EGR deleted, but no cel

Hello,

I have a strange question, that might be the root of my problem. I recently got a EGR delete kit and have put about 10K miles on it. The strange thing is that I am getting black smoke on acceleration and I can't seem to get above 3k rpms. The other strange thing is that I get no CEL from deleting the EGR, so maybe the 2 are connected. My IQ is set at about 7 and my IP timing is advanced to the upper line. I have replaced the MAF sensor 2 times now, N75, and Turbo.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, I have a 2003 Golf Manual with 223k.

You need VCDS to do some diagnostic work as 3000 rpm limitation is typically related to air flow.

On my 1999.5 had the same problem and no CEL. I was an early adopter of VCDS fka VagCom. Did the DBW diagnostic: logging actual MAF, specified MAF, actual MAP, and throttle position, full throttle run in 4th gear 2000 rpm to 4200, repeat 5 times; save the file. Open in Excel, filter for throttle position = 100; MAF should be 850 with a little wiggle based on boost, and boost should hit over shoot specifed and then oscillate in a PID loop to get to target. On my 1999.5 the MAF would start at 850 then degrade down to 500.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. When I unplug the MAF sensor I can get over 3k rpms. The problem is I don't want to spend $80 on the third sensor in less than a year. I was hoping there was some other problem. I do have VCDS, so I will play with that and see what I can find.

Unless you just have the wrong MAF (unlikely), you want to evaluate the wire/connects. Not sure where they all go. Guessing some go to other components, some direct to ECU.
The wire used on these cars is so darn small and we're getting on in age.
The actuator should come off easily from underneath. The rod must be rusted to the vane lever, penetrant. Only issue I recall was finding the little clip when came off.

You should do the test Curious Chris listed.
It tells a lot about the air flow and what the ECU thinks is going on.

Your 1st post indicated 'I am getting black smoke on acceleration' which is usually not enough air.

For a quick easy test is tee a vacuum gauge into the vacuum line going to the turbo actuator.
When you start the car it should have about 10 inches of vacuum at idle.
If much less trace backwards to find where it's higher.

The vacuum pump should produce at least 20 inches of vacuum to full pull the actuator arm when needed.

Go for a ride and the vacuum should drop off when you take off.

Last, any electronics you replaced were they real Bosch, not aftermarket?

Hi Chris,

I know it's been a while, but could you go through this DBW diagnostics? On vcds my maf reads 500 on full throttle and about 400 on idle. Everyone I know that did a egr delete now has a cel except for me. I really think that could be my problem. When I unplug my maf I can finally red line if I want and I have a cel, so there is definitely a problem with air flow. When the maf is plugged in I can't get over 3k rpms.

Thanks,

Phil

...Your maf is bad.

The CEL for egr can take a while to come on, some have said they changed the setting in VCDS to the lowest limit and it never comes on, even with a missing EGR.

Good to see you're back at it.
That DriveByWire diagnostic must be on the forum somewhere.
VW TDI Search Engine

steve6 said:

...Your maf is bad.

The CEL for egr can take a while to come on, some have said they changed the setting in VCDS to the lowest limit and it never comes on, even with a missing EGR.

Click to expand...

Don't think so

philipvitale said:

...............snip.............. I have replaced the MAF sensor 2 times now, N75, and Turbo.
.........snip..............

Click to expand...

Simply unplugging the MAF is not a conclusive test, for that matter a MAF CEL is not necessarily a bad MAF. Both things do give us data points or clues.
Assuming you've completely removed the EGR hardware, you will always get a code, another clue. I suspect (guessing) some wires/connectors are toofooed.

Here is the problem, I have another 03 golf tdi that runs flawlessly. I swapped maf sensors and I still have the same problem. My other golf runs flawlessly with either maf sensor. The other thing is I have had an egr delete on my golf for about 2 years now and not once did the cel come on. I also deleted all the hardware for the egr using the kit from aa Rodriguez. It’s clear with the right air flow this golf could run flawlessly, but I don’t know how to do it. Do you think getting a tune with a maf delete would be the right choice? Maybe I am missing something when I did the egr delete?

philipvitale said:

Here is the problem, I have another 03 golf tdi that runs flawlessly. I swapped maf sensors and I still have the same problem. My other golf runs flawlessly with either maf sensor. The other thing is I have had an egr delete on my golf for about 2 years now and not once did the cel come on. I also deleted all the hardware for the egr using the kit from aa Rodriguez. It’s clear with the right air flow this golf could run flawlessly, but I don’t know how to do it. Do you think getting a tune with a maf delete would be the right choice? Maybe I am missing something when I did the egr delete?

Click to expand...

EGR deletes are pretty simple to achieve. If your one car runs like poo with either MAF, then you have another issue. Have you cleaned your intake at all? Intake ports? Restricted snow filter? Off MAF readings can be caused by a restricted intake pre and post turbo. A plugged cat I heard can do the same thing as well.

Intake is brand new, turbo is brand new, snow screen is clean and the trap particulate is removed. After 2 years of chasing this I have done everything that could possibly be a problem. How can the readings be affected by pre and post turbo if the maf sensor is right after the air filter?

philipvitale said:

Intake is brand new, turbo is brand new, snow screen is clean and the trap particulate is removed. After 2 years of chasing this I have done everything that could possibly be a problem. How can the readings be affected by pre and post turbo if the maf sensor is right after the air filter?

Click to expand...

Turbo sucks in air. Faster it sucks, higher the readings. Restricted intake between turbo and head slows air readings down. When you installed your turbo, did yo make sure the actuator was calibrated correctly?

I see, I did not check the calibration. I would assume it would be already calibrated from the factory. It did have yellow paint on it. I did use vcds to make sure it moves freely. If the turbo actuator was the problem why would I be able to red line when the maf is unplugged? Whereas when the maf is plugged in I can barley get over 3k.

It would be calibrated from the manufacturer, but cars, old cars are gonna have a variable amount of vacuum. Always good to check it.

philipvitale. With VCDS did you log a full throttle run of the MAF, Boost, and N75 in 3rd and 4th gear to close to red line?

Did you check the vacuum I suggested in post 5?

I can check vacuum again, it's been a while now. Last time I checked vacuum was top notch. I can also see the actuator move nicely when I use vcds in basic settings to test.

So do a full throttle run on channel 3, 5, and 11 in 3rd and 4th gear? With the maf plugged in the best I can do is about 3200 rpms. I can unplug it and get to red line. Should I do the tests with the maf plugged in or not? Thank you.