How to: solve the 04 BEW hard starts and 16705 G28 fault code.

This TSB will fix the 04 BEW hard start issue. I was getting a "16705 - Engine Speed Sensor (G28): Implausible Signal" code almost all the time. I would clear it and it would come right back within a day or so. I was also getting a large cloud of smoke when starting when cold along with a rough running engine that would smooth out after a minuit or so. During a really wet period it got REALLY bad and threw a P0321 OBD code with a CEL. Tried replacing the crank sensor and battery, but neither did anything to fix it and both was a waste of time and money.

I got talking to oilhammer and he mentioned there was a TSB on it.Thanks to him, he sent me a TSB that VW released years ago to fix this issue. I'll write down exactly how to perform it and solve that issue for good.

Please note it states that this TSB only works with the newer software. If you are running original software from 2004, then it probably will not work but I can't say for sure since I did not try it. The TSB says its ONLY valid on vehicles with Software level below 6327 so make your own judgments there.

OK, lets get started. You will need:

1. Heat shrink butt crimps.(available at most hardware stores.) You want the RED 18-22AWG ones. DO NOT use the blue ones. They are too big and won't seal properly.

2.Friction electrical tape to rewrap the harness and make it look close to factory as possible. Most hardware stores have that as well.

3. Utility knife to cut open the harness.

4. Wire stripper/crimper tool. Proper one please, DO NOT use pliers.

5. Heat source to shrink the connectors.

6. A 000 979 009 repair wire. These are the same as the cluster terminals.

To start, disconnect the negative battery terminal, and remove the wipers and cowel. I assume you know how to do this. If you don't know how to do that, you probably shouldn't doing this TSB....

Locate the left most connector going to the ECU. It should be a 60 pin connector:



Unplug it, and pull it toward the drivers side of the car to make working on it easier. Cut the zip tie and remove the cover so it looks like so:


Now take your utility knife and start trimming back the cloth covering on the harness. BE CAREFUL!!!! DO NOT cut too deep and cut into the wires!!!

When you are done, it should look like this:


Locate this connection. There should be a black wire coming from pin 43 in the 60 pin connector. (T60/43) going to a black wire and white wire that goes to the G28 crank sensor:



Take your knife and slice the heat shrink down the middle, and then heat it up. It should peal right off the wire leaving the connection perfectly. Be careful you don't start ripping the wire insulation off...like I did....




Now separate the wires by pulling them apart. They are just pressed together:




Now, take some brake cleaner and clean the goo that is all over the copper wire. If you don't, it will not make a proper connection. If you have extra wire you can always just trim it back a bit and re strip the wire.

Put a butt connector between the black wire coming from T60/43 to the white wire coming from the G28 crank sensor. Crimp the connector and it should look like so:



Next, remove the secondary barrier from the 60 pin connector(forgot to take a pic of that) and remove the plug form spot 57 in the 60 pin connector:



And insert the 000 979 009 repair wire(or equivalent) into the hole. It only fits one way so make sure you check you are putting it in correctly. In case you are wondering, there is no seal there. The seal is built into the plug. You can see the rubber if you look down into the connector. Took me a while to figure that one out....



Tug on the wire to make sure its fully seated!


To be continued...

Run that repair wire to the black wire coming from the G28 speed sensor. Install a butt crimp there like so:



It should now look like this with both connections crimped:




Now put the heat to both butt connectors and shrink them down nice and tight:



Now take the cloth friction tape, and recover the wires so it looks almost factory:



Reinstall the connector wire cover, put on a new zip tie, and make sure the secondary barrier is in the locked position.

Put the plug back on the ECU:



Reconnect the battery terminal and start the car to make sure everything is good. If the car starts, put the wiper cowel and wipers back together.

Now all is left is to enjoy a instantly starting 04 BEW. Mine fires up at the touch of a key hot or cold. Also, it used to make a HUGE cloud of smoke which is much reduced(makes a small cloud but nothing like before). Huge difference when performing this TSB.

Hope it helps somebody out there. Put a lot of time into making this how to!

Also a big thanks to Oilhammer for providing me the VW TSB!

Awesome!!

Nice! I was aware of a TSB that makes use of an extra ground wire installation for long cranking time and/or stumbling when starting and it was tedious reading. Is this the same TSB? You make this look so simple I just may have to try it. I do not have difficult or long starts, but at anything below 40 degrees F out, my PD white smokes ALOT for about 10 seconds. The colder it is, the worse it is. At 20 degrees it will completely smoke out the neighbor's yard. Starts right up (but falters some) when it does this, Always did this from day one (bought it brand new). Still have the ceramic GPs and I thought it was either an injector or GP or programming issue that the VW engineers did not get quite right. I am wondering if performing this fix will help that.

--Nate

I believe so. Pretty sure it might be an updated verison though. I think it adds a ground to the ECU. That was the extra wire I put in. This TSB will NOT work with the stock programming. It states that quite clearly. You'll need the latest glow plug recall for it to work which I already had. Maybe rocketchip would do the programming for you?

Mine was putting out some pretty big smoke clouds in the morning. The NGKs helped some, the newest recall helped some, and now the TSB seemed to totally eliminate it.

Excellent write-up. The software on my ECU shows 6110; is this considered below level 6327? I never had the GP reflash performed on my Golf.

JB05 said:

Excellent write-up. The software on my ECU shows 6110; is this considered below level 6327? I never had the GP reflash performed on my Golf.

Click to expand...

I would assume so. This TSB only supposed to apply to 04 cars though.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, it's going to be very helpful for 04 owners!

Yes, excellent write up on this!

Just want to update and say this TSB has been epic sucess so far! I swear, it has more power now. My BEW was always kinda peppy but now it goes like a bat out of hell on the interstate. Gave it a good workout and ran it down to redline a few times with foot to the floor driving. Still managed to pull off 45mpg with the AC on!

Fires up at the touch of a key, hot or cold. No more rough running smokey cold starts either.

These BEWs are underrated IMO. They just have a few bugs that need to be ironed out.

Man, I think I need to start doing these on BEWs! Sounds like it has some extra benefits!!! I kinda brushed the whole deal off as one of those countless TSBs that may or may not do a thing, but it sounds like I should have paid this one better attention.

Always wondered why the BHWs hit right off, and BEWs usually need some cranking.

turbocharged798 said:

Just want to update and say this TSB has been epic sucess so far! I swear, it has more power now. My BEW was always kinda peppy but now it goes like a bat out of hell on the interstate. Gave it a good workout and ran it down to redline a few times with foot to the floor driving. Still managed to pull off 45mpg with the AC on!

Fires up at the touch of a key, hot or cold. No more rough running smokey cold starts either.

These BEWs are underrated IMO. They just have a few bugs that need to be ironed out.

Click to expand...

Did you happen to get the latest BEW 7v gp fix update (ecu pn# 038 997 016R)? This upgrade provides the same benefits you describe!

Jeff ;-)

would it work on my A4 2005 PD?

Hi,

I have an A4 2005 PD and my question is if this TSB would work on it. I just had the glow plug recall done. Thank you,

narcis

bibiski said:

Hi,

I have an A4 2005 PD and my question is if this TSB would work on it. I just had the glow plug recall done. Thank you,

narcis

Click to expand...

It should although the TSB seems to state that it applies to 04 cars only.

jsrmonster said:

Did you happen to get the latest BEW 7v gp fix update (ecu pn# 038 997 016R)? This upgrade provides the same benefits you describe!

Jeff ;-)

Click to expand...

I did do the latest recall and it actually made the starting WORSE! I think it was because it was designed to work along with the TSB.

subscribing....

Wondering if my RC1+ that I got 3-4 yrs ago included the necessary software to allow this TSB. How can we check with VCDS?

Great write up, considering the fix myself. Just did the 3 blinks to pass module, so I figure this should be the same difficulty level.

turbocharged798 said:

Just want to update and say this TSB has been epic sucess so far! I swear, it has more power now. My BEW was always kinda peppy but now it goes like a bat out of hell on the interstate. Gave it a good workout and ran it down to redline a few times with foot to the floor driving. Still managed to pull off 45mpg with the AC on!
Fires up at the touch of a key, hot or cold. No more rough running smokey cold starts either.
These BEWs are underrated IMO. They just have a few bugs that need to be ironed out.

Click to expand...

jsrmonster said:

Did you happen to get the latest BEW 7v gp fix update (ecu pn# 038 997 016R)? This upgrade provides the same benefits you describe!Jeff ;-)

Click to expand...

andreigbs said:

Wondering if my RC1+ that I got 3-4 yrs ago included the necessary software to allow this TSB. How can we check with VCDS?

Click to expand...

+1 (?) Wondering as well ... RC1+, et al.

You'll have to ask Jeff if RC1+ is compatible with this TSB.

turbocharged798 said:

You'll have to ask Jeff if RC1+ is compatible with this TSB.

Click to expand...

Howdy Jeff

... when one has an RC1+ AND the RC glowplug update, does this "solve the 04 BEW hard starts and 16705 G28 fault code," issue

cheers!

turbocharged798 said:

Just want to update and say this TSB has been epic sucess so far! I swear, it has more power now. My BEW was always kinda peppy but now it goes like a bat out of hell on the interstate. Gave it a good workout and ran it down to redline a few times with foot to the floor driving. Still managed to pull off 45mpg with the AC on!
Fires up at the touch of a key, hot or cold. No more rough running smokey cold starts either.
These BEWs are underrated IMO. They just have a few bugs that need to be ironed out.

Click to expand...

jsrmonster said:

Did you happen to get the latest BEW 7v gp fix update (ecu pn# 038 997 016R)? This upgrade provides the same benefits you describe!Jeff ;-)

Click to expand...

andreigbs said:

Wondering if my RC1+ that I got 3-4 yrs ago included the necessary software to allow this TSB. How can we check with VCDS?

Click to expand...

+1 (?) Wondering as well ... RC1+, et al.

This may be my solution.. my 04 BEW smokes very bad in colder temps/starts rough. PM'ing now. and THANK you for this!

I'm getting ready to do this TSB. I have RC 2 that Jeff installed about four years ago and I am wondering too if its compatible with the TSB. If its not, and the TSB does not improve my cold smoky starts, that's OK, I just do not want to fry my ECU by connecting one of the crank sensor wires to terminal 57/60 of the ECU, per the TSB. What is terminal 57/60 anyways? Bentley does not list it on the ECU since its originally unused.

--Nate

PDJetta said:

I'm getting ready to do this TSB. I have RC 2 that Jeff installed about four years ago and I am wondering too if its compatible with the TSB. If its not, and the TSB does not improve my cold smoky starts, that's OK, I just do not want to fry my ECU by connecting one of the crank sensor wires to terminal 57/60 of the ECU, per the TSB. What is terminal 57/60 anyways? Bentley does not list it on the ECU since its originally unused.

--Nate

Click to expand...

I think Pin 57 might just be a ground or something. Not sure, but I doubt you will fry your ECU. Probably the worst that can happen is that the engine just won't start.

I would CALL Jeff and ask him personally if his tunes are compatible with this TSB.

OK, I just performed the TSB. These are the things I had difficulty with (surprising, but getting the plastic cowel off was not one of them):

Removing the plastic cover on the backside of the ECU plug. It appears something locks it from sliding off the plug. I ended up pushing on it as hard as I could and it flew off, I cut my finger and the cover landed on the skid plate.

Getting the gummy cloth covering off the wiring harness. I thought I'd be slick and slice it using a pair of nail scissors. I sliced right through two wires as well. I ended up pulling the covering off with my fingers.

There was no way I could cut through and remove the thick plastic covering (tube) encasing the crank sensor wire splice. I just cut it out and added a 2-inch piece of wire for the needed length on the non-repair wire connection.

I suppose I got the repair wire seated in the plug. It never locked into place, but after the secondary barrier was installed the wire was secure.

I made connections by soldering and then applying heat shrink tubing, followed by a short strip of electrical tape wrapped around the heat shrink tubing, since the solder joints were sharp in places.

After performing the TSB I noticed no difference when I started my car. It always starts fast, but white smokes at under 40 degrees. It was not cold enough for the smoke test. I'll report back after I test the cold start.

--Nate

Wow..my plastic plug came right off. Not sure you had so much trouble.

That's why I said you NEED to be careful when stripping back the harness wrapping. Very easy to cut wires like you just found out.Taking your time goes without saying.

I think your smoke is due to software and not hardware. At least your wiring is updated for it though.

And after I slid the harness cover back on, it would not budge again to come back off. There must be some sort of friction lock on it.

I do really appreciate you taking all the pictures and the write-up on how to perform this TSB. It was really helpful. You got some really good detail on the ECU plug pictures. I had no idea the wiring was so small. Thanks again.

I really don't think my Jetta had a bad speed sensor ground issue. I think its either the software coding, like you said, or the injectors. I do believe that about six months after the BEW was introduced, VW went to a different injector part number to help with cold starting. There is another TSB where if the ground wire installation TSB failed to produce better cold weather starts, then the injectors, glow plugs (to the NGK ceramics, part number ending in "08" (which are the slightly longer ones that were superceded with the NGKs w/ part number ending in "09")), GP controller were replaced and a software update performed. This cost VW about $3000 per car!.

--Nate

Mine still smokes a bit on a cold start but goes away quick. Enough to make a small cloud. I am not touching the injectors though. At least I am not cranking it for 5 continuous seconds to get it to start.

Mines an early BEW too, 10/03 build date. No idea what injectors are in it. Don't plan of finding out either.

Last I heard VW was no longer giving out the new injectors with the glow plug recall.

Yes, mine always fires right up, just white smokes (unburned fuel vapor) bad under 40 degrees.

--Nate

Thanks for this post. I've had trouble with wet weather starts for years. Dry days even cold ones no trouble. Plug update was done in Jan. with no improvement. I read on another site this my solve the problem. If the wire added is only a ground I wonder if it could just be attached to the external ground post?

Finally got around to doing this for mine, I had to work all weekend so that screwed my initial plan. The repair wire I got was a 000 979 009 E, and mine didnt want to clip in fully either, but as noted previously, it was nice and secure after the lock went in place. First start was still smokey, no better or worse than other cold starts. Ill have to wait for a wet day to see if it took care of my hard start. It sometimes takes 3-4 tries to get it to start on a wet day. For those of you that still want to try this TSB, if you remove the pollen filter cover you can reach the plug without pulling the cowl off. If you are more afraid of wrestling with your wipers and the seating lip for the cowl than you are of a few scrapes on your arm, this method works pretty well. Fingers crossed for no more codes and hard starts!