Mental Notes Get Lost Too

Back when I was going through the electrical stuff, there were a few things that I didn't identify from the ETKA diagrams.  Basically, they weren't in the drawings.  If you aren't familiar with the ETKA, its a software program that has drawings of sections of VW and Audi (and a few other non-US vehicles) vehicles.  Included in the drawings, there are drawings of the wiring cables with the plugs, and even a brief description of what the plug is (or may be) connected to.  Unfortunately, some of the plugs on my harnesses are not on the drawings.  When I encountered these, I said "I'll figure that out later".  Well... later is now, for some of them.  I'll get to that along the way, but first a few things I've done over the last couple of weeks.

Prep for Starting

I figured fluids were the next logical step, assuming everything was ready to go.  After getting back from another weekend camping on the Oregon Coast, I grabbed a couple gallons of distilled water and a gallon of diesel, and headed for the bus.  The oil was pretty simple.  Since the engine orientation is the same in the bus as it is in the stock vehicle, its just a matter of pouring it in the fill hole and checking the levels.  I should need to add a little more once it has been started, since there is no oil pressured into any of the lines. Justin and I have already talked about changing the oil pretty soon after the first start anyway since the engine has sat so long.  I then used a mity-vac to force diesel into the large filter from both sides.  It didn't seem like much got in, but we'll see.  Last, coolant.  2 1.5L bottles of PentaFrost(++) G12 and 3L of distilled water.  I suspect some air pockets, so I have an extra bottle of coolant and more distilled water.  Seemed like I was ready...

Tuesday with Justin

After getting things as close as I thought I could get the bus for a test start, I reached out to Justin (TDI guru) to help me with the initial start of the bus.  He stopped in after work on Tuesday, and we set to looking at where we're at.  He seemed pretty pleased with the layout so we set to trying the electrical.  Our initial tests were very positive - the ECU (or DFI, in the wiring diagrams) didn't fry; it powered up when the ignition was switched to "run", and we were able to run VAG-COM diagnosis on it.  Unfortunately, we got a few codes, and we were unable to get the dashpod to recognize power.  I'll detail the codes below, as I am still getting those codes.  When Justin left, he said "keep looking for the cause, and when you get the dash to show you the milage when the battery is hooked up, you're ready for me".

Small Success

Justin and I worked until twilight trying to find the power break that was causing the dashpod to fail.  Today, I traced the wires from the glow plug relay and realized that they terminated in one of those plugs I couldn't find in the ETKA.  I then ran my fingers along the cable bundle from the glow plugs towards the ECU and found a corresponding 2-prong plug.  I plugged them together and re-tested what happens when the battery is tied in again.  I saw milage on the dashpod.  Sweet!  Just to satisfy curiosity I hooked up my freeware VAG-COM to see if any of the codes went away.  Nope.  Ah well... more to look into next time around.  If you recognize any pattern in the codes, please let me know.  I noticed that all of the offending sensors are in the same harness, and some of them tie together.  More when there's more...

VAG-COM error output:

01050 - Glow Plug monitor intermittent

01268 - Quantity Adjuster Upper Limit (N146)

01268 - Quantity Adjuster Lower Limit (N146)

00765 - Modulating Piston Movement Sensor (G149) Intermittent

00522 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor Open or Short to +

00626 - Glow Plug Indicator Open or Short to Ground Intermittent