Still having intermittent stalling and "power resistance"

[dgoldsmith]

Sorry for the vague terminology--I can't think of how else to describe how the car feels when I drive it, except: it kind of feels like it's having to work too hard to get the engine to run. My latest hypothesis: if the exhaust flow is partially clogged somewhere, I assume the back-pressure would make the engine have to work harder than usual to attain the same power, but might this also explain the occasional stalling/"cycle skipping"?

Previous related thread: http://forums.tdiclub.com/showpost.php?p=5531560&postcount=1

Thanks!

 

[mextdi]

You are probably suffering from a couple of different issues. Yes, diesels are extremely picky and temperamental about the fuel you put in and its quality. Having a clogged filter will definitely kill performance. You want to start with the simple things and see where they take you. Have you checked your car for codes with a Vagcom or specialized scan tool? You could be having some issues that it is already telling you to fix. Before you start replacing more and more expensive and complicated things, if you don't have access to a scanner then a good thorough service might help remedy a few of the symptoms.

Forgot to add that yes, our TDIs have a fuel filter in the engine bay, passenger side by the headlight, round canister. Before buying a new filter verify if you have an older style filter or newer one, easy to check....

 

[Mach1]

Anytime I am trying to do some serious troubleshooting I start with the maintenance and filters. Before TS please replace air filter and diesel fuel filter, then while you are under there give the intake tract/piping a once over visual.

An intake leak can cause stalls/surges. A clogged convertor can cause what you describe.

However..Take the easy/lazy/least economic way out and change filters first.

This usually solves 90% of the problems. FF can 'hold' the engine back feeling and lost of power.

If this is good, I will help you TS the rest.

Mine right now feels this way, I know I have a serious exhaust leak from the EGR cooler shaft, which I am loosing drive pressure to the turbo and loosing boost, which gives me the feeling something is holding the car back from accelerating. You might check this if you don't have the mod or bought an EGR cooler lately.

 

[dgoldsmith]

I replaced the air filter less than 5000mi ago (and have checked it repeatedly throughout working this problem), and the fuel filter less than 500mi. ago (if you visit my other recent threads you'll see that I've been struggling w/ this for a while).
I redid the tank pump test and got zero flow, so that's clearly suspect #1 at this point; just to be sure, I checked the voltage across these slots:

[Pic of tank pump electrical relay--indicating slots across which I measured 2.24V--supposed to be here, but it's not appearing in my gallery after reportedly uploading it successfully, so: the wide slot closest to the round side of the relay and the middle, narrow slot]

and got 2.24V: can anyone confirm that that's what it should be? Thanks!