm now home and it's out of reach. It's quite probable that I could sort it if I had it on my drive or I could tell a few porkies and get to keep it and then I could get rid of my ghastly MKIII and make peace with the missus.

Thinking about it again I'm a little surprised that he finds it necessary to go over 3000 rpm cos mine always went so well I hardly ever found it necessary to do that other than on override down steep hills and that gave me great service for over 100K in 4 years until it died at 250K and never once suffered from any of the horrible turbo problems described by others on this site.

I think I'll have to talk him through a few simple driving tests to get  better idea of the problem.

 

Ron.

[Scorpiorefugee]

This problem has now gone away.

The story so far ...

It had an MOT which flagged a hole in the Cat.

This was welded up and a full service.

Fault now clear.

No fault codes detected afterwards - possibly battery disconnected for welding hence fault codes cleared.

Also possible that the problem was caused by the leaky cat.

I was in that car before the service/MOT and detected no sound of exhaust blowing so it couldn't have been much of a hole.

Any thoughts?

[chromedome]

I have heard that if a cat fails the engine can lose all power and run like a pig. Electronics, back pressure, etc, etc.

 

I had both exhaust sections fail at the boxes and I couldn't hear it. Peculiar to diesels?

[Scorpiorefugee]

Far too many complicated electronics and not enough common sense. If the damned thing is clever enough to detect a faulty exhaust system why can't the bl00dy thing just say so?  :wacko:  :wacko:  :wacko:

 

OK. I know it's not quite as simple as that but if it's clever enough to detect a problem and do something possibly dangerous to the driver's ability to stay safe why can't it give some meaningful warning first or at least as well.?

 

A prime example is the way it cuts off all power if the throttle control goes just a tad intermittent instead of giving some early warning. The control system knows exactly what the problem is because it stores an explicit error code for the mechanic to find if he has the gumption to go looking for it so why can't it notify the driver in time to avoid an accident?

 

It's a bit like the saying "Sudden death is nature's way of telling you to slow down." 

Edited August 16, 2014 by Scorpiorefugee