Monday, June 27, 2016

VOLKSWAGEN'S EXISTENCE THREATENING CRISES

Volkswagen's Knock-on / Snowball effect

During September of 2015 Volkswagen AG admitted that they created sophisticated software that could  determined when the cars in which it was installed were tested by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thus able to turn on the pollution controls but once all wheels were in rotation and the steering wheel was turned, the cheat software turned off. The cars implicated in Volkswagen's emissions scandal include the VW Jetta TDI, the VW Beetle, VW Golf  Model 2009-2015 TDI's, the Audi A3 and the Passat 2014- 015 model .  

Apparently Volkswagen cheated at emissions tests for seven years before being caught by the International Council on Clean Transportation. With the result that all sales of affected VW cars were stopped. In a the inquests that followed Volkswagen was found guilty and liable to compensate all the car owners who were cheated.



The owners of the 482,000 Volkswagen 2-liter diesel vehicles implicated in the company's emissions scandal  could each get as much as $7,000 because the automaker is willing to shell out over $10 billion in a civil settlement to U.S. car owners, in order to make things right. The automaker is expected to award each of these  car owners between $1,000 and $7,000 and will attempt to repair as many of the automobiles as it can, at no cost to the consumers. 

European are also shouting compensation and Europe's Industry Commissioner Elzbieta Bienkowska  says it would be biased and very unfair of  Volkswagen to treat European customers  differently  because of different legal system, and that Volkswagen (VOW) should monetarily   compensate European customers same compensation as US drivers. And she added "Treating consumers in Europe differently than U.S. consumers is no way to win back trust,"  However  VW officials in Europe said that they will repair vehicles and remove illegal software, but have no intention to pay consumers compensation, arguing they suffered no loss.

As Volkswagen prepares to spend $10.2 billion to buy back vehicles in the U.S. a South Korean Volkswagen executive has been arrested after a warrant was issued by the Seoul District Court for charges related to Volkswagen's emissions cheating. Claiming the executive should have submitted test results for new cars but tried to fool the system by submitting test results for previous models. In what could mean even more trouble for  Volkswagen, the VW executive told prosecutors he altered the software for the electronic control units based on direct orders from Volkswagen management. Volkswagen Korea is facing class-action lawsuits from Korean owners who are demanding compensation similar to what has been offered to owners in the U.S. 

From this it is clear that the Snowball effect will soon go global and evey country will jump on the band wagon in order to get a piece of Volkswagen. The million dollar question is, " Will Volkswagen survive a 80 billion USD "existence -threatening  crises.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

WHAT IS A VW EPC WARNING LIGHT

What Is a VW EPC Warning Light

The EPC warning light is an instrument cluster based LED found on all Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda vehicles fitted with a drive-by-wire system and EPC stands for Electronic Power Control. However the EPC warning light is not exclusive to these VAG cars, most other motor manufacturers also have them, since it's legislated to be part of the OBDII system. This EPC light when lit displays the letters EPC and primarily warns the driver that there is problems in the engine's torque system - (acceleration system). The reason why the EPC turns on, problem could be many, among which are the vehicle's knock sensors, its throttle system, its cruise control, its mass air flow system, its engine speed verification system or any of the other associated systems that cooperate in the drive-by-wire schema. 

When this EPC light comes on, the vehicle’s throttle valve (butterfly) may be limited in order to protect the engine from damage. It prevents the engine from revving above 2000rpm. This is known as limp mode and the ECU permits just sufficient power to drive the vehicle to a service center for repairs. To remedy the problem, the vehicle’s ECU should be scanned with an automotive diagnostic too, in order to extract the DTC's related to the torque problem.  Cars with an accelerator cable are also fitted with an EPC light but the ECU software is quite different, yet the overall principal remains the same.

All Volkswagen (VAG) vehicles have a whole array of dashboard warning lights in their instrument panels, specifically designed to alert the driver to any vehicle malfunctions or problems. In fact so does all most modern day automobiles. Having said that, it is only a matter of time before these lights start lighting up. Invariably and inevitably all cars will breakdown at sometime or the other but its nice to be warned about a mechanical problem before it actually occurs. For example, having a low coolant level light or an low engine oil-level light flash at you, accompanied by an audio alert is a blessing because complete loss of either coolant or engine oil could result in a very expensive repair. 

The one warning light that puzzles most drivers is the VW EPC warning light. Driver often ask, what is the VW EPC warning light? Like I've mentioned above, it is a bright yellow dashboard light with the letters EPC inscribed in bold.it  When lights-up to draws your attaention to a potential malfunction in the EPC system. When it lights up whilst driving and the trouble is related to a safety issue, the car will more than likely go into limp mode. This may sound quite serious but in most cases it's not. There are several reasons why EPC Dashboard Warning Light turns on, but through a process of elimination the cause can be tracked down fairly easily. 

The Engine Speed Sensor is  known to cause the EPC light to turn on. The engine speed sensor is a proximity magnetic transducer counting the revolutions of the flywheel / crankshaft and sends a steady stream of pulses to the ECU. So when this stream of data is interrupted for whatsoever reason for only a fraction of a second, the ECU  detects this and turns on the EPC light and cuts power to the engine. It does this to protect the engine from damage. 

If you have a scan tool, check for DTC errors. The following error code, 17745 /P1337, 17746 / P1338, 17747 / P1339 and 17748 / P1340 are the troubles codes that provides a  tell tail sign that the engine speed sensor is either loose or faulty, hence the car's engine cuts-out whilst driving and the speedometer is inoperative.  But in some cases the engine will start again. When this symptoms repeats itself often, you should know it is time to replace that pesky engine speed sensor.

The Accelerator Pedal itself is often the main culprit that causes EPC problems. A telltale sign is that the engine idles a lot faster than it aught to. To verify this, physical pull the accelerator pedal away from the floor board while the car is idling. If it reduces the engine's revs back to normal, then it is time to replace it, because the potentiometers that's built into the the accelerator pedal, have gone faulty. Accelerator pedal problems are numerous and the following DTC, 16504 / P0120, 16505 / P0121, 16506 / P0122, 16507 / P0123, 18038 / P1630, 18039 / P1631, 18040 / P1632, 18041 / P1633, 18042 / P1634, are linked to accelerator pedal errors. 

Mass air flow sensor is another engine component that can cause the EPC light to turn on. Cleaning the  mass air flow sensor with compressed air does often solve the problem but if the issue persists, its time to replace mass air flow sensor. But before changing it, check to see if any of the rubber hoses in its vicinity isn't perished. An leak in Air Intake System wil allowing air unmonitored to enter the intake which will throw a P2279 / 15093 error or a P0068 / 15101 error.


The Throttle body is by far the most common cause of an EPC problem though in many cases it is not the throttle body that's at fault but rather that it the needs to be recalibrated (adaptation). The scan codes like P2135 / P2136 / P2137 / P2138 / P2139  and P2140, will give a  good idea as to whether or not the throttle body require replacement.  But in many cases it turns out to be  wiring harness issue. The plugs that connects the throttle drive motor and the throttle position sensors is fairly troublesome ad should be checked before throttle is replace.

The Brake light switch can also cause the EPC light to come on because the torque control circuit uses the brake light signal as a ECU input signal when the car decelerates.  

The Injectors and the Ignition Coils can also cause the EPC light to turn on. I've heard that an incorrect spark gap on the plugs can also cause an EPC problem but haven't experienced it yet.  Driving with very little gasoline in the tank can also cause the EPC light to turn on because the high pressure fuel pump may lose pressure which then notifies the ECU to inhibit the torque circuit and switch on the EPC light and make the car go into limp mode.

I've experienced the Knock Sensor turn on the EPC light. Spirited driving also turns on the EPC light.

So as you can see there are several things that can cause an EPC fault.  This is not a complete list of EPC problems but as new ones are identified, I will post them.  The following questions prompted me to write a synopsis of what an EPC light is!

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