Zip tie mod how to?

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I've been trying to find a how-to on the zip tie mod, I guess there used to be one on myturbodiesel, but it appears to be gone. I've used the search function both here and with regular old Google and I find a lot of people talking about it, but no how-to. My main question is how much vacuum to use. I kinda get the jist of the rest of how it works and all.

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6790 using Tapatalk
 

dae06

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Location
Rushford, Minnesota
TDI
Jetta 2005.5 1.9
I've been using this mod for 4-5 years now. Every once in a while the zip tie breaks and I need to redo it.

Good luck, it's really not too tough once you do it.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
I've been using this mod for 4-5 years now. Every once in a while the zip tie breaks and I need to redo it.

Good luck, it's really not too tough once you do it.
How much vacuum did you apply before installing the zip tie?

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6790 using Tapatalk
 

dae06

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Location
Rushford, Minnesota
TDI
Jetta 2005.5 1.9
It was a trial and error process. When I finally got it tuned in, I ended up using 11" (I believe) zip ties and used 3 clicks on the zip tie.

For some reason I don't recall needing the vacuum pump (its been a while since I did this), I think the actuator is up until vacuum is applied and then lowers and this is when the zip tie limits the actuator from going too far.

After knowing the correct length of zip tie needed, I sized my zip tie, squeezed the zip tie to make it long and flat and pointed to push down and lassoed the actuator on the turbo from the engine compartment and hooked the other part of the zip tie over the vacuum port as shown in TDI73's first picture. (his zip tie mod was done with the turbo off, so he didn't need to form (squeeze) the zip tie to lasso the actuator)

I hope this makes sense. It still takes a little patience to get it hooked, but really isn't too tough.

I can definitely tell when the zip tie breaks, I lose power at take off and produce black smoke.

I hope this helps
 

prsa01

Veteran Member
Joined
Aug 16, 2000
Location
mpls,mn usa
TDI
14 jsw 6m, 96 B4v, miss my a4 :(
FWIW - because I had read of people's zip-ties breaking and it was easier for me to get around the actuator I ended up using fairly heavy stiff wire. Got it the shape needed to loop around and back up.

I didn't have a vacuum pump available so just forced the actuator fully extended and then sized the wire to shorten its extension by ~ 3/8 inch. If that amount didn't do the trick I would have adjusted more.

Apparently I hit close enough. It ran great that way for the 2 years I owned it.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
Is there any way to do this mod if you do not own a VCDS? It looks like theres some testing involved that requires it... sounds like I've answered my own question but wondering if anything has changed/ evolved over the last 5 years
 

pedroYUL

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Sep 8, 2011
Location
MI, USA
TDI
2015 Passat CVCA; 2015 GSW CRUA; 2012 wagon CJAA; 2004 wagon BEW(brother)
Yup like Rx says.

Put a zip tie, too short, the car will be a dog. Too long, it will overboost and fault out with probably limp as a result
 

MrCypherr

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 3, 2012
Location
Ontario
TDI
Mk6 Wagon
Now this is the first time I am hearing about this but what would be the purpose for this.
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Funny thing, ai remember making this post to fix my car, but I never updated with the results.
It worked for me, I used wire instead of a zip tie and it was like driving a whole new car. I had gotten used to the delay in acceleration and didn't think much of it.
Sadly a few weeks after doing this fix, I hit a deer with that car, then found the 30k mile cam was worn out and ended up trading it for a 2005 f150 heritage.
That was when I learned how important 505.01 spec oil was, and a lot of things like that.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
I think as the weather gets warmer I will finally get around to this, I have a feeling my car will benefit from this. Since mine will be trial and error I think I will use the plastic zip ties until I find the right length, then I will replace it with a metal one.
 

Rx7145

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2017
Location
Ohio
TDI
2006 Jetta BRM
Wire might work better because you can untwist it to fine tune adjust it.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
Attempting to do this and am already having a newbie issue as this is the first time I've ever used VCDS.

I dont know if my version is different than the one used in the How-To. (11.11.4 VS 24.7.1). The path must be different, I was able to find an option to LOG "Charge Pressure" but there was no TEST-option.

(The Instructions, according to the link on Post #2)
Plug in VCDS and enter engine module, then basic settings, then use the test "charge pressure control" (group 11). The engine will rev up to 1400 rpm and then the computer will cycle the boost. The boost pressure should go up and down. Anywhere from 80-250 difference between the high and low boost is normal. Too low or too high and engine response will suffer

So at this point, I have the tool but the idiot behind the computer doesnt know what he's doing... Any help would be appreciated. I havent driven the car in a while and am eager to get back into it...
 

Mozambiquer

Vendor , w/Business number
Joined
Mar 21, 2015
Location
Versailles Missouri
TDI
2004 VW Touareg V10 TDI, 2012 Audi Q7 V6 TDI, 1998 VW Jetta TDI. 1982 VW Rabbit pickup, 2001 VW Jetta TDI, 2005 VW Passat wagon TDI X3, 2001 VW golf TDI, 1980 VW rabbit pickup,
Attempting to do this and am already having a newbie issue as this is the first time I've ever used VCDS.

I dont know if my version is different than the one used in the How-To. (11.11.4 VS 24.7.1). The path must be different, I was able to find an option to LOG "Charge Pressure" but there was no TEST-option.

(The Instructions, according to the link on Post #2)
Plug in VCDS and enter engine module, then basic settings, then use the test "charge pressure control" (group 11). The engine will rev up to 1400 rpm and then the computer will cycle the boost. The boost pressure should go up and down. Anywhere from 80-250 difference between the high and low boost is normal. Too low or too high and engine response will suffer

So at this point, I have the tool but the idiot behind the computer doesnt know what he's doing... Any help would be appreciated. I havent driven the car in a while and am eager to get back into it...
Well all you need to do is update your vcds.
 

Rx7145

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2017
Location
Ohio
TDI
2006 Jetta BRM
Just type in 011 to go right to the test, that’s what I do. In engine, basic settings or output tests, one of the two.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
Well all you need to do is update your vcds.
I think you misunderstood what I typed. The write up from 2014 is an older version than the current version
Just type in 011 to go right to the test, that’s what I do. In engine, basic settings or output tests, one of the two.
Thank you. I just tried it but either the car or controller decided that I can’t work on the car at night when it’s not sitting outside, baking under the sun… so I’ll try again tomorrow.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
Ok, I THINK I'm getting a grasp on this (sorry, Im an idiot when it comes to electrical stuff)... and sorry for the derail, but maybe this will help future knuckleheads like me...

Here's a few screen grabs I did, where I was manually holding the throttle at certain RPMs (Idle, 1400, and 2000), and then ran the test and grabbed the image of the graph.

Idle


~1400 RPMs


~2000 RPMs


After taking these snapshots, I turned the basic settings on and it began the Test, and I switched to the Graph to screenshot that.

This graph looks drastically different from the graph on the write-up


I still dont know how long this dang zip-tie needs to be LOL...
 
Last edited:

Rx7145

Veteran Member
Joined
May 21, 2017
Location
Ohio
TDI
2006 Jetta BRM
It doesn’t look like your turbo is doing anything. When the test is running, can you look at the turbo actuator and see it moving? If it’s not moving, take the vacuum line off the actuator and see if you can feel vacuum.
 

jetta_coupe_gtd

Veteran Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Location
Westchester
TDI
2006 Jetta TDI 'Dusty'
It doesn’t look like your turbo is doing anything. When the test is running, can you look at the turbo actuator and see it moving? If it’s not moving, take the vacuum line off the actuator and see if you can feel vacuum.
I think I will finally get some time to try this out. Can you give me a few 'next steps' ? Running the test and pull the vacuum line off->

-How is the turbo supposed to react?
-If it makes no change when removing the vacuum line, then?
-At this point, I think I am ready to just trial and error because I still have no idea how the VCDS will determine how long I will need that ziptie need to be?

Thanks, driving the other car has been fun, except for the >20mpg it gets while my TDI sits.
 
Top