Code Free

My friend (and TDI Mechanical Guru) Justin visited last night, and we made some progress on the VAG-COM codes. We had a minor discovery with the accelerator pedal controller as well, but overall, it was a very positive few hours. That "red ball" project has moved on, and work has settled a bit. We'll see how long that lasts....

Code Free
Justin arrived before I got home from work, ready to get the bus running. He confirmed that seeing the mileage on the dashpod was a significant step, and was able to get his VAG-COM reading application on his laptop to communicate with the engine computer. He brought a 99.5 Jetta harness with him - the complete harness for the entire car. We picked through the harness and noted a single 2-plug connector that hooked the smaller engine harness with the other engine-ish harness. Connecting this did not relieve any codes, but it reminded us of the research I mentioned in the last post about all of the codes appearing on elements contained within that same harness. We took his 99.5 harness and hooked it into my engine, leaving the glow-plugs disconnected, to test this theory. VAG-COM was unable to find any error codes / faults. For the time being, I'll be leaving the 99.5 harness in-place and removing my 98 harness. I'll find the bad connectivity wire and fix it off-line. Meanwhile, this resolution brought us to the edge of being able to start the engine.

Clutch Pedal switch
For some reason that I really don't understand, VW included a switch on the clutch pedal to prevent anyone from being able to start their car with the clutch out. I suppose there were complaints about this, or maybe this is one of those Ralph Nader safety things, but I think its pretty stupid. Accidentally trying to start it in gear has its own notification system: that uncomfortable lurch followed by not starting. Anyway, this switch needs to be depressed to allow the starter to get the signal to start. In the early TDI (ALH model), the switch runs through the comfort system, which I tore out. The only signal that matters, though, is a single signal from that system to the #3 relay (number 185 printed on the top) which is the starter lockout relay. That relay takes start-switched power (50b) and routes it to the starter solenoid when 12V are applied to the relay switch from the comfort system wire. Since the send-side of the relay only has 12V when the ignition is turned to "start", the relay, the comfort system, and the clutch pedal switch are not needed... in my application. We jumpered across the relay, and got around the clutch switch problem.

Still NOT Starter-ing
After we got around the clutch pedal switch, the starter still wouldn't turn. To rule out a bad starter, we sent a test wire directly from the solenoid to the battery and proved that the motor turned. Unfortunately, we discovered that the spacer that I introduced between the adapter and the starter caused the teeth on the starter to fail to reach the flywheel. I will be removing the starter, removing the spacer and re-installing the starter. Figure 30 minutes, but unfortunate that it stood in the way. Also, this indicated that the wire running from the relay to the starter solenoid had a break in it. I will need to cut up the wiring zip-ties and find the continuity break. Since there are 2 splices, it shouldn't take long to find which splice failed.

Throttled
Our last discovery was that the direct connection of the bus accelerator pedal to the throttle switch was pre-loading the throttle signal. This means that even without a foot on the pedal, the computer thought we were trying to be at about 35% (not 0%). This is because the old pedal needs some kind of pull from the old carburetor to keep the pedal upright. I will add some space between the throttle switch and the pedal and add a return spring to provide that pressure. That shouldn't take me very long, once I find a return spring.

That's it for today. There was a lot of progress, and the outlook is very bright. I won't be able to put much time in over the next few weeks for travel reasons, but I know what I have in front of me. First, fix the starter signal, R&R the starter and prove the starter can turn the motor. Then, fix the accelerator pedal bit. Once I have that, I'll re-focus on the air cleaner (AMSOIL) and air-source for the vacuum and then look for the break in the engine harness so I can give Justin's back to him. As always, thanks for following along and enjoy the rest of your summer-

TDI-FEST: Portland, OR Labor Day Weekend

Dog Days and Catching Rays

I'll admit that late July / early August isn't exactly the Dog Days of Summer, but it's pretty darn close. After that last posting, my family and I focused on a camping trip into Central Oregon, and didn't really think about the bus. I'll talk about our camping trip some and then touch on some recent discoveries that I think will be useful as I push through the VAG-COM codes.

East Lake
Since the bus isn't running, we drove my wife's Subaru on a 3 night trip to East Lake, in Central Oregon towing an open-top trailer full of stuff for 2 families. I wasn't familiar with the location, but it is 6400' above sea-level in a dormant volcano crater. This crater is so large, there are 2 lakes within it as well as a large central peak (Paulina Peak) that reaches over 6800' above sea level. if you live in the Rocky Mountains, you may remember what those first few days or weeks were like after moving there - every breath counts. I couldn't believe how quickly I'd get a head-rush, or run out of breath just walking at a NYC pace. the Lake was beautiful, and the kids loved swimming in the clear cool water. The camp sites are large (though without hookups, if you're into that) and clean. While we were there, we visited the Big Obsidian Flow, Paulina Peak and the East Lake Resort as well as tooled about on Ed's electric-motored 10' inflate-a-raft.
On a vehicular note, we got over 25 miles per gallon hauling that trailer. 2 weeks earlier, we took a 2 night trip our to the coast with one of those soft-shell things on the roof and only got 22mpg. I thought it was interesting that we could bring twice as much stuff and get better mileage just by changing the way we transported it. The trailer was a 7' x 4' U-Haul costing us $15 a day. Considering we don't have much use for a trailer, nor a place to store it, renting one was a great solution for us. We'll be doing that again, I'm sure.

VAG-COM Discoveries
If you read my last posting, you'll remember that I was able to get the main electrical systems to power up. Unfortunately, I received 6 different codes that need to be resolved for reliable running. After investigating these codes through the internets, I think I have been able to determine a pattern for 2/3 of them:

00765 - Modulating Piston Movement Sensor (G149) Intermittent

01268 - Quantity Adjuster Upper Limit (N146)

01268 - Quantity Adjuster Lower Limit (N146)
00626 - Glow Plug Indicator Open or Short to Ground Intermittent
All of these codes could be caused by a short in the harness dealing with the injection pump. When next I get a few hours, I'll start working that harness with the multi-meter and find the bad ground / short to the engine.

00522 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor Open or Short to +
This could be a simple case of an air bubble around the sensor. Since the coolant pump hasn't actually tried to work the fluid around, there are probably lots of air pockets that need to be flushed out. Once the 4 codes above are dealt with, I think starting the engine and getting the air out will be next, and this code should disappear through that process.

00626 - Glow Plug Indicator Open or Short to Ground Intermittent
This could be one or more bad glow plugs. I remembered that I used this engine as a glow plug donor when I was trying to clear this (or a similar) code on my 2000 Jetta so it could clear DEQ. I probably took one or more of the good ones and left one or more bad ones in this engine. I'll deal with this last, after the other codes are gone. It could require a new glow plug harness, but I thought I already did that on this engine. I'll have to check my old posts :)

That's it for now. Work has been very hectic, trying to get up to speed while juggling a "red ball" project. Hopefully, things will settle a little bit now that the red-ball is over, but to that respondent's point, corporate America is always hungry for your time.

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

Happy New car problems

I don't know what it is about New Years and car troubles, but it seems to happen almost every year. Last year, the windshield on the bus started fogging in such a way that the defrogger no longer worked. It turned out that the old glass was seperating, and it took the turning of the calendar to really make it unusable. I think I posted on that already. If not, I'll get to it later.

I remember spending New Years Eve around 1988 in a parking garage changing a flat tire while the fireworks went off indicating the start of a new year. Yep, just the start of another round of car repairs for me, though. That year brought many car problems, and, eventually, my getting rid of that car. It was a '72 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: olive on brown - probably the worst possible color combination they offered. Maybe if I'd performed the routine maintenance like oil changes and brake pads, it would have treated me better.

I spent my New Years day trying to figure out why my Jetta thinks the driver's door is open when it isn't. The dome lights stay on. The little "puddle light" stays on. That annoying "your door is open" beeping runs continuously. After spending nearly an hour with the ignition on, running the shareware version of VAG-COM into my OBD-II outlet, I couldn't figure it out. A quick trip to TDI-Club, however, showed me that this is a common failure in this kind of car. There's something about the door sensor that fails in these cars with alarming regularity. The replacement door locking mechanism costs $130. Nice for the stealers, not so nice for the owners. There's a neat hack-fix that only costs about $10 for the new switch in the door, but I'm not convinced that it lasts as long as real the replacement part, but it would take 13 of those switch replacements to cost the same as the VW part, so it makes you think.

The story doesn't end there, though. Because the puddle-light is on all the time, my battery has been slowly running down. I don't drive long distances, so the battery hasn't been getting fully charged before I turn off the engine. The hour long VAG-COM diagnostic was more than the battery would take. This morning when I went to start 'er up, I got flashing lights, lots of ticking sounds, but no start. I walked 2 miles in pouring rain to catch the bus. Happy New Year.