orange light came on after steep climb,load on

tread

Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2015
Location
british columbia
TDI
2004 jeta TDI
Hello, today at noon temp. -17C with chill factor going down the highway -60??this morning early 7:a.m. -37C. hubby decided to use hurricane tape on front grill but didn't leave any area to get a bit of cold air in. temp. gauge stayed in one spot- toasty warm in car. On the way home towing a utlility trailer with steel in it, going up a lot of steep hills , our orange malfunction light for emmisions oops came on. When we stopped for coffee for about 20 min. under the hood hose was very hot to touch. Hubby says he should have not completely taped the grill it needs to breathe. So our 20 min. ride home still had light on even though he torn open some of the tape to get cold air into turbo. Home safely, light still on dash. Does anyone think maybe the coolant temp. sensor fault code? All new glow plugs last month put in. hopefully not too serious. malfunction light is not blinking, came on going up steep hill??
Any ideas please
tread
 

flee

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Location
Chatsworth, CA
TDI
2002 Jetta GLS wagon
The obvious answer is to get the code read.
With any luck it is a one-time event and can just be reset.
That will eliminate most of the guesswork, at least. ;)
 

whitedog

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2004
Location
Bend, Oregon
TDI
2004 Jetta that I fill by myself
Your car needs a discussion with a mechanic. What the mechanic will ask your car is, "What's wrong with you?" and your car will be rather vague, but it will give the mechanic an idea of what is going on in the cars mind and why it feels the need to flash it's light at you.

In order to have a meaningful discussion, the mechanic needs to have some pretty good knowledge of the car and engine as well as have the right tools to get as much information from the car as possible. This means that the mechanic needs a proper scanner to dig deeper than a generic code reader.
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
As whitedog said, it needs to get the code(s) properly read and reset first.
Couple questions/suggestions. While covering the entire front (even the radiator directly) isn't a bad thing in extreme cold, I always monitor coolant temp (and many other data points) with a digital (ScanGauge) since the dash cluster gauge is very "vague". Especially if doing any utility/towing. Usually you can control coolant temps quite effectively with the cabin heat blower in these situations. Did the dummy cluster temp gauge ever move above "normal"? By the time it moves off 90/190* its on its way to overheating.
Airflow thru the grille really has no cooling effect on the turbo.
Consider purchase of a ScanGauge or UltraGauge to monitor conditions if you do some towing.
"Orange" warning light? I'm sure all my warning lights are either yellow or red, but maybe I see color differently. Can you identify which message light it is by turning on ignition w/o starting so they all test and light up? Assuming MIL (check engine light) but there are several others.
Scan/reset and report back.
 
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maxmoo

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Location
Lakefield, Ontario, Canada
TDI
2000 golf, 2001 golf, 2000 beetle, 2003 wagon, 2004 golf, 2004 jetta, all diesels
As whitedog said, it needs to get the code(s) properly read and reset first.
Couple questions/suggestions. While covering the entire front (even the radiator directly) isn't a bad thing in extreme cold, I always monitor coolant temp (and many other data points) with a digital (ScanGauge) since the dash cluster gauge is very "vague". Especially if doing any utility/towing. Usually you can control coolant temps quite effectively with the cabin heat blower in these situations. Did the dummy cluster temp gauge ever move above "normal"? By the time it moves off 90/190* its on its way to overheating.
Airflow thru the grille really has no cooling effect on the turbo.
Consider purchase of a ScanGauge or UltraGauge to monitor conditions if you do some towing.
"Orange" warning light? I'm sure all my warning lights are either yellow or red, but maybe I see color differently. Can you identify which message light it is by turning on ignition w/o starting so they all test and light up? Assuming MIL (check engine light) but there are several others.
Scan/reset and report back.
...but if they block the lower right vent to the intercooler it might.
I never block that vent even when I block all others.
 

jettawreck

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Location
Northern Minnesota-55744
TDI
2001 Jetta and 2003 Jetta
...but if they block the lower right vent to the intercooler it might.
I never block that vent even when I block all others.
Maybe. I've never covered the intercooler either, but it was actually recommended by Drivebywire years ago. Not exactly sure of the ambient temp point, but his recommendation was in extreme cold was to cover it up to keep intake air temps more efficient. If I recall the point of better thermal efficiency was if below -0*F it's better to cover it. Never experimented with going they the hassle in the cold.
Sort of interesting to watch the intake temps, ambient temps and coolant temps change as I drive.
 

otm646

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Location
Metro Detroit
TDI
1998 AHU Jetta.
I've dealt with intercooler blockage due to snow build up. I can not recommend doing it on purpose. I was seeing intake air temps well over 120F with ambient being around 25-32F.
 
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