The CEL that won't go away

[trae]

The CEL that won\'t go away

I have a '97 Passat Tdi sedan and posted on this previously--however then I thought my indie mechanic had it fixed. Guess what? It keeps coming back.

Sedan had a CEL. Local mechanic replaced glow plug sensor and stated CEL due to a faulty electrical connection. They cleaned a bunch of connections. Light off a couple days but then went back on--they checked it out--insisted again it gave them a code for a faulty electrical connection to the alternator. They cleaned off a bunch of connections again, reset CEL, light off a couple days and now back on again. Anyone know what gives? Car seems to run fine although more diesel clatter than my '96 wagon recently purchased from Harview. She smokes a lot at startup but then it's been mighty chilly in our fair City lately.

Tom

 

[GoFaster]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

There is no "glow plug sensor". There is a RELAY, and the wiring harness, and the glow plugs themselves. No sensor!!!

Pull the harness off the glow plugs yourself (it's easy), get a multimeter and measure the resistance of each glow plug. They should be in the 0.5 to 1.0 ohm range and they should all be the same. If one is out of range, replace one or possibly all depending on how old they are. If none are found to be faulty, replace the harness.

All this is in the TDIFAQ.

 

[trae]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

Duh relay it is, right there on the invoice, brain no work. Thanks GoFaster.

 

[weedeater]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

Proposed solution: go to HomeDepot. Buy a roll of black electical tape. Cut a square piece of tape. Place over offending CEL. Drive happily.

 

[Nutsnbolts]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

Anybody in your area have a Vag-com to check it out with? It does sound like a harness issue...

-Rich

[ February 10, 2003, 13:14: Message edited by: Nutsnbolts ]

 

[weedeater]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

In Chicago area there is required emissions testing and from my experience you automatically fail the test if you have a CEL.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I can see it now: "Sir, you failed your emissions inspection because your left rear brake light doesn't work."

 

[Oberkanone]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

Proposed solution: go to HomeDepot. Buy a roll of black electical tape. Cut a square piece of tape. Place over offending CEL. Drive happily.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">That solution may work some places. In Chicago area there is required emissions testing and from my experience you automatically fail the test if you have a CEL. Even if you have a diesel and there is only a visual examination of exhaust or exempt status. Depends on where you live.

 

[trae]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

LOL

i hope to head to Joliet this Sat to a GTG with other diesel types with Vag-Com and greater knowledge and brains. If it is the harness, which I suspect as she got all new glowplugs in March, 8000 miles ago, any idea how much $$$ I'm looking at?

 

[MOGolf]

Re: The CEL that won\'t go away

The harness is about $30 (plus shipping) from a mail-order company. You'd need a couple of wiring connectors too.