No power at low rpm!

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
I have no power @ low rpm but it kicks in hard @ about 2300rpm in any gear.
First I suspected the intake at 140,000mi. Amazingly the intake looks good!
Changed the fuel filter, oil and filter, air filter and cleaned EGR and snow screen, no change.
If I unplug the MAF I get low but even power through the rpm's. Can a MAF cause power loss only @ low RPM? Maby turbo? I try to give it a good workout at least once a week but its my wifes car. It sounds like it is working fine, but I can hear faint turbo whine at idle. Is the turbo suppose to turn @ idle? Can't recall if it did that before. This all started happening after a long road trip.
 

andreigbs

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2004
Location
Walworth Co., Wisconsin
TDI
N/A
you need to hook up with someone that has VAG-com and can do some runs and logs and output tests to determine what's going on. use the link at the top of the page to find the closest person to where you're located.
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
Could a bad N75 cause power loss at low RPM's?
I have never read of anyone having power loss at low RPM's,
just lots of people with power loss at high RPM's.
Anyone have these symptoms?:confused:
 

eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
Funky things can happen with both the MAF and N75. I think you've hit the most likely culprits by yourself. I would replace in that order.
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
We've had the car for about 5yrs. got it at about 67,000mi.
It's now at about 140,000mi. totally stock and has been rock solid and reliable.
 

snapdragon

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2006
Location
UK
TDI
02 Passat 2.5 TDi Auto Variant
The N75 will fail with low boost, it's failsafe.
Pull the vacuum pipe off the turbo and plug it with a bolt or something and go for a drive and see if the car is any different.
Also, put the pipe back on the turbo, and pull the other end of the same pipe off the N75, and suck as hard as you can as though you are sucking a very cold thick shake that is like ice cream, and see if it will hold vacuum, or just sucks air through. If you can suck and hold a strong vacuum, the actuator is probably OK< even better if you can see it moving.
So suspect something further up the vacuum system such as N75, split pipe, faulty non-return valve (pull these off and check with your mouth air should suck one way but not the other), or vacuum pump.
 

eb2143

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Location
Rhode Island
TDI
None
I'd still replace MAF before trouble shooting N75/Vacuum System unless you don't feel like taking a chance on $70 or whatever it is from tdiparts.
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
Thanks, I ordered a new MAF from MetalMan.
I'll try that first, as it wouldn't hurt to have a back up if it's still O.K.
I think a Mity Vac would probably be a pretty good investment also!
 

deezelpower

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 18, 2004
Location
Martha Lake, WA
TDI
2004 Jetta TDI, 2015 Audi Q7 TDI
Canadian_Grizzly said:
Doesn't sound the N75 as this controls turbo after its kicked in...how long have you had the car? The turbo only starts to work after 2300 or so.
Sure about that? I'd always thought the turbo worked very hard (almost too hard) in lower RPM's. On mine the boost kicks in 1300-1400, and pulls hard at 1800+
 

FlyTDI Guy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Nov 3, 2001
Location
PNW
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS
Or... you can simply unplug the MAF to see if the syndrome goes away before ordering one. My money is on the MAF gone south. MAF'less will net low power but the lumpy response should go away...
 

rhinoman

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Location
Ottawa, ON
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS TDI
Saw similar symptoms where I had boost in low rpms, but nothing at high revs... actuator was rusted out, and MAF was bad.

Rhino
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
That doesn't really sound similar to my symptoms.
It actually sounds opposite.
I can hear faint whine at idle(maby losing vacuum?)
But don't seem to have any boost until higher RPM's.
I do suspect the actuator though.:)

Unplugging the MAF does seem to give smooth acceleration, but very low power, much less than it has now.

-Thanks
 

rhinoman

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Location
Ottawa, ON
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS TDI
If you don't have a mightvac, disconnect the vacuum line from the N75, and as suggested by others, try blowing on it to see if it holds air... in my case there was no chance due to the gaping hole in the actuator :D
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
You can use some non chlor brake cleaner... it's literally the same exact thing...

Why non chlor? It doesn't leave a residue...

My personal place for non chlor is wally world (wal mart)
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
Hey Thanks for the tip.
I'm off to Wally World after work tomarrow!:D
Hope it does the trick, won't hurt to try!
 

DCELL

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2002
Location
Sheridan, IN
TDI
'01 GOLF 2DR, ‘15 Passat SEL TDI
I am in a similar situation. I started getting really low power (not at high or low rpms, just no power!) a few weeks ago, but no CEL. I've been through the MAF situation before, so I assumed that's what is was and I ordered one. That wasn't it, and I got a CEL about a week and a half ago. I don't have a vagcom, but obdII read 1556, so I started going through everything. I replaced most of the vacum lines , and ordered a new n75 as a last resort. I put the n75 in today and I get nothing different. For a while, the problem was intermittent, so I'm pretty sure the turbo is still good (when it works, it WORKS!) but I suspect the actuator is stuck or not working properly.
HERES MY QUESTION: How much force should it take to push the actuator mechanism? If I work it manually, I really have to push to get it to move, so much so that a push or two hurts my thumb. It seems to be in the "up" position, and when I push, I can force it downward toward the floor (it is springy, like pushing a very stiff button) . Is this the way it should operate? it seems like it should be a little easier to move manually, but that's why I'm asking you guys! I've read so much on here the last few days that leads me to believe I'm at least following the correct path. Maybe someone will tell me that the turbo is fubar so I can upgrade to a vnt17??
 

rhinoman

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2007
Location
Ottawa, ON
TDI
'01 Jetta GLS TDI
From what I understand, it should require a bit of pressure by hand (when connected), but should move well and freely with vacuum. Play should be around an inch ?


Get yourself a mightvac, connect to the actuator (or vacuum line from N75)
and see whether it will easily move.
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
Power Problem Solved!

Doc_M helped me do my timing belt last weekend and now I have more power than I've ever had! I don't know if it was because my timing was very advanced, or if it was the huge amount of oil that came out of the plastic down pipe to the intercooler, or both! I didn't even use my new MAF. I'll save that for the "some day"!
Thanks for all the input!:)
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
We took out the pipe and set it down and this is what came out a few minutes later. This is only about half of what was in the pipe!:eek:
I guess it's time to clean out the intercooler!
 

kilimats

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2007
Location
Vancouver, BC
TDI
2005 Wagon TDI
my car seems to have that exact problem, i guess we can have a quick look at the GTG this Oct 20th

see you there
 

alphaseinor

TDI Innovator, Gone but Not Forgotten
Joined
Jul 30, 2006
Location
Denton, TX
TDI
'03 Jetta TDI 780,000 miles (totaled out), 01 Audi TT 225 Quattro 230,000 Miles (runs great!), 00 Cabreetle Beetle dash, ALH & MK4 harness Swap
looks like a 1999.5 LIC Pipe.... and it looks like it has a gasket leak...
 

TDIJetta99

Top Post Dawg
Joined
May 17, 2005
Location
Port Jervis, New York, USA
TDI
03... Faster than yours =]
alphaseinor said:
looks like a 1999.5 LIC Pipe.... and it looks like it has a gasket leak...
I did a 2000 that had that IC pipe last week... My 99.5 doesn't have it.. It also doesn't have the spring lock disconnect on the one side either... Just a spring clamp.. So far the only ones I've seen without the spring lock thingy are the 99.5's.. Only seen a few of that funky pipe in the pic and they were all Golfs actually. One of them without the spring lock and it was a 99.5. I don't think I've seen a Jetta with that thing yet..
 
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Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
chromeBuddha said:
Looks like he isn't hitting 4K RPM often enough for long enough...

I was going to suggest checking for a clogged intake.
This is true, since it is actually my wife's car. I drive it once or twice a week and try to give it a good workout:D (severity of the workout depends on whether or not she is in the car!):rolleyes: Even still, I very rarely hit 4,000! If I do hit 4k it's just long enough to shift to the next gear.
With the timing that advanced it really had a hard time at high revs.
It revs much easier now!:)
Could it really be O.K. to keep it at 4k for any length of time?

Amazingly, the intake wasn't that bad but I cleaned it anyway.
 

Rydogx13

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2007
Location
Bellingham WA
TDI
99.5 Golf TDI
alphaseinor said:
looks like a 1999.5 LIC Pipe.... and it looks like it has a gasket leak...
Yup, 99.5 Golf-
What gasket? Is it cheap/easy to replace?
Im now getting a seal leak (kind of a whistle) sound on hard accel.
could that be from this gasket leak?
 

peteguenther

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 24, 2017
Location
vermont
TDI
2003 Jetta
Hey I’m having the same issue vert sporadically. I see this was a while ago. Did the new MAF fix it?
 
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