# urgent : glow plug light flashing and car in limp mode



## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

*fixed : glow plug light flashing and car in limp mode*

just set off on a day out, got about 3 miles and the cars gone into limp mode( running smoothly but no power) with the glow plug light flashing. got back to the caravan so we weren't stuck at the side of the road and tried restarting it. it starts off for about a minute before coming back on. I've noticed that revving it in neutral the revs linger for a second our so after taking my foot off as if its not recognizing that the throttle position has changed. 

anyone any ideas? I'm just waiting for lookers Blackpool to ring me back to see if I can pop it down for a diagnostic scan.


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

Sh*t!!. No - sorry. No immediate ideas. Never had that one. Got my own V6 problems... but at least it's running OK.

Keep us posted. Might be in a position to pop over tomorrow with VCDS if you're still bereft of a diagnosis... although knowing what it is at a weekend won't help that much.....

Regards

M


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

as I'm on holiday in Blackpool I managed to get it in to the vw garage here for a scan. cost 65 quid but at least I now have an idea, 

it appears its thought that it is something to do with fuse sd1 that protects the throttle control, egr, the dpf unit, basically the ecu is saying it can't communicate properly with the throttle unit etc. they didn't have time to do anything today and can't fit it in till later in the week but as it is running albeit restricted I limped it home this afternoon( having said that limping a phaeton at 70 was still a much nicer drive than bringing the wife's company area back)

so, now to find a reputable indie to do it. any recommendations?


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

entwisi said:


> as I'm on holiday in Blackpool I managed to get it in to the vw garage here for a scan. cost 65 quid but at least I now have an idea,
> 
> it appears its thought that it is something to do with fuse sd1 that protects the throttle control, egr, the dpf unit, basically the ecu is saying it can't communicate properly with the throttle unit etc. they didn't have time to do anything today and can't fit it in till later in the week but as it is running albeit restricted I limped it home this afternoon( having said that limping a phaeton at 70 was still a much nicer drive than bringing the wife's company area back)
> 
> so, now to find a reputable indie to do it. any recommendations?


No ideas on indies. My P's (until yesterday) have required so little service work I've never bothered looking. You still in B'pool? Let me know if you'd like another scan and I can pop over to Rising Bridge. Did the dealer give you a copy of the scan?

Anyhow.. .enjoy the rest of your hols!

Regards

m


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

Yep, still in ' pool. 

I got the full diagnostic print out so that's not too bad. I've found one in Oldham and weirdly another about a mile from where I'm sat now. (volkservice)

I'll see how I get on and update. first priority is finding a car to get to work on Monday...


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

car dropped off at volksmaster in bury 


free courtesy car albeit a shed of a Nissan micra, but free is free so you can't complain


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

for info the root cause of the issue was a knackered throttle body. the butterfly valve was seriously sticky and notchy. 

driving in limp mode meant it also needed a dpf regen

Car washed and I had loan car for the time it was in 

total bill £612 Inc vat

I'd highly recommend Volksmaster bury based on this expedience for someone looking for a vw indie garage


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

entwisi said:


> I'd highly recommend Volksmaster bury based on this expedience for someone looking for a vw indie garage


That's very interesting for a resident of Bury.

Can you help me out.. I didn't think diesels had a throttle... or is this the well-known inlet fanimold butterfly problem? If not, please educate me if you can!

Good that it's fixed though!

M


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## Gabs08PHTN (Jan 6, 2011)

Hi Mike,
That is the valve that sits in an aluminium casing by the oil dipstick. It is used to regulate the EGR flow by closing the fresh air intake. It also asists in turning off the engine smoothly.
Cheers.

Gabriel


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Throttle-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item460f75ed1d. 

this part


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

Thanks guys. Being picky it doesn't look like a throttle to me.... it looks like a butterfly valve... but I can see it's called a throttle.

All I have to do now is locate it on my engine and start worrying about when it will fail!

Regards

M


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

Thread resurrect... 

Am on my hols tomorrow just like last time and guess what came on this morning.... 

Going to try a bit of GT86 spray on the spindle and see how it goes, Cars booked in in Chester next Tuesday for the gearbox service and when I get back for the pressure sensor and lambda to be swapped out. 

I guess as the original lasted ~ 75K and I'm now fast approaching 150K if it has gone its lasted exactly the same amount as the first one... bit rubbish that they only last 75K miles IMHO.... this time I'll get the old one and see if I can't get it re-bushed but with something a little more robust. 

heyho.... the joys of car ownership..

Ian


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

good luck.


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

Found a place that apparently does reinforced/uprated version.. If it has to be swapped I think I'll get this instead of a genuine VW one. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/COMPLETE-...h=item4ab9e4440c:g:4esAAOSwQoFWOI-6#vi-ilComp

Had a few good reviews on some Audi forums...


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## Rayston (Mar 31, 2012)

Hi Guys,

It sounds as though this is the same problem I had with my 2006 3.0TDI. The throttle valve is actually an ACV- air control valve and can 

be found on e-bay for £220. (VW £456 + fitting) The originals had poor quality gears which strip when the ACV becomes clogged. The 

genuine VDO replacements addressed this issue and are better made. Fitting is a doddle. 

The main question is the cause of the ACV clogging up in the first place, particularly with only 70k on the clock. I rarely use supermarket 

fuel and avoid short runs whenever possible and yet despite lavishing my Phaeton with love and care, the dreaded "exhaust workshop" 

warning came up periodically over the years and eventually, at around 70k, the flashing glo light and limp mode. I believe this was brought 

about by the dpf regeneration not working properly owing to an intermittent fault communicating with the G450 pressure sensor. This 

sounds very like the problem you've had but a VCDS scan should provide confirmation. 

In my case, I replaced the ACV and the inlet manifolds which were horribly clogged. I bought the two manifolds complete from Germany 

with improved linkages for £265 and fitted myself (VW £2160). There's a write-up on the Audi site.

I also bought a replacement Bosch G450 for £34.50 (VW £156 + fitting) and again, fitting is pretty straightforward if you have access to a 

lift.

Associated fault codes are:-
05445/P1545 Throttle valve controller malfunction.
001137/P0471 Exhaust pressure sensor impausible/intermittent.
004120/P1018 Intake manifold runner lower limit not reached.
009263/P242F DPF restricted/clogged.

I'd suggest having a look at your scan to see if any of these are evident and also examine your intake manifolds for "gunge". The Ross-

Tech site has info on each of the fault codes and I can let you have more detail if it helps.

Best of luck

Ray


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## JCJ (Nov 26, 2013)

entwisi said:


> Thread resurrect...
> 
> Am on my hols tomorrow just like last time and guess what came on this morning....
> 
> ...


Hi Ian,

Who are the guys in Chester doing your gearbox? Is it just a fluid change?

Cheers
John


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

http://www.transcentre.co.uk/

They are doing full service and front and rear diff oil, they have a "super sucky" machine that effectively hooks into the ATF circuit and transfuses nice clean fluid in as the old stuff comes out, they can get > 95% fluid change this way. They were highly recommended by the guys on the A8 forum I used to frequent when i had my A8.

I'd take piccys etc but I'm on hols and dropping the car off with them and then taking family into Chester staying over for the night to give the garage more time, they do reckon they can do it in a day though if you are in a rush.


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## dragonxpress (Apr 20, 2016)

Hi Ian,

How much are they charging for this and what's the name of the garage ?

Cheers

Pete


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

OK, sorry, phone wouldn't load the editor whilst I've been away

gearbox all serviced, it wasn't "faulty" prior so wasn't expecting any night and day change in how it drives. The guys said whilst the fluid was dark as expected there was no smell to suggest any issues with the clutches or internals so it should be good for another 150K or so... I'd asked them to do the diffs at the same time but on checking them the levels and condition were perfectly OK so they left them saving me ~ 150 quid. They were comfortable that the stuff they would be putting in would be little better than what would be coming out. Considering they could easily have told me they had done them and I would have been no wiser shows IMHO a good garage. So highly recommended from me.

Total cost of the gearbox service £250 

However on separate note and the reason of the thread resurrect... The car brought me home that night fine and continued to be OK all the way till last week when it came on again and went into limp mode. I brought it home and we drove the wife's Astra for the rest of the holiday ( hateful thing ). I decided to treat myself to a proper VCDS cable having had a clone for a few years and it always needing effort to get it working. luckily I found a SH genuine one on fleabay for 240 quid so hit the BIN. I ran a scan and the main errors are below, a reset of all codes and it ran OK down to the garage and back which is much further than it was doing last week. Its booked in to Volksmaster on Thursday but I am going to try a regen of the DPF this morning to make sure its not a spurious error from that ( plus its 3 years since it was last regen'd). I'm hoping one the lambda and O2 sensors are switched out it should be OK.

as luck would have it ( or not) my bikes MOT ran out 3 weeks ago and I'm waiting for a new battery to arrive before I can book it in so I'm currently hoping the regen will get me through the next couple of days of commutes..



VIN: WVWZZZ3DZ68002646 Mileage: 238410km-148141miles
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Address 01: Engine Labels: 059-907-401-ASB.clb
Part No SW: 3D0 907 401 HW: 8E0 907 401 AB
Component: 3.0L V6TDI G000AG 0040 
Revision: --H01--- Serial number: VWZ3Z0E1408046
Coding: 0011773
Shop #: WSC 00404 798 03897
VCID: 5CBC9FE99C3F69A29C-5120

8 Faults Found:
001137 - Exhaust Pressure Sensor 1 (G450) 
P0471 - 001 - Implausible Signal - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11110001
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 232922 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 0 /min
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h
Temperature: 81.2°C
Temperature: 70.8°C
(no units): 0.0
Absolute Pres.: 40.8 mbar

000257 - Mass Air Flow Sensor (G70) 
P0101 - 002 - Implausible Signal
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01110010
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 5
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 235515 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1554 /min
Torque: 0.0 Nm
Speed: 71.7 km/h
Duty Cycle: 22.5 %
Voltage: 13.83 V
Absolute Pres.: 1009.8 mbar
Mass Air / Rev.: 399.5 mg/str

008598 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor B1 S1 
P2196 - 001 - Signal too High (Rich) - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100001
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 2
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 236142 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1848 /min
Torque: 468.0 Nm
Speed: 41.4 km/h
Duty Cycle: 74.7 %
Mass Air / Rev.: 816.6 mg/str
(no units): 0.60
(no units): 0.0

001025 - EGR System 
P0401 - 002 - Insufficient Flow - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100010
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 9
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 236250 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 2205 /min
Torque: 187.2 Nm
Speed: 122.1 km/h
Duty Cycle: 55.8 %
Duty Cycle: 20.9 %
Mass Air / Rev.: 587.5 mg/str
Duty Cycle: 58.8 %

013128 - Control Circuit for Controller for Turbocharger 1 (J724) 
P3348 - 005 - Electrical Malfunction - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100101
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 3
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 237365 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 2142 /min
Torque: 288.6 Nm
Speed: 24.6 km/h
Temperature: 89.1°C
Duty Cycle: 59.2 %
Voltage: 13.60 V
Duty Cycle: 12.6 %

000565 - Boost Pressure 
P0235 - 001 - Regulation Range not Reached - MIL ON
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 11110001
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 2
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 237397 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 2142 /min
Torque: 374.4 Nm
Speed: 117.6 km/h
Absolute Pres.: 2080.8 mbar
Absolute Pres.: 1152.6 mbar
Mass Air / Rev.: 787.3 mg/str
Temperature: 24.3°C

004472 - Linear O2 Sensor; Pump Current 
P1178 - 000 - Open Circuit - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100000
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 1
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 238316 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 1428 /min
Torque: 62.4 Nm
Speed: 45.9 km/h
Duty Cycle: 1.0 %
Mass Air / Rev.: 317.3 mg/str
(no units): 0.80
(no units): 8.0

009263 - Diesel Particulate Filter (Bank 1) 
P242F - 001 - Restricted/Clogged - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100001
Fault Priority: 0
Fault Frequency: 10
Reset counter: 255
Mileage: 238325 km
Time Indication: 0

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 714 /min
Torque: 89.7 Nm
Speed: 0.0 km/h

Readiness: 1 3 0 0 0


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

Did a regen of the DPF, took ~ 30 mins and absolutely stunk and smoked whilst it did it. It was showing at 38.9 when I started and it brought this down to 4.6 before it cooled it down and finished. 

now, all lights have stayed off including the Exhaust Fault I've had for a while. I have driven to work which is ~ 54 miles of motorways and fast A roads so will see how it goes. If it stays off till tomorrow I will probably cancel Volksmaster for now and see what happens...

Fingers crossed everyone!


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## n968412L (Apr 23, 2009)

:thumbup:


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## entwisi (Feb 19, 2013)

Hopefully final update on this...

well, it went into limp mode again a few days later... it was already booked in for the exhaust pressure sensor and lamda to be replaced so took it in there and asked my mechanic to do light service on it and replace rear brake pads. Plan was once all that was done to do another regen in case the lambda and pressure sensor was causing some further issues and to work from there.


Despite having ~ 15K miles to go to official replacement miles the VW OE spec air filter had failed and was being sucked into the MAF with bits of Orange rubber almost blocking the fine mesh protection grill. it would fall down sometimes when stopped and thus run for a while before getting to the point that airflow was restricted enough that the turbo was erroring that it could not reach pressure. So all in a cheap fix, a new filter and my mechanic picking all the rubber out the MAF... but goes to show that you shouldn't assume anything and what might present as something expensive isn't always.. the restricted flow also meant it was running rich thus filling the DPF prematurely 

On a second note, be careful if buying rear brake pads for a 3.0 TDI V6 as the pads are identical shape as used in a Transporter van so a lot of sites will supply them as compatible but the wear sensor wires are about 40cm too short... guess who has the wrong sensors with his new pads!


so all good and running like a trooper again!


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## gwiken65 (Jul 8, 2016)

Hi.
My P showed the flashing glow plug today along with the workshop now message.
It started with the P released the cruise controller, then it started to not shift gear from 1 to 2. 
So I flipped the gear into manual and that worked very good.
Being in Stockholm and had 115km to home I drove it using manual gear shifting all the way home, after first getting my wife on the other side of town.

It didn't go into limp mode, so I could drive carefully all 115km home at about 90km/h.

Now I need to dig into this.

2 questions:
1. Do anyone have any good advice? 
2. How do one perform a regen on the DPF?

Wiken 

Skickat från min SM-G955F via Tapatalk


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