EGR Not Ready 2005 Jetta TDI with Rocket Chip RC1

SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
I bought this car from out of state and I need to pass smog to register it in California. Former owner had his mechnanic install a Rocket Chip 1 tune.



Is there a way to flash this car to stock form, pass the smog and then reflash the current stage 1 tune? Right now, using VCDS the EGR Readiness is showing "Failed or Incomplete" even after driving 1500+ miles and several drive cycles after installing a new battery. Further digging with VCDS shows neither the MAF actual nor the EGR actual values do not change, regardless of load. Car drives the same with MAF disconnected. It seems to point to an EGR delete mod option from my haphazard research.



What can I do next?


 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
IIRC you can have up to 2 readiness monitors not set and still pass an OBD2 scan.

It should pass. My 05 PD JWagen always had the EGR readiness monitor not set after getting it RC tuned and never had a problem passing the OBD2 scan in NH.

Good luck.


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SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
IIRC you can have up to 2 readiness monitors not set and still pass an OBD2 scan.

It should pass. My 05 PD JWagen always had the EGR readiness monitor not set after getting it RC tuned and never had a problem passing the OBD2 scan in NH.

Good luck.


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Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Alas, it's stricter in the Republic Of California. Current rule now is the EGR monitor needs to be ready. I don't know when it changed, but that's how it is now, at least in California.
 

n1das

TDIClub Enthusiast, Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Location
Nashua, NH, USA
TDI
2014 BMW 535xd ///M-Sport, 2012 BMW X5 Xdrive35d, former 3x TDI owner
Hi,
Thanks for the reply. Alas, it's stricter in the Republic Of California. Current rule now is the EGR monitor needs to be ready. I don't know when it changed, but that's how it is now, at least in California.
It should still be OK for a 2005 model. The current rule would apply to new cars.

Good luck.



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SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
thanks

I went to a smog station for preinspection and my car failed. If I went through the real test my car would fail. I trust the owner operator of that business. He has no reason to give me faulty or outdated information. I have supported his business for years.



I'm looking at other alternatives. I might have to switch out to another ECU if that's easier. I'll have to look that up.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
In what state was the car previously registered? Rocketchip has tunes that do and don't show EGR readiness. If it was in a state that doesn't plug in to check readiness Jeff may have used a Euro tune that doesn't have an EGR.

He can tune cars or your vintage so they show full readiness when checked, whether the EGR if functioning or not. It's possible that your car is showing failed or incomplete because of a mechanical malfunction, not a tuning problem. That's why I'm asking.

You can contact Jeff and find out what tune is on the car if you don't know. You can also see a description of the tune on the first screen when you click on "engine" in VCDS. It's in the upper right block. If it says "AFN" that's a Euro tune.
 

SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
I'm reading:


Diesel Vehicle Standards
Number of incomplete monitors allowed to pass on diesel powered vehicles:
:eek:ld standard: any two for 1998 to 2000 model years
:new standard: zero for 1998 to 2006 (BAR-OIS test)
:eek:ld standard: any one for 2001 & newer model years
:new standard: any two for 2007 & newer model years






https://www.bar.ca.gov/pdf/Smog_Check_OBD_Reference_Lite_Version.pdf


page 7 for additional reference
 

SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
Rocket Chip emailed back!

I received an email from Jeff of Rocket Chip. He offered to turn on the EGR for a reasonable price plus shipping both ways. I emailed him again to confirm but this time I got no reply. I'm still waiting for a return phone call from him as well. I'm experiencing his busy side I guess.



Malone Tuning is an option as well if I want a faster response. However, I don't want to lose this current tune as it serves my purposes well enough.



What I've decided to do is get a spare stock ECU and clone that to my car. I know I need a program like VAG Commander or Vagtacho to get the PIN/SKC from both ECU's. So far, I can't get these programs to work with either the Rosstech Cable or a generic 409 KKL USB OBD ebay cable that I have. Anybody have any ideas?
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
You car most likely doesn't have an immobilizer. I don't think you have to do anything to use a different ECU. Just make sure it's exactly the same part number, including suffixes.
 

SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
In that case I'll just plug in that spare ECU when it comes in. Cutting out an extra couple of steps would be great

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SAABNEWBIE

Active member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Location
LONG BEACH, CA
TDI
1999 NEW BEETLE
I got a spare ECU. Failed with the Vagtacho since I also need the SKC PIN for the spare ECU. Without that SKC, I could not adapt it to my car.

I ended up getting SKC/cpu clone service with Malone / Kale Tuning in Costa Mesa. Quick turnaround, pleasant guy.

I also replaced the MAF. The old one was maxing out at 475. Got a generic one from Amazon $48. EGR Monitor has now PASSED successfully.

A key step might be fuzzy logic reboot of flooring the gas pedal turning ignition to on without starting it for 15 seconds, then off. I picked that up somewhere on the MAF 101 thread.
 
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