VW ERROR CODES

VOLKSWAGEN ERROR CODES

My VW Polo Classic 2.0L Highline has been acting-up  more and more as the date for  her 90 000Km  service approached.   The Volkswagen Auto suddenly became very heavy on fuel and she started to smoke. It wasn't grey smoke, which would imply the VW Polo was burning oil but rather black smoke which is the tell tale sign that the VW Polo is burning gasoline. I normally do about 6 liters per 100kms but with the last tank of fuel I got something like 9 litres per 100km. With the latest high price of fuel in South Africa, I just had to investigate.  The EPC light problem also returned, which was triggered by the ECU that  placed the Polo into "Limp Mode" once again.  

Rusty water residue still on the engine cover above the VW logo.

However that's not all. My VW  Polo's interior overhead lights above the rear view mirror and sun visor courtesy lights have all stopped working when I open the doors but works perfectly when switched on manually. The  hooter also just gave up the ghost, but  the click of the micro switch in the steering wheel is very audible when I press it.  One of my VW headlight also seems to be intermittent and it appears that my oil level sensor also does'nt work either. My VW air conditioner stopped working  and my VW left tail bulb fused again and the reverse light is intermittent. I was told that it goes on or flickers whilst I'm driving.   But worst of all my VW Polo overheated whilst driving in peak hour traffic and the fans didn't even come on. When I pulled the bonnet release, the little lead ball at the end of the cable snapped off. Consolation I noticed the steam coming out from under the bonnet before the heat gauge was at 100 degrees. To add insult to injury, normally at approx 20 kph all the doors of VW das auto locks, but lately the front passenger side door unlocks itself mere seconds after it locks. This is a security risk and with all the other problems I've been experiencing, I just had to connect the VW to a diagnostic tester. This turned out to be a weekend job when the following Error Codes popped up.

Chassis Type: 9N3 - VW Polo
Scan: 01,02,03,08,09,15,17,19,37,44,46,56,69

Address 01 -------------------------------------
Controller: 06A 906 032 PB
Component: 2.0l ME7.5.10 0305
Coding: 00071
Shop #: WSC 01120
VIN: AAV ZZZ 9NZ 7Uxxxxxx  / VWZ7Z0G5248478
Readiness: 0000 0000

SOME ERROR CODES:-

VW, Polo Highline, Polo 1.9 TDi, Volkswagen beetles, Jetta, VW Polo cross, Passat, Polo GTi, Bora, Volkswagen bluemotion, Polo Classic,   Polo 1.9 tdi,  VW Polo blue motion,  Cross Polo, VW Golf, Beetle, Audi, VW blue motion,  Skoda, VW Touran, VW Touareg,  VW Tiguan, VW Amrok, VW Rabbit, VW Caddy, VW Phaeton, VW Vento, VW Kombi, VW Transporter, VW Lupo and VW Vivo - Error Codes

VW Error code 16716  P0332 - Knock Sensor 2 (G66): Signal too Low - Intermittent 
VW Error code 17511  P1103 - Oxygen (Lambda) Sensor Heating: B1 S1: Performance too Low
VW Error code 17796  P1388 - Control Module Malfunction - DBW Throttle Monitoring 
VW Error code 18010  P1602 - Power Supply (B+) terminal 30 Low Voltage
VW Error code 18041  P1633 - Accelerator Position Sensor 2 (G185): Signal too Low
VW Error code 18047  P1639 - Accelerator Position Sensor 1/2 (G79/G185): Implausible Signal
VW Error code 18048  P1640 - Internal Control Module: EEPROM Error
VW Error code 18090  P1682 - Powertrain Data Bus: Implausible Message from ABS Controller
VW Error code 18104  P1696 - Powertrain Data Bus: Implausible Message from Steering Column Controller

Turns our that ECU CAN bus edge connectors were corroded which solved P0332, P1682, and P1689. The P1602 is not really considered an error since it will always be present in the ECU if or when the Battery was disconnected. P1388, P1633 and P1639 are related to accelerator pedal sensors and once the pedal is replaced that problem will be solved, other than that, the VW Polo drives perfectly normal. The Internal Control Module, error P1640 however is going to take a bit longer to solve since it appears that several of my VW module's coding values has somehow changed on their own. But most of all I'm glad I solved the black smoke problem. I found that the wire of  the Oxygen sensor was burnt onto the exhaust pipe and shorted out the sensor. So I'm back to 6 litres per 100Km.

Radiator relay controller destined to be replaced since neither of the fans operate.

There were no errors on the ECU for the overheating radiator  and when I removed the bonnet release cable I saw that the bonnet open sensor / switch wire was broken off. I traced the heating problem to the  relay (picture above) and while I was under the engine I noticed that the Air Conditioner compressor wires had frayed and were dangling loose.

Before and after - Air Conditioner Compressor wires frayed and somehow broke off 

Before and after - Bonnet open/close micro-switch/sensor  with wires reattached.

Oil level sensor wires hardened and became brittle resulting in no electrical connection

 I cut off the hardened pieces of wire, tinned them with solder and reconnected the wires to the oil sensor with electrical block connectors since the terminals initially used by VW didn't seem to last very long. The block connector appears to makes a much better connection.

The plastic insulators on the spade terminal couldn't withstand the heat of the cool blue bulbs.

VW VAG - Volkswagen error codes and VW Electronic Module diagnostics will be dealt with in subsequent blogs, starting with Engine Modules for the Polo 9N , then ABS Modules then Airbag Modules.