devnull 0 Posted October 2, 2004 Hey everyone, I have a small problem. My check engine light is always on when I'm driving, and I wonder if it's not the MAF sensor. Here are the symptoms: * When I reset the ECU, (which I tried to see if I could get the light to go away), the engine hunts for a solid idle and it's really bouncing up and down (from like 500rpm to 1300rpm) * Once it finds the appropriate mixture (?), it stabilizes and doesn't hunt on startup at all unless I reset the ECU again. * I've also noticed that the exhaust smells quite strongly like gas, so I think it's running rich. * In addition, when I'm the throttle is more closed than open (really scientific, huh?), the car feels like it's "loping" (I can't think of any other way to explain it, it's not like it's dying, but it's a bit rough) If anyone has any other suggestions of things to check, please feel free to chime in, it won't hurt my diagnostic ego ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corradovr6sc 0 Posted October 2, 2004 It could well be the maf. When the maf is on its way out or completely dead the ecu overfuels which would explain the smell of petrol (and poor gas mileage) . When mine went my car was bucking like crazy. I suppose it could be other things such as the oxygen sensor or another engine sensor such as the cam sensor. It's probably best to get the car plugged into vag-com or it could get expensive replacing parts to isolate the problem. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devnull 0 Posted October 2, 2004 Yeah, I'm gonna see if the local VW parts place doesn't have the proper equipment. Also of note is that last week I had idle problems, cleaned out the ISV and then took it for a drive. The idle problemd were fixed, but when it got to around 2500-3000, it would buck and freak out until I let off the throttle (I switched gears each time it happened). I reset the ECU and then it seemed to go away (though I didn't have the check engine light at that time). Shortly after that the distributor rotor exploded... sigh :) Is the cam sensor located on the distributor? Also, does anyone know if when the check engine light comes on if the ECU shifts into "stupid mode" so you can get to a mechanic / fix it? It's a '92 VR6 (so, OBD-I?)... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike Edwards 0 Posted October 2, 2004 try disconnecting the MAF at idle. If there is no change in rpm, that's not good. Go for a drive and see if it feels any different. If it feels worse than when the MAF is connected, there's a different problem. If it feels exactly the same though... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
devnull 0 Posted October 2, 2004 Pulling the MAF plug causes it to practically die while idling. I guess I'll just have to wait till the mechanic is in on Monday and see if his code reader can't help me out. ;) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
