A4 Tdi Wiring Loom Replacement

alex20

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Hi everyone,
Like many of us I decided enough is enough with the Audi stealership (don't get me wrong, the lads at my local are great but that doesn't justify the premuim) and decided to inspect and hopefully fix my trusted A4.
It's a 2002 1.9 tdi 100 PDF with a avb engine. Recently it developed a morning sickness in the form of judder and what it seems like a missfire that lasts anything from 30sec to 5 min accompanied with the ESP warning light . Turning off and restarting solves the matters . Afterwards the car would run for 1000 miles if needed without a cough. Its a well maintained engine with 120K miles, lots of power and torque and most important no smoke comming out even when running rough.After browsing through the forums trying to narrow down the possibilities, more or less everything indicates to the wiring loom for the fuel Injectors to be the culprit .
Now the please help bit:)
Does anyone out there would like to share some know how on the remove and reinstall procedure the loom..as I would spend £50 on a gutshot and save a bundle in the process if it works.
 
Have you looked in the back of your cars Haines manual as I believe they have wiring diagrams for the main systems. I managed to solve my Bro's intermittent starting problem on his Mk2 Golf using the diagrams, turned out to be a bad earth. It's seldom for wiring itself to just stop working, you tend to either have an open circuit (cut cable) resulting loss of component functionality altogether, a short which can result in the same as above or intermittent operation or the component the wiring goes to is goosed. Having seen faults similar in nature on military fast jets I'd start by doing voltage, continuity and continuity checks to earth. Scope your cars Haines manual and see if you can locate the earthing point for the fuel injectors. If all that checks out ok then I'd suggest insulation resistance, where by you send a set voltage down the cable to check the integrity of the cable insulation. This identifies any cracks in the cable insulation.

Does seem, I'd imagine, reasonably straight forward as I can't see there being any cable breaks between the fuse/relay box and the injectors themselves, should be just one run of cable?

Defo check your earth I reckon.
 
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Update... Problem solved..
Thanks Maverick,
I got myself a replacement rocker gasket and opened the cover to examine the wiring. When I was pulling the connectors out noticed that three of them were solid in the sockets and the first(nearest to the timing belt) sat slightly proud and came out unforced. Was almost sure that this was the problem, but to be safe went on to check the resistance, the earth, and the continuity. All good news. I then bent the terminals ever so slightly (by a mill) in opposite direction of each other to be able to freely push the connector back in but just enough to ensure the friction will hold it in place. I decided against cleaning the connectors as the was nothing but clean oil. Refitted the connectors and then checked the master connection for any signs of deterioration or water ingress.. (none found). Screwed it back on and sealed it with some elbow grease. New gasket on and job done.
Now for the moment of truth. The car has been off for about three hours now. Works a treat :) no shaking, no rough idling, no ESP warning
All in all this exercise took about 2 hours(first time) and cost £10.
Local sw London Audi were adament that faulty injector needed to be replaced ... needn't say no more...
I really hope this helps someone..