Molgrips car #4 – A New Hope

Footflaps’s story is exactly what I’m afraid of.

My advice would be find a local tuner who can do custom remaps and has a rolling road (as they will know a lot more about ECUs than VAG dealers). I used AMD in Bicester, but they’ve since gone out of business and been bought up by someone else.

Yeah they’re on my list. Tempted to do the ‘give it back when it’s fixed’ thing too, but I’m convinced they’ll either spend hours finding out what I already know or change half the car and then say ‘dunno’.

Going to call http://the-ecu-doctor.co.uk/ today.

EDIT: I might offer to do them a new website in exchange for fixing my car 🙂

That’s why you go to an ECU place with Rolling Road….

They can try things, test in situ etc…. instead of you going back and forth etc. You then know exactly where you are.

Just to get this right. I haven’t read all so bear with me.
You take the car to a garage who buggered it.
Instead of taking it back to them to fix you take it to everyone and his brother who are struggling to diagnose what the first garage did. Maybe instead of posting on here about what it could be (which seems to take most of your time) just bloody take it back to the first garage and get them to fix it.
Or have I missed something?

Or have I missed something?

yep.

Or have I missed something?

Yes, the months of me entreating him to fix it and being put off, at which point he admitted he knew f-all about electrics, couldn’t help, and gave me the name of the specialist he went to.

So Trading Standards couldn’t help?

Trading standards took my call and tut-tutted at the story.. I said I’d contact him asking for refunds first. I dunno if they can actually act though?

EDIT apparently they can.. hmm…

Not now you’ve gone to 30 other garages as who knows where the damage was done.

Not now you’ve gone to 30 other garages as who knows where the damage was done

I’m not repeating it all here but I know exactly what caused the issues and what was done.

iolo – I think if you can’t even be arsed to read this thread and its predecessors there’s no point leaping in on page 5 of this one and stirring things up further?

There’s at least two versions of the wiring on ELSA for slightly different variants of the car, and Pierburg make a 4 and 5 pin version of the flap. The pin numbers I have from ELSA are quite different.

I’ll say this again

it sounds like the ECU you have been given simply isn’t matched to your car’s wiring loom – wrong model or year or variant or something.

Until you have an ECU that matches your particular car’s model & variant, all bets are off.

And for that reason, I’m out.

I know.. that’s my conclusion also – either that or a fault.

Need to get back to Permoveo, but my chances of persuading them are pretty much nil because they are arseholes.

Molgrips have you tried any of the VW/AUDI forums like UKPassats ? Maybe someone’s had the same issue.

I’ve combed the internet, not one single reference to these problems. Very few people get the exact same error about the flap, and if they do it’s part of a longer list caused by wider electrical problems. Not one single reference to slow shifts.

At least, I couldn’t find any.

Molly,

You need to forget about what you know, what’s happend in the past, who’s done what etc.

Take the car to a PROPER expert and say

“My car doesn’t shift right since getting an ECU swap, can you check, diagnose and sort please”

then go home and wait 🙂

This probably is of no use whatsoever but – my car had the gearbox drained/removed during a flywheel replacement and when it came back it was slow to shift up (i.e. revved too high before shifting).
Took it back to the garage who said that it was probably gear oil level – they topped it up and it’s been fine since.

The moral of this story is – how sure are you it’s an electrical fault?

Hmm. I did think about oil level. I had a look in the box and it seemed ok, but I wasn’t on flat ground.

Given you’ve said that though I might have another look. Or do a top-up based on the procedures online. But like I say, problem only happened when the ecu was changed, it’d done about 20k miles since the gearbox oil change without this problem.

It’s slow both up and down btw.

Hmm. I did think about oil level. I had a look in the box and it seemed ok, but I wasn’t on flat ground.

sorry but you do sound incompetent

Hence my previous comments that I got flamed on

sorry but you do sound incompetent

So do you.

we’ve reached that level now have we? 🙄

You’re the one telling me I’m incompetent without any evidence.

I had a look in the transmission case on a slight slope, to check the oil condition. I merely happened to mention that it was not obviously underfilled.

You’re the one telling me I’m incompetent without any evidence.

To be fair to greeble, some might be of the opinion that there’s about 6 pages of evidence right here!

Best thing Moly, bugger off and get it sorted however you see fit. When it’s done, come back and let us all know what magic was weaved.

There’s little point in this continuing as it’s currently just a vehicle for your debating skills…

I just posted for anyone who’s interested in what happened with the car. Got some good technical posts and some good advice, which is appreciated. But people seem to like to tell me how stupid I am too.

There’s little point in this continuing as it’s currently just a vehicle for your debating skills…

and this thread has turned into a mass-debate.

I feel it should come to its end

Yeah but it’s not really going anywhere is it? You’ve got a couple of ideas (mostly based on using someone who knows what they’re doing – well duh!). You just need to either sell it, live with it or fix it.

You don’t want to sell it, fair enough.

You say you want to fix it.

So you’ve either mastered the skills etc via this journey of discovery or you need to use an ‘expert’. Choose one and crack on.

There’s not much more to it is there?

Amen boblo

Oh.. no.. I should not have looked….

2007 Skoda Superb 2.5 V6 TDI £5,995

❗

tbh Moly I do have some sympathy as I believe it is usually cheaper/better to repair something you know than to buy something new, but now and again it is better just to get rid.

I ran a m/c past 50k, bought it new and loved it. But when I look back the cost after 35k meant it would’ve been cheaper just to have bought a new one. In the last two years I’ve swapped out 2 cars due to the cost to fix (autobox on one and 2 pages of MOT failures/advisories on the other); but then I buy at the end of the market that lets me ‘walk’ when I need to. Plus always pay cash so no finance issues.

I’d get rid if I was you.

A poorly matched ECU is not indicative of recurring mechanical issues though is it?

There’s little point in this continuing as it’s currently just a vehicle for your debating skills… a mob mentality to develop and just have a pop at someone because others have

FIFY

Take the car to a PROPER expert and say

These Experts you refer to don’t work in garages, they work in VAG development in Germany and you can’t just take your car to them. Having been in the same situation, it’s very hard to find anyone who can properly diagnose ECU problems as the tools don’t exist outside of the manufacturer’s R&D teams.

Don’t be silly Ben, we were just going round in circles. Moly likes to ask for feedback and then forensically examine it to the death. In this case the choices are limited. That’s all.

BTW, I don’t need you to fix my posts thanks, I’ll look after them myself.

<edit> and if it’s impossible to get to someone who knows about ECU’s (I don’t subscribe to this BTW) and Moly doesn’t want to put up with the issue, that just leaves one choice. No?

Do these experts read this forum? If not there’s not much point talking any more about it.
Leave it somewhere with the keys in. The neighborhood should be as rough as possible.

BTW, I don’t need you to fix my posts thanks, I’ll look after them myself.

Interesting double standards, fine to have a pop at Molly, but someone makes a comment on one of your posts and that’s just not cricket….

A poorly matched ECU is not indicative of recurring mechanical issues though is it?

Its nothing to do with the reason, just cash – that is all that matters.

Cash and aggravation. One usually resolves the other.

My point is that the ecu issue is no reason to assume the car will cost me more money down the line.

PS thanks footflaps 🙂

My point is that the ecu issue is no reason to assume the car will cost me more money down the line.

Your point is incorrect. That is not a safe assumption to make.