oh dear, car broken, please help!

[S4_dan]

Had a few problems with my car battery dying on me over last couple of weeks. was meant to be picking up a new from a mate who works at VW today.

But.........
Yesterday my battery was flat. car was facing wrong way round to bump it off, so my mate said he would bring over his battery charger / starter.

and so he did. he connected to the battery in my car (whilst still connected to the car) put it on charge for a few mins then switch it to start mode so i could start my car as i needed to somewhere else.

The charger made a funny noise, and then it sounded like an auxillery water pump or the after run pump starting working despite no keys in the car! He turned off the charger and i went into the car. I could immediately smell electrical burning! my first action was to remove the fuse cover and he smell was stronger. so i removed dash panel and pulled the fuse holder down checking the wires and fuses. nothin warm and blown. I then checked the few relays and big fuses further under the dash, again nothing warm nor apparent.

decided to charge the battery disconnected from the car for a bit. after a while i put the battery back in and tried starting the car. the engine would turn over but not fire! after a few secs a warning light came on the dash (!) in red!

left the car for the nite with the battery disconnected and tried again this morning.

same thing, car turns over but not fire, only this time i dont get the warning on the dash yet dash appears to work ok on self test etc.

I dont have a laptop anymore and none of my friends do. I can get hold of one but wont be until tomorrow!

I need car today as im on call most of the day for the fire service and i have an appointment at 2pm today!

does anyone have any ideas on where to look or what the problem might be? i know a laptop would be a great help but its not an option right now.

TIA,

Dan

 

[madvw]

first thing to do is investigate around where the smell of burining was coming from... somethings obviously died as a result.

next step is VAGCOM.

 

[PaulJC84]

Could perhaps be the coilpacks or maybe the starter motor has been frazzled.

Should call a specialist like MRC and see if they can ease you worries about it.

 

[S4_dan]

Have checked where the smell came from and there is nothing aparent.

The cars still turns over but not firing up.

I felt the coil packs yesterday after the smell and there werent warm?!

 

[madvw]

unfortunately, when you smell that smell, it means somethings just died. Either the wire casing haz been frazzled (although you usually get a fair bit of smoke too), or a component has gone poof. You did say that the smell was inside the car?

Best bet is to take the lower section of the dash off around the fusebox and have a really good look about in there. Have a good sniff about in there too.. If nothing looks obvious, then it'll be an auto electrician.

 

[S4_dan]

unfortunately, when you smell that smell, it means somethings just died. Either the wire casing haz been frazzled (although you usually get a fair bit of smoke too), or a component has gone poof. You did say that the smell was inside the car?

Best bet is to take the lower section of the dash off around the fusebox and have a really good look about in there. Have a good sniff about in there too.. If nothing looks obvious, then it'll be an auto electrician.

thats exactly what i have done but to no avail. last night i could smell it, today the smell has gone. i've even removed and tested the ignition switch incase that was shorted but works fine.

the wires look fine, well, at least where i can see them.

waiting for a mate to finish work so he can bring his laptop over for me to play with. see if that will bring any faults up.

 

[S4_dan]

Right, update.

Finally got a laptop and plugged it in.

Got some alarm errors stating being activated etc.

outside temp sensor short to ground.

Thats it.

HOWEVER...........

The engine (01) controller would not connect to laptop. Message saying controller not available.


My thinking is now either the loom to the ecu OR the ecu is at fault.

Anyone know of any good ways of testing the looms?

TIA,

Dan

 

[madvw]

Man I hope the ECU isn't frazzled. Does it smell really strongly of petrol?

If you can be bothered take the spark plugs out and see if one of the cylinders is full of petrol...

 

[docurley]

pop the ECU box open and see if the smell is in there.

 

[S4_dan]

pop the ECU box open and see if the smell is in there.

Is that the black box in the drivers side bulk head under the bonnet?

My thought is the loom or ecu now.

how do i open the black box because there is a screw or small bolt which sits under the windscreen and i cant get to it!

Dan

 

[S4_dan]

Man I hope the ECU isn't frazzled. Does it smell really strongly of petrol?

If you can be bothered take the spark plugs out and see if one of the cylinders is full of petrol...

No there is no strong smell of fuel. The car isn't even attempting to fire on any pots. Not investigated whether fuel getting through or not.

Out of curiosity, where is the fuel pump relay located?? Maybe worth checking over.


Dan

 

[docurley]

You will need 8mm socket and use the small ones as the bigger ratchets will not fit.

You should here the pump fire up when to turn on the ignition. There are extra relays under the drivers side lower dash, not sure which is the fuel pump one.

 

[S4_dan]

my worst fear confirmed tonight. my ECU is fried!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So im after an ecu, chipped or mapped considred too. will have cash in a week or so, so please if you know of any please let me know so i can have my beast back on the road asap.

cheers for help guys.

Dan

 

[docurley]

Have a word with QuantumJohn he was breaking one up so he may have what you need.

 

[S4_dan]

cheers Docurley, have sent a pm to him.

 

[joost]

Ya don't seem to be having much luck with ya baby fella

 

[madkebab]

There seems to be a problem with charging modern car batterys whilst still connected to the car. On my 1.8T I had a similar problem. Charged the battery without disconnecting it and it screwed up the immobiliser. Luckily I was able to reprogram it with VAG-COM but without that it would have been a new ECU.