Hello everyone,
As some of you may know, when all else fails, and I have a genuine TDI mystery to solve, I tend to post here and see what the collective thought process can yield. I've always appreciated your input in the past. Here's the latest:
The customer has used a mix of fuels, including from my company.
With the older TDIs, when all else failed, we could open the top of the fuel pump and see what there is to see. I don't know if that's possible with these newer ones. I will be very grateful for any guidance.
-Kumar
As some of you may know, when all else fails, and I have a genuine TDI mystery to solve, I tend to post here and see what the collective thought process can yield. I've always appreciated your input in the past. Here's the latest:
Although the customer has brought the car to a mechanic, I do not believe that a VAG-COM has been run on it. I've been trying to reach Steve Ahl, and coordinate that.Hi Kumar,
Here is a summary of what has been going on with my Passat 2005 TDI wagon:
On Sept. 9, I got in my car to go to a friend’s. It started fine but could barely make it up my driveway (8-9% grade). I continued at half power 1 mile up my dirt road (also a grade) to the main road. I knew I could make it to town (downhill) but didn’t think I could make it home again, so I turned around there and went home. There were no warning lights on the dash to give me a clue what was going on. At that time I had about 90% biodiesel in the tank, 10% diesel #2.
The next day I had to unload something at the cottage and drove up my driveway with no trouble at all, perfectly normal.
The next day was a Monday and I called my mechanic. He was booked but squeezed me in on Tues. for a new fuel filter. We both hoped that would fix the problem.
I picked it up and drove it all around for 10 days, including to Potter Valley and back (4 1/2 hours round trip). On Friday Sept. 22, I started off to my physical therapy appointment in Ukiah, 2 hours away. I realized right away that I had only half power, like before. I decided to drive about 15 miles, to see if it would correct itself. It didn’t. At Point Arena I stopped and went into the clinic to call and cancel my PT appointment. When I came out, the car started and drove perfectly. (But I was now too late for my appointment.)
The next Monday, Sept 25, the car had its 40,000 mile service. Everything checked out fine.
On Friday, Sept 29, I was going to a friend’s, and it happened again. I turned on the car, and while backing up could tell I had only half power. So I turned the car off right in the driveway, waited 2 minutes, and turned it on again. This time it was working fine and I drove to my friend’s house.
I live on the coast and the temperature has not been below 50. The temp does not seem to be a factor. I have put more diesel in the tank, so the percentage is about 50-50. This is not something I intend to do for the future, however.
It has been driving fine since the third incident, and I hope this mystery gets cleared up!
The customer has used a mix of fuels, including from my company.
With the older TDIs, when all else failed, we could open the top of the fuel pump and see what there is to see. I don't know if that's possible with these newer ones. I will be very grateful for any guidance.
-Kumar