numerous '99 Jetta problems

Please help...

At high rpm (above 3200) and under load ie on a long hill, engine will suddenly loose power. It will still climb, but in a lower gear and at a lower rpm. It "feels" as if something (perhaps a wategate?) has opened and boost is being dumped. The problem will reset when the motor is turned off and back on. It is also slugish and jumpy during acceleration in the lower gears. I'm told the turbo is gone, but that doesn't seem right since the problem resets. MAF is original with 265,000 k on it.

This one is baffling, after a warm-up period of 35-45 minutes, the headlights go out, the heater fan and the wipers quit, and the park brake light on the instrument panel illuminates dimly. Everything can be restored when the bright/dim wand is held all the way back in the intermittent position that allows both bright and dim lights to be on. This also goes away (but not permanently)with a restart.

Finally, the washer fluid does not make it to the windshield, the pump seems to be running but no fluid is ejected from the nozzles

check the egr for being stuck open, check all the vacuum lines for cracks, check for air in the fuel lines, check all the engine and battery grounds, have someone run the washer and watch for the leaky hose.

On your first problem, search for solutions to "limp mode". They include the above mentioned stuff like bad vacuum hose, bad/dirty N75 solenoid, difficult actuator on the turbocharger. The MAF usually limits available power, and won't cause limp mode.

You are correct in that the turbocharger is not blown. That is a dealer fix, and ends up costing the owner big bucks without solving the problem.

If your electrical problem is not solved by wrenchman's suggestions of cleaning grounds, you will have to chase wires and see if there's a short. But it really sounds like you have an IC in the system somewhere that fails when it heats up. That will be hard to find, let alone fix, and I can't help you. If I could, I'd be independently wealthy, so don't think I wouldn't like to be able to help.

Thanks for all your suggestions, I'll follow up on them.

hawker said:

At high rpm (above 3200) and under load ie on a long hill, engine will suddenly loose power. It will still climb, but in a lower gear and at a lower rpm. It "feels" as if something (perhaps a wategate?) has opened and boost is being dumped. The problem will reset when the motor is turned off and back on. It is also slugish and jumpy during acceleration in the lower gears. I'm told the turbo is gone, but that doesn't seem right since the problem resets. MAF is original with 265,000 k on it.

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Your turbo is probably fine. At worst, the VNT actuator might be sticking -- the N75 turbo actuator valve is trying to change the positions of the turbo vanes, but the tiny vacuum-actuated piston is sticking so not responding instantly like it should. The engine control module expects to see X amount of boost, and when it doesn't then it causes "limp mode". A quick restart and everything seems okay again, until the next time.

The N75 valve could also be the problem, either a vacuum leak there or in the vacuum hose.

This one is baffling, after a warm-up period of 35-45 minutes, the headlights go out, the heater fan and the wipers quit, and the park brake light on the instrument panel illuminates dimly. Everything can be restored when the bright/dim wand is held all the way back in the intermittent position that allows both bright and dim lights to be on. This also goes away (but not permanently)with a restart.

Click to expand...

I'm going to guess that you need a new Relay 109. $10 plus shipping from tdiparts.com. Like it says on this web page: everyone should carry a spare one of these, they are cheap but if you need one and don't have one, you are STRANDED.
http://www.tdiparts.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29_90_86&products_id=350

What type of vehicle is this? 99 Jetta - A3 or A4?

But it really sounds like you have an IC in the system somewhere that fails when it heats up

Click to expand...

What is an IC as it relates to this post? Intermittant Connection maybe? It would be better not to use industry specific abbreviations amongst those not in that industry. BTW, I don't ever use abbreviations since they often cause confusion.