Help with my car - engine light on Golf

Nearly_Old

Not on a VW but I had a similar problem on a Z4 that shows how code reading sometimes doesn't tell the full story. The EML came on just as I got to the garage! The indie that I use did the service and just reset the EML to see if it was a transient issue. 2 weeks later it was on again and I spent an hour with the indie taking live readings from the car and disconnecting various sensors to see what, if anything, changed. In the end it looked like the front O2 sensor so £200+ was spent and the EML was reset. 3 weeks later EML on again :mad:

Fortunately when I was driving it back to the indie it was very cold and wet and I went through a few big puddles that must have thrown some water into the engine bay. When the car was started to take it into the workshop there was a "phutt - phutt" sound that was only just audable. The problem was a very small crack in the exhaust manifold that cost £100 to weld up.

So IMHO it's best to start with the simple things; e.g. look for small splits in the air intake pipes, disconnect the MAF to see how the car runs with it disconnected, etc, etc before spending ££££'s on sensors.

forgotmyname

If its a fuelling issue you maybe killing the CAT. If your running the car until it dies or until just before the next MOT is due then ignore it.

But if you plan to keep it and MOT again you need to fix it before the bills get bigger.

Strider590

Dealership per chance?

They don't really know what they're doing, they don't employ "real" mechanics. It's just kids with a laptop, they examine the ECU and replace a relevant item, they check the faults gone, if not they change another item, rinse/repeat until the fault disappears. They don't have the ability to test/check an items functionality, it's called modular fault finding/repair.

A real mechanic would check the ECU and then strip down the relevant parts to see if they really needed changing, he might find that a wire on a sensor has broken and can be repaired with a soldering iron and a bit of heat shrink sleeving, this is component level fault finding/repair.

Unfortunately the later is becoming a dying art, because UK business is being taken over by pencil pushing simpletons, the type who find out your an electronics engineer and then ask you if you can fit a new light socket.

andygb

Strider590 wrote: »

Dealership per chance?

They don't really know what they're doing, they don't employ "real" mechanics. It's just kids with a laptop, they examine the ECU and replace a relevant item, they check the faults gone, if not they change another item, rinse/repeat until the fault disappears. They don't have the ability to test/check an items functionality, it's called modular fault finding/repair.

A real mechanic would check the ECU and then strip down the relevant parts to see if they really needed changing, he might find that a wire on a sensor has broken and can be repaired with a soldering iron and a bit of heat shrink sleeving, this is component level fault finding/repair.

Unfortunately the later is becoming a dying art, because UK business is being taken over by pencil pushing simpletons, the type who find out your an electronics engineer and then ask you if you can fit a new light socket.

:beer:
Summed up quite nicely, people who are being led by technology rather than engineering. They can read a display on a diagnostic device, but cannot source a fault by listening/driving the vehicle.
Once had a cam sensor replaced on an Audi A2. When I asked what was wrong with the car, they said - "They all do that - probably nothing wrong":eek:. That was a main dealer and it cost me around £70 just to be told that.