EPC LIGHT

EPC LIGHT

A few months ago the battery in my VW Polo Classic remote key, gave up the ghost.  I used the remote key to lock the car and set the alarm / immobilizer the night before but it refused to open the doors the following morning. So I unlocked the car with the key.  That’s when I realized that my 2007 VW Polo Classic Highline only has one door lock and that I only had access via the driver’s side door.   Neither the left side passenger door nor the rear doors on either side have any locks keyholes. This didn't surprise me because cutting cost has become the new standard in new car design. By not fitting these legacy locks, the car manufacturer saves the cost of three locks, the internal door mechanisms and the labour cost to install them when the car is assembled.  Multiply this amount of savings by the entire vehicle production for the year and you can surely see their total saving.

The Battery inside the electronic key housing.

That brings me to another cost saver implemented in most cars manufactured during 1996 and later. If you heard about OBD II (On-Board Diagnostics II) and CAN-Bus (Controller Area Network-Bus), you will have some notion what I am talking about. With the implementation of CAN-Bus auto electric wiring has been reduced to a bare minimum.  The average older car had between 300 – 400 meters of wiring, used for its head lights, tail lights, windscreen wipers, horn, dashboard electrics, alarm system, central locking, interior lighting etc, etc ...  Much of this wiring are roughly the same thickness (0.5 - 1.5 mm square) to carry the required current to the various devices.  But inside the engine compartment there are numerous thicker wires for the starter, ignition, air conditioner fan motor, alternator, main supply to the fuse box as well as  earth straps to mention but a few.   All these copper wires range between 1.5mm square – 15mm square, some of which are tin plated to minimize corrosion. Not only is this 400 meters of copper wiring expensive, it also weights a good 60-70 kgs.

By embracing the CAN-Bus technology, manufacturers save on the purchase of about 50Kgs of copper wire. Fifty kilograms of copper wire multiplied by the annual car production gives you some idea of the overall saving. Fifty kilograms taken off the weight of a car also gives it a better 'power to weight ratio' hence making it more fuel efficient.  With CAN-Bus technology,  all the  control modules in the car are interconnected, on a serial data network, each module taking charge of a sub circuit of  the electrical system. These modules are network similar to USB (Universal Serial Bus) used in computer networking.

VW EPC LIGHT

However,  CAN-Bus and OBD II was not implemented to save copper, nor to lessen the weight of cars neither to make cars  more fuel efficient.  It was firstly agreed upon by the EPA, then legislated by several Governments whose countries manufacture cars, to install an EMS (Engine Management System) in every new car built after 1996. This management system would monitor the engine and transmission of the car and insure that 'engine emission levels' stayed within a predetermined margin of compliance.  If this level is exceeded due to engine malfunction, the embedded diagnostic system should be able to recognize it and recorded such malfunction and also alert the driver with some form of MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light). Alternatively turn on the EPC light (Electronic Power Control - epc warning light) and stops the  car from revving up or  inhibit the management system and shut the car down.  The frequency of engine misfires or malfunctions are recorded in code format (vw epc code) designed by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the ECU's non-volatile memory which is only accessible by the service agents or by someone with a modern day ODB II / CAN-Bus compliant diagnostic scan appliance.

Anyway let me return to the story of the remote control battery. Off I went to the local VW agent to buy a replacement battery.  I drove  a good 40 Km there  and back but still returned without the battery. It was just way too expensive for a small mercury cell. Problem was, I didn't phone to find out how much it cost. At the price that this VW agent charged for the  fob key battery I could manufacture it myself and it would still be cheaper. So I scouted around at a few photographic shops for this particular battery and eventually found a pharmacy that sold them. Hypothetically, if I bought all the pharmacy’s battery stock and sold it to this VW agents at half their asking price I would in fact have made a very comfortable living.

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MANIFOLD

MANIFOLD / EXHAUST

It was about 2:30 a.m. when I returned from a long distance trip. I was tired but smiled to myself before I climbed into bed because my 2007 VW Polo Classic Highline really performed well and brought me home without incident. I was amazed, blown away in fact. 

After breakfast the following morning, I intended to go to Milnerton to see a client but when I started the VW Polo, I was greeted by  frighteningly loud noise. I smiled too soon. Immediately I switched off the engine. It actually sounded like the VW Polo had no manifold system fitted at all. For the record it wasn't like the sound of a broken silencer or a hole in the exhaust system. It literally sounded as if there wasn't any exhaust system at all.

My first thought was that someone must have liberated my exhaust system during the night whist I was asleep and sold it off as scrap metal. Theft in my locality has become quite rife and this is known to have happened. Radiators and batteries seem to be targeted more often.  However, on closer inspection I was relieved that the exhaust was still there. I started the VW Polo once more rolled underneath the front suspension and discovered hot air was blowing from a space  where the flange gasket is located. It was very awkward to get my hand in there and I was wondering what this repair was going to cost. A trip to "Mister Silencer" and three hundred and twenty bucks later the VW Polo was once again ready for the road. I expected one of the dashboard EPC warning lights to light-up or one of the CanBus interconnected computer modules to immobilize the car but its seems that the manifold exhaust  just runs much too hot to attach a sensor to it.

Anyway, in order to fix or fit a new flange gasket the complete knuckle had to be removed. They hoisted the car on a maintenance lift and inspected its underside for the origin of the noise. It came from above the flexible bend which looked like matted wire mesh. Essentially the joint between the manifold branch and the exhaust manifold had to be removed.  I was told the flexible mesh compensate for vibration, should the silencer knock against a pavement of something, it wouldn't brake off of get damaged because of its flexibility.

Just two days prior to this, a young women ran into my rear bumper with her sparkling new look Audi A8 whilst she was chatting on her cellphone. There was no physical damage to neither of the cars but thought that she was the cause that my exhaust had given trouble. According to the dude at "Mister Silencer", its highly unlikely because the impact from behind would not have pushed the exhaust towards the engine because of its flexibility. Oh well,  either way I had to pay for it. FYI my VW Polo had every service on time since new and currently has 88250 Km on the clock. Soon it will be going for its 90000 km service and my timing belt will be changed. I've been driving with the dreaded fear that it might snap in mid travel and bend all my valves in the process or even bust the tops of one or two pistons.

In my first blog I mentioned I simply love German engineering because when a German designed car snaps a timing belt, there is no mechanical damage to the engine. This is so unlike the Japanese, American, English and French designed cars, all of which bend valves, bend conrods, break pistons or knock holes through their cylinder block. Since my VW Polo Classic 2.0L Highline is soooo different from all the previous German cars I owned, I just have this feeling it was designed along the same money making monopolistic ideology of modern car design - the cash cow that  sells spare parts.

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VW POLO - EPC LIGHT

EPC LIGHT 

Yesterday my VW Polo just wouldn't start, the engine cranked, but sounded as if it didn't crank fast enough in order to start. A good few hundred bucks later for a new battery, she started just fine. I suppose after four years, one should expect a battery to give up the ghost.  I thought it was just peculiar that it died without any prior warning, without lazy cranking or dim headlights or a croaky hooter. Anyway, this morning when I started my VW Polo Highline she had some really serious issues. It just wouldn't rev-up. When I looked at the instrument panel, the amber EPC warning light  was lit-up yet she idled perfectly normal. The moment I accelerated there was no power, but could only rev to 1200 rpm, it kinda seemed like fuel starvation. 

Only when  I revved; it seemed like there just wasn't enough fuel available, it sort of smothered. The  Amber / yellow EPC light on the dashboard is normally on when I turn on the car's ignition, as can be seen below, but the moment she starts, the EPC warning light goes off, or resets the EPC light on a Polo, which was perfectly normal as far as was  concerned.

I experienced this yellow EPC light issue once before, or at least something very similar a few months ago. I was driving through Melkbos Strand with my VW Polo, traveling at about 100kmph. As I passed a high school where some dudes were playing  soccer. The very next thing I saw, was their soccer ball coming over the school fence, it hit the road, bounced a few times  and  rolled directly towards the front of the car. There was no way I was going to swerve to avoid striking the ball because the pavements were like really high and I didn't want to damage my magwheels. There was also an oncoming car approaching from the opposite direction, so I couldn't even cross lanes to avoid it,  I just had to go over the ball. By this time, I had already reduced my speed to about 40Kmph. Somehow the ball got jammed between the undercarriage (sump / front suspension) of the Polo and the road. Instead of it rolling, I could hear it chafing along the asphalt. Then the ball suddenly burst with a tremendously loud explosion.

Immediately the EPC light came on, and there was no power. The car just rolled forward until it came to a halt. My foot on the accelerator had no effect. I tried revving the engine but to no avail, it just wouldn't rev. So I switched it off. A few seconds later I started the car and it started just fine but the EPC light stayed on and now, it at least revved to 1200 RPM. I needed to get off the road or at least to the nearest filling station / garage workshop. So I drove very slowly and even when I tried to go faster the car just wasn't going to go faster that 10kpm, even with my foot flat on the accelerator. Eventually... I arrived at the filling station, switched off the engine and popped the bonnet. I saw my air conditioner condenser was hanging skew. The explosion of the ball  under the condenser broke the plastic lugs that was screwed to the body. The screws were still in the lugs but the condenser was hanging out below my front bumper. So I went and  bought some cable ties at the local supermarket and re-secured the condenser as a temporary measure.

I then restarted the car. The EPC light was still on, so I borrowed a spanner at the filling station and disconnected the battery. Since the Polo was all electronic, I figured it would be equivalent to a computer cold reboot when I reconnected. So, after a few moments I reconnected the battery and started the car. The EPC light was off and I could rev the car as normal. I was so chuffed because I could see myself driving home, all of  the 70km distance at 10kpm. When I concluded my business in Melkbos, I was on my way home, about 5km from Melbos Strand when suddenly the EPC light come on again, and once more there was no power. Even with the accelerator pushed-in all the way to the floor, I was still just getting 10kpm. I came to a halt, disconnected the battery for the second time then reconnected it after like 2 minutes, which seemed to have cleared the problem and the engine revved just fine.  For the rest of the day the Volkswagen Polo behaved.

The graphic below shows all the dashboard lights amongst which are the Trailer towing mode indicator light, the Electro-hydraulic power steering malfunctions light, the Fog-lights operation light, the Rear seat lock warning light, the Cruise control light, the Unauthorized key electronic immobilizer continuous flashing light.

What I came to discover later, is that there are 2 knock sensors placed at strategic positions in the engine block, 1 per 2 cylinders. So, any engine noise louder than the knock sensor's preset decibel level, will activate them. This in turn  triggers the Engine Control Module (ECU) which then cuts the power via ODB II  CAN Bus, thus saving the engine from further mechanical damage. However, in my case this wasn't engine trouble but rather an external factor with the same result. The knock sensor or sensors picked up the loud bang of the bursting ball and interpreted it as coming from the engine.  That's artificial intelligence for you. What I came to understand much later is that Knock sensor K1 caused the EPC light to come on whereas K2 causes the MIL to come on. If both your EPC and MIL is on it could be K1 and K2 related but this should be determined in conjunction with the DTC which can be read with a scan tool from the non-volatile memory of the ECU. My problem turned out to be the potentiometers on the accelerator pedal that was intermittent. I replaced the accelerator pedal and I've never seen that pesky EPC light again.

FURTHER READING

NB!
If you wish to understand how the knock sensor and the  EPC light circuits works, read some of my other pages like KNOCK SENSOR, DRIVE-by-WIRE, KNOCK SENSORS   EPC EXPLAINED and  EPC EXPOSED, EPC REVISITED or EPC DEMYSTIFIED PART 1, PART 2 and PART 3

VW Bluemotion on Tow,
Why the engine light comes on.

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For more VW Polo Car Trouble  and if you enjoy Controversy read this.

ENGINE TROUBLE, CAR PROBLEMS

VOLKSWAGEN, POLO CLASSIC CAR PROBLEMS

This blog is about my 2007 VW Polo Classic 2.0L Highline and other VAG cars in general. I have always been fond of good, solid, precision German engineering and I stand firm in my conviction that my VW Polo facelift  fits the bill. It therefore makes me wonder what happened in the manufacturing process? I often ask myself, - Was my VW Polo manufactured on a Monday that I'm having so much car problems and have to visit auto repair so often?

With the amount of issues I've had with my VW Polo, it rather looks like it was manufactured on a public holiday. It makes no sense why I am having so much car problems with it. I have had a Mercedez Benz which was German engineered, I loved it. I also had an Opel Kadett GSI 1.8 with digital dashboard that was German engineered, I simply adored it.  I had three company cars all of which were German engineered VW Passats.  I've also owned two VW Golfs, both of which were German engineered. The first VW Golf was a 1100 Golf-1, the second was a 1600 VW Golf -2 CLI with large bumpers. All of which hardly needed  automotive repair. My VW Polo 2.0L Highline 2007 model is however is very different from all the VAG cars I have owned before.  For example, the electromechanical system of the VW Polo ascribes to the OBD-II standard as well as CAN-Bus and its certainly not the easiest VAG car to repair.

This Volkswagen  Polo has an on-board computer which interfaces with an ABS module, the Interior Electronics Module, the Engine Control Module, the  Immobilizer Control Module among so many, many other electronic modules. Ostensibly it could be said that each of these modules, is a computer in its own right and they are all daisy-chained on the same OBD2 / OBD II or CAN Bus network.

Auto repair :-

The above 16 Pin DIN J1962 socket is provided  for a diagnostic tester to interface with these Electronic Modules, and is the only way to communicate with the car. This socket is situated in various places on different models and makes of cars. For instance BMW's normally have them under bonnet in the engine compartment. Most Volkswagen's have this socket under the dashboard on the driver's side. Some cars have it in the glove compartment, some have it in and around the ashtray.

My VW Polo had an idling problem, it was idling around 1200 rpm which progressively increased and hovered about 2000 rpm. There is no adjustment because there is no accelerator cable / throttle cable - it has Drive-by-wire (DMW) also known as Electronic Throttle Control (ETC). It  is the latest automobile technology that replaces the conventional cable linkage system between the vehicle's accelerator pedal and the engine throttle body.

Anyway, the high rev drove me crazy, especially when changing gears, the revs just wouldn't come down or took forever to do so. After two days, the EPC light came on and I took my car  off to the agents who reset the throttle-body valve. It was fine for just two days until the the rev counter started hunting between 800 rpm and 1200 rpm and the EPC light came on again. I took the car back to the agents, only to be told that the throttle body was effectively faulty. The cost was equivalent to one monthly car installment and that excluded their labour charge. So I decided to get a second opinion  before I forked out so much money, since I don't have a motor plan.

My new auto mechanic plugged in his Auto Boss Automotive Scanner and a few minutes later he said its the accelerator pedal that was faulty or rather the sensors that control acceleration which is part of the accelerator pedal. I asked about the possibility of the accelerator throttle-body being faulty and he says "no ways,  who even thought that? Your car revs higher than 1200 RPM". He the asked "does your EPC light come on?" and I said "yes". He then leaned into the car, grabbed hold the accelerator pedal with his hand and pulled the accelerator pedal upward. Immediately the idling seemed right, or at least to me it sounded right because it was idling at 950 RPM. By demonstrating this, even the data that was missing from one of the cells on the diagnostic tester's display came back and flashed the word NORMAL. He then released the pedal, the revs once again increased and the data cell  on the diagnostic tester's display went blank once again. After replacing the accelerator pedal with the Drive-by-Wire potentiometer (G79 & G185 sensors) attached, the idling was perfect and the EPC light stayed off.

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