02 Beetle suddenly died. P0402, P0228 and P1248

I'm considering buying an 02 Beetle TDI with manual transmission and 200k miles for $500. The owner says it was his daily driver. Recently he started it up and just as he was getting on the highway, the car died on him. It acted as though it wasn't getting fuel. It does turn over, timing belt is in place, and doesn't sound like any engine damage like bent valves or anything harsh. He cracked the fuel lines and it is getting fuel.

The check engine light gives these 3 codes
P0402 exhaust gas recirculation flow excessive
P0228 throttle /pedal position sensor / switch C circuit high
P1248 injecting start control deviation

On own 2 other TDIs and have done some work on them (replaced camshaft, timing belt, etc...) so I'm pretty sure I'm capable of fixing it IF I know what to fix. I do have a vagcom.

Please share your thoughts and opinions. What do you think it is? Anything... Where would you start? Is it reasonably fixable?

For the first code, it does have 200,000+ miles. Could it be that the Egr just needs to be cleaned? And the last code seems like the timing just needs to be adjusted with a vagcom, no?

It's worth more than $500 in parts. In a worst case you sell a few items, keep some spares for yourself, and you can still sell the carcass to actually turn a profit. If you have space for a vehicle this is a low-risk purchase imho.

Check the teeth on the timing belt.

hollowhead said:

Check the teeth on the timing belt.

Click to expand...

Yep, the ones down around the crank sprocket are very difficult to see and since it's a tight circumference and half as large, is often prime spot to "skip/strip).

Look up the codes on the ross-tech wiki site.

I have checked all the codes and know what they mean. I'm just hoping someone could point me in the best direction as to where to start to get it running.

To start I would pull the valve cover and inspect the lifters for any spider cracks, then I would line everything up on the timing marks and pin the pump. If you can get the cam and crank lined up and you dont have any visible damage to the lifters I would then order a tb kit from Id parts. If you cant pin the ip but the other marks line up get the kit and tools and do the belt before trying to get it running. I would also pull the lower intercooler pipe at the intercooler and make sure you dont have a ton of oil in it before an initial startup.