CEL and flashing glowplug lights with VAGCOM codes showing up on a 1Z

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
HI All,

I have a flashing lights on this new-to-me 1996 Grey Passat wagon, and could use some pointers.

Back story:

I'm still looking for the "perfect" replacement motor for the 1.6TD currently in the PHOENIX (my 1982 Vanagon diesel Westy).
I'm planning on a 1Z/AHU... hopefully to be an E-TDI, and have purchased TWO 1Z powered vehicles recently, looking for the "right" one.

I'm NOT tearing apart the nice 1998 A3 I acquired off of this site from Georgia (long story) and I MIGHT use the 1Z motor in the B4V i just rescued from a junkyard in PA that another club member had to get rid of quickly.

Long story short, this B4V runs, albeit anemically, and now that I got a cable to read my VAGCOM, I'm finding the codes showing are these:


Two Faults Found:

00542-Needle lift sensor (G80)
05-00 input open

00310-CAT Temperature Sensor 1 (G20)
30-00 - Open or Short to Plus


Can someone please let me know what I should look for in order to correct these?

thanks again for all your help, and patience in this project!
regards,
Steve
 

garciapiano

Veteran Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2018
Location
Southern California
TDI
1997 Jetta TDI (1Z)
Flashing GP light is likely related to the needle lift sensor which is a wire that comes off the #3 injector. Check that it is not broken and is plugged into the harness to the right of the head. If the wire looks OK there may be corrosion in the harness plug or a damaged wire further down, or the sensor in the injector is bad, unlikely but entirely possible.
 
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ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Philosopher, has a very recent thread with a bad #3. Still, check the easy stuff, first.

-Todd
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
I have looked at that wire, and it appears good. I’ll disconnect it and look at the connector and see if there’s any corrosion.
Thanks again for all your help
Steve
 

Phi1osopher

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2019
Location
Austin, TX
TDI
'96 B4V TDI Passat Wagon
HERE is my post with a similar problem. I needed to replace the #3 injector and ended up replacing them and using it as an excuse to do some long wanted performance upgrades.

I'd start by unplugging the #3 injector and check resistance across the plug's two pins. This is very easy. If I remember correctly you want between 90 - 110 ohms. Mine was intermittently around 190ohms.
It seems common for these older high-mileage cars to have the #3 injector sensor to fail, or to have some of the wiring short out. You can chase the wires pretty easily to the ECU, where you can test the wiring at pins pins #11 (grey wire) & #12 (blue wire).

The #3 injector is part number 028130201R, and it's available on eBay for around $400.... or buy a full rebuilt set of injectors for around $200. (the rebuild does not affect this sensor, so rebuilt injectors will have old sensors in them.) When shopping note several models share this injector, but look carefully at the plug to ensure it is the same.

Good luck!
 

burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
Is your other b4 a 96?
If not, you may be able to swap ecus to see if the newer ecu ignores all the 5th injector stuff. I’m not 100% sure if that code would cause limp mode but I’m expecting that it will. You might even be able to swap in the ecu from the a3.
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
On a 96 you'll have to take a look at the ECU to know what you have and know whether it's been through the recall or not. If it's the BK (black case) then it didn't get through recall and it didn't get the GQ ecu. It still should be able to communicate with VCDS though.

If it is a 96 it won't support the later FA ecu or any of the Mk3 ECU's, ED or JB, like burn_your_money said.

Steve
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
hi All,

Sorry, life got busy... I'll do these tests when I get a bit more time. I did pick up my extra set of injectors,and I know the #3 is good, so if all else fails, I can put that one in the motor and check it that way.
thanks again everyone!
regards,
Steve
 

burn_your_money

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2012
Location
Missouri
TDI
99 Beetle, 96 B4V, 05 Passat wagon
If it is a 96 it won't support the later FA ecu or any of the Mk3 ECU's, ED or JB, like burn_your_money said.

Steve
What is the 96 missing that won’t allow it to run with the later ecu? I know the 96 has all the extra 5th injector stuff. Wouldn’t the newer ecu just ignore those inputs? Or is it a physical difference with the harness?
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
What is the 96 missing that won’t allow it to run with the later ecu? I know the 96 has all the extra 5th injector stuff. Wouldn’t the newer ecu just ignore those inputs? Or is it a physical difference with the harness?
The wiring for a few bits is different. Lug_nut posted up about it ages ago, I cut-n-pasted to a file so I'd have it all for reference. I will see if I can find that...brb.

I should have kept the links for all the good information he posted up:

Lug_nut 09/06/2014 *******

"The BK, ED, FA GQ, and JB cars ALL have only two wire glow plug harnesses. The monitoring is in the glow plug relay. The BK and GQ use a four pin relay, the others a seven pin relay. The BK and GQ are programmed, and the harness is wired, to use pin 30 as a ground for the quantity adjuster. The ED, FA and JB are programmed, and the harnesses are wired, to use the pin 30 as a connector for the 7 pin glow plug relay. By using an incorrect program chip set AND WIRING combination, you can affect both the glow plug check circuit and the pump control."
I think the above was it regarding the wiring conflict, but there could be more differences...I do recall the early GP were wired in pulling voltage from a different spot on the fuse box also.

Steve
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
Hi all,

I had a LOOOoong day... I drove this wagon 210 miles, starting at 5am, ending now! I had errands in MD DC and VA, both in stop and go and high speed traffic.

Unfortunately, I hit some road debris, and my catalytic converter ripped out! So, now I'm listening to the turbo whine( not really a bad sound, and not very loud, either!)

I replaced the #3 injector with an extra I had, and the flashing glow plug light magically went away. Yea! (and thanks everyone!!!!) I didn't have a chance to put the VAGCOM back on it, so don't know why the check engine light is still staying on (this is different than the flashing glow plug light).

I'll update again when I have the VAGCOM code list.

thanks again all!

Regards,
Steve
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
lol

OK Steve... sold!

you take paypal or venmo?
 

Steve Addy

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2002
Location
Iowa
TDI
97 Mk3
The CEL will not go off for certain errors...you may still have error codes or you may just need to have the codes removed, but it's wise to take a look at what's there and get rid of it.

Sorry to hear about your catalyst, did you manage to get it pulled up or did you lose it completely?

Steve
 

tbones

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 22, 2005
Location
Annapolis, Maryland
TDI
1996 Passat wagon tdi, 1991 Corrado TDI (sold)1983 Vanagon 7pass.GL 1.6td 1982 Westy;THE PHOENIX 1.6na(NOW JX/5speed) my partner's 2014 Jetta Sportwagon 6spd manual AND MY NEW TOY/PROJECT... Sunny, a bright yellow 87 syncro Westy with 1Z TDI motor
I had to yank it out from under the vehicle... ripped at the flex coupling, and big gash in the cat itself.

I'll hook up the computer and see what code(s) are showing tomorrow...

thanks again!
Steve
 

ToddA1

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 3, 2011
Location
NJ 08002
TDI
'96 B4V, '97 B4 (sold), '97 Jetta (scrapped)
Scrap that cat. A few months ago, I took 2 (same) TDI cats to the same yard, 1 week apart. The first one fetched $350. The second fetched $375.

-Todd
 

JamesBa

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2006
Location
Maryland
TDI
GOLF '02
My 2002 Golf is having a similar problem. CEL code P1246 - Injector Needle Lift Sensor. Do I need to replace the #3 injector to correct the problem? The car is not misfiring. However, it doesn't have the normal pick up as before.
 
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