Gareth_16V

That's brilliant, thanks for that! I'm just in the very early stages of building an ABF turbo, and that was the information I had left to find out! I'm aiming for a CR in the region of 8.5 - 9.0, to allow some decent ignition timing to be run. I think forged pistons is the way to go to ensure reliability, and like you say, they're well priced on places like eBay US at the mo. many thanks again, Gareth

No, oil and coolant work at different temps. The water doesn't want to be much above 110°C, but the oil will carry on working up to at least 150°. That's why the oil has a very small cooler and the water a very large one! 20°C difference between oil and water is normal.

What's the best way to cool a 16VT lump producing modest power (~250bhp)? Is the 16V radiator, in conjunction with a bigger/better air-to-air oil cooler man enough, or is a VR item a simple enough swap to make it the easiest way?

I had the voltage error code on mine. It's not a fault with the ABS ECU but with the ABS pump. The pump is supplied with 12V directly from the ignition switch, which then goes through the solenoids in the ABS pump, and is "sunk" to ground by the ABS ECU when it wants to open/close the solenoids to operate the ABS. The 12V feeds and the solenoid-ECU connections are in the multi-pin plug on the front of the ABS pump, mounted to the bulkhead on the passenger side of a RHD car. Inside the cover of the ABS pump there's a ribbon cable which, due to its constant heat cycling, eventually fractures. The error code you're seeing the ABS ECU telling you that it can't see the 12V coming from the ABS pump, due to either:- 1) a fault in the wiring between the ECU and ABS pump - dead easy, just ring out the pins of the ABS pump to the ECU with a multimeter. Or 2) there's a fault with the cable inside the ABS pump. - has been sorted by people on here before by baring the pins and replacing the ribbon cable with normal copper core wires. Very fiddly, as I understand it. There's bound to be someone on here breaking a late 16V with the Teves 04 system. If it does turn out to be the ABS pump, they're dead easy to change. Hope that helps, Gareth

Right, got the TT wiper setup from Pat-McCrotch, and they work fantastically. 1000% better than the old OE ones. I don't know if anyone else's set do this but when fitted, mine overlap in the middle:- The passenger blade is nice and close to the edge of the screen, for maximum wipeage. Both arms and both blades are the same part numbers. Is there a different driver's side blade that has the pivot further up the blade? 1" would do it. Or how has anyone else got round this short of cutting blades down, as I don't really want to get into that.

Ahh well, if only it were that simple!! Thanks for the quick reply, Jim!

Is it possible to "add" a spare fob to the alarm in this way? I only have 1 alarm fob for the car, and so if I go through the procedure for the reset with another Scorpion 5000 fob, which part "learns"? Will it knacker the pairing between the existing fob and the alarm, or will I have 2 fobs that work? I won't try it until someone can confirm or deny! Any information gratefully received! Gareth

I've just had this with mine. The teves 04 ABS does not have bleed nipples on it. I found that I had no fluid to the right rear caliper, I undid the brake line from the ABS pump itself and could not get any fluid to flow out. I checked the brake line was free by blowing down the line with a piece of rubber fuel hose, with the bleed nipple open on the caliper - it was free. With this problem, the ABS light will not come on, as this is not an electrical problem, it's a mechanical problem that the ABS system cannot "see" by having an electrical signal/voltage out of spec and raise an error code. I think your best option is a second-hand ABS pump (try the For Sale section on here, there's a few people breaking 2.0 16V'ers). It's not hard to change on one of these, but you will need to make sure that the system is fully bled afterwards. It's good because it changes the brake fluid. Before undoing any of the connections, plug the small connector for the "new" ABS pump in, and turn the ignition on. The ABS light should go out as normal. If not, don't waste your time to fit the new pump, as it is more than likely faulty. Hope that helps, good luck with the brakes. Gareth

Yes, would also be interested in these. Any news?

Have you checked that the idle switch on the throttle body is 1) working and 2) adjusted properly? Mine was a bit t@ss at low throttle openings when I first got it, and I found that the power wire to the idle switch had burnt, possibly the wire had been allowed to droop onto the exhaust manifold. If you find that it wasn't working you may need to re-adjust the ignition timing, as the ECU retards the ignition when the switch tells it that the throttle is closed. Got mine working and the base timing was way off. Check all the "free" stuff you can before shotgunning all the expensive fixes. Might it also be worth having the idle mixture set by a VW specialist at the same time? HTH

Hi guys, I'm in the VERY early stages of looking into this, and have a query. I've read through pretty much all of this thread and searched, but can't find the answer to probably a simple and silly question. My query is regarding the brake system on a forced induction car. With a normally aspirated car, there's always a vacuum in the intake plenum (although slight at full throttle) to run the brake servo. When the car is converted to run a supercharger or turbo, where does this vacuum come from? Does the system rely on the basic principle that you don't use the throttle and the brake at the same time, or is there a 1-way valve to "evacuate" the servo when the throttle plate is shut (vacuum in plenum) and keep the servo working? On most turbo diesels, they run a separate vacuum pump to get round this, I just wondered how you 'rado boys got on with it. I mean, G60s must have had something to run the servo, but surely the compressor inlet depression (the slight negative pressure caused by the air filter) isn't enough??? Any info gratefully received! Thanks in advance Gareth

If the timing is out, one thing to check is that the idle switch on the throttle body is working correctly. I checked the timing on mine and it was way out, or so I thought. The ECU uses the idle control valve and the ignition timing to control the idle. Setting the timing to the recommended 6° BTDC gave me an idle at about 2500RPM before I worked out what was going on. If someone's set your new dizzy up without the idle switches working you might have it set up too far advanced. This would make the ECU retard the timing when it discovers "knock", causing the lack of power under full throttle you describe. HTH Gareth

Further to the below, a strange thing happened when I took the car on a long-ish trip this weekend. I set off from my house in Essex, and drove to a friends in Manchester. About half way there, the ABS warning light went out! :shock: Thinking the bulb had given up I stopped and turned the ignition off, and then back on again. Sure enough, the ABS light came on, flickered, and then went out. It then stayed off until I got to my mate's. When I came to leave his a few hours later the light came on and stayed on! :censored: On the way back, the same happened. Approx halfway home the light went out and stayed out. A quick scan with VAG-COM showed no faults whatsoever. This morning when I checked it we're back to the 00532 fault code. Does anyone know which component is causing this, I'm guessing its temperature dependent and jumping to conclusions that it's likely the ribbon cable in the ABS pump? :( Anyone got any better ideas? Gareth.

Have you made sure that the ribbon cable itself is good? What you've described above is making sure that the solenoids themselves are not open circuit, but have you tried checking the continuity between the ends of the ribbon? I.e. one probe of the multimeter on a solenoid connection, the other end on the external connector? FInding a resistance across the solenoids does not check the condition of the ribbon. Apologies if I've misread your post, but that's what I'd try first.

Many thanks for the quick response;- 1) The battery seems pretty decent, and the alternator is definitely charging it. The engine always spins over and catches quickly from cold, so I don't think the battery is bad. Never say never though, eh? 2) I have had the ECU off (but not apart) and the connector seemed very clean indeed. I can't see any rust or corrosion on the ECU or on the kick panel near it. The earths look pristine too. 3) I haven't ever had to top up the water, and looking through what history I have for the car I can't see anything related to the matrix. The heater blows clear (no steam when first switched on) so I think it's fine. 4) The alarm fitted is a standard VAG/Scorpion 815 unit, with the original 2-button fob. There is an aftermarket radio fitted, but I haven't interrogated the wiring between ignition switch and radio. The bit that worries me is the fact that only one relay comes on, and it goes off very quickly indeed. Other threads on this forum mention a ribbon cable under the ABS pump cover, does anyone have a wiring diagram or pin-out for this?

Hi guys, I still really need someone's help with this as the fact that I can't find out what's wrong is driving me mad!! :censored: I'm still getting the 00532 code from above when I switch the ignition off and back on again. I've checked that both the ABS relays behind the glovebox are good by wiring them up through a headlight bulb, as per a previous thread on this forum. I've traced the wiring from the ABS control unit to the ABS pump (both pump and valve block connectors) with a multimeter and it all seems good. As far as I can see the ABS control unit is receiving +12V with the ignition on. I've checked the brake fluid level switch, the brake pedal travel switch, and the resistance on the wheel speed sensors, and it all seems good. When I turn the ignition on is the ABS pump supposed to run to build up pressure? The reason I ask is that mine does not. I have read the bentley manual but it only covers VRs and G60s (is this Teves 03?), and I'm not sure if the Passat 9A manual is relevant either. Only one relay of the two behind the glovebox is being energised when the ignition is switched on, and it goes on and turns off very quickly, like within 1 second. If I bridge one, (cant remember if its the 79 or the 179) the ABS pump runs, I can hear it whirring away. I haven't tried the other as it seemed to supply power to the valve block unit and I didn't want to damage it. Also, The wiring to the ABS warning light has all 8 wires in the connector plug, but the light itself only uses 5 wires. Have I got the correct warning light installed? Short of changing the ABS pump/valve block assy and hoping the problem is cured, does anyone have any better ideas for anything I can check for common faults? Is there a (where is the) low pressure switch? Should I replace both the relays in case I have a bad one? Any help would be extremely gratefully appreciated. Gareth

Hi Mikey The option for the latency is not in the VAG-COM software, rather its in Device Manager in the PC. Go to Control Panel > System > Click Hardware Tab > Open Device Manager > Expand "Ports (COM & LPT). You should see the Serial-USB name appear. (Mine is masquerading as COM2). Right Click and select Properties. In the Advanced section of the Properties window you should see "Latency". Set it to 5. It worked for me, went straight in. This was on an eBay lead and VAG-COM 4091us as you had. HTH Gareth

I had this problem on a Golf mk2. I replaced the pedal grommit as suggested above, but the cable still popped out. The novelty wears off quickly, especially when it happens on roundabouts!! The end of the cable is a hook-type affair, the end of the hook needs to be at 90 degrees to the end of the cable, or else it will keep popping out. A new cable should definitely sort it! HTH, Gareth

Hi All, Just purchased a VAG-COM lead off a well known auction site after noticing that my ABS wasn't working, and when I plug it in I get the following error code :- Error code 00532 - Supply Voltage B+. My car is a late 16V, with the Teves 04 ABS unit, the ABS distributor is bolted to the bulkhead on the passenger side of the car. After doing a search on here, I found the control unit behind the passenger kick panel, and have inspected the wiring to it which seems OK. There are two relays and two inline fuses below the glovebox, and when the ignition is turned to ON both the relays click. However they don't stay energised for very long, and so there's no continuous voltage at the ABS distributor. Has anyone else had this fault code, and how should I go about solving it? Could this be caused by a broken ABS warning light? (See my other post....) Thanks Gareth

Yes, I have lined up the rotor arm with the alignment mark in the dizzy body. I understand that this is just a base timing setup, and that I need to get it checked properly. Where is the wedge? And does anyone know a decent Bosch injection specialist in the South East area?

I'd like to say thanks for all the help on this thread. This evening I decided to sort this issue, so off out I went. After a spot of to-and-fro rotation of the crank (I was on my own) I found my "O" mark on the flywheel, after lining up the front pulley notch and the lower belt cover as recommended. The cam was still one tooth advanced. So I marked the distributor for reference, undid the cambelt tensioner and retarded the cam timing so that both marks lined up, then reset the cambelt tension. Lucky I kept that home-made tensioner tool I used on the Golf..... Car starts and runs much healthier now - it actually responds when you blip the throttle too :D Driven it round the block, and it feels much smoother and willing, but obviously going to get the timing and the idle mixture reset before it gets any major grief! Just wanted to say thanks for the help. Gareth!

Hi guys, just my twopenneth, but an air fuel ratio of 14.7:1 is just the theoretical ideal mixture for a petrol engine. However, engines should not run at 14.7 as they will run too lean and damage to engine and wallet will occur. 14.7:1 is also called the Stoichiometric Air Fuel Ratio, and is also commonly written as Lambda=1. :dorky: Lambda Value = Actual AFR divided by Stoichiometric Value. :dorky: :dorky: Mixtures with figures less than 14.7:1 are considered to be RICHER than ideal. So your AFR at 13:1 is 0.89 Lambda, which is about spot on for max power. You should not do any damage running the car past 5000 RPM with this setup (provided everything else is OK of course....) There are probably other reasons why you're not seeing the power you were expecting - remember rolling roads can only tell you what you're getting at the wheels, the power at the flywheel is just a guess, but that's a post for another day......

I completely agree. I've had and worked on VWs successfully before but always of the 8v variey. Damn this new-fangled multi-valve technology...... :wink: Well that'll keep me busy this evening!

Not that close - currently located in sunny Basildon, Essex.

Tried lining the mark on the pulley up with the arrow on the lower timing belt cover, but I couldn't see anything on the flywheel. Does this just mean that the car has had a new clutch - thus a new flywheel - at some point? Thanks ever so much for your help. I will check it out tonight. I thought that the timing being out would explain why the car doesn't feel "happy", there's not much response when you "blip" the throttle, and not much go below wide throttle openings. I wondered if it was the design of the throttle body, but I don't remember my old mk2 8V GTI Golf being that way.