# Diesel Problems



## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Hey all - sorry for initially posting in the wrong section - oops

anyhoo...

I've had a bit of trouble with my Seat Exeo recently - it's a 2011 2.0 crtdi Sport. I'll try to explain as best I can:-

I put £50 of BP ultimate Diesel in on 22nd May - 24th May the car began running EXTREMELY roughly (typically a Friday night and a Bank Holiday weekend too - Murphy / Sod's law...) Anyhoo, contacted the Seat dealership in Belfast on the morning of the 28th and the car was booked in for the Friday 31st. 

The rough running was sporadic so I was able to drive the car without much of a problem - and with the agreement of the garage. They took the car in on the Friday ran the diagnostics - fault found re insufficient fuel pressure at injectors. They drained the furl filter and replaced it. The fuel that came out of the filter was absolutely filthy and it was deemed to be the cause. End result - fault cleared and car running well.

Roll on until yesterday evening and the car started running roughly again. seemed to be starving itself of fuel. I contacted a local mechanic who again pointed to the diesel and reckoned i should put some diesel in the tank and drive the nuts out of it - problem solved briefly bizarrely. Today it was as bad as ever and eventually went into 'limp home' mode - the strange thing is that in limp home mode the car ran as sweet as a nut, albeit without much power. Before that it would barely tick over and was incredibly lumpy and would cut out completely at times. Makes me think it's not actually the diesel after all - perhaps a sensor sending a faulty signal somewhere which is overridden when the limp home mode engages? dunno....

Any suggestions as to what you lot think i should do or what you reckon it is would be appreciated.

Thanks

Cooks


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

first of all, any fault codes at all? 
Any warning lights?
Check for any metal filings in the fuel filter housing. Seen this a few times now causing all sort of running problems. Requires a whole fuel system to cure.
Is it a genuine fuel filter? 
Has the electric fuel pump checked?
There are known concerns for injectors at the moment (I work at vw) which requires fuel injector correction values to be checked via diag machine and will also test injectors, even having to do them on brand new cars now (PDI'S) some needing more than one injector
Vag are normally quite good with sensor faults, normally shows up if faulty
May be worth draining fuel completely and re filling with fresh fuel as a precaution bit of filings are found then its not worth it.
No warranty on the vehicle?


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

possul said:


> first of all, any fault codes at all?
> Any warning lights?
> Check for any metal filings in the fuel filter housing. Seen this a few times now causing all sort of running problems. Requires a whole fuel system to cure.
> Is it a genuine fuel filter?
> ...


Cheers Possul - 
yes the glow plug coil was flashing but went out after stopping/starting again - obviously the code remained in the background but i'm not aware of the actual code. Agnew's replaced the genuine filter with another new genuine one - they captured some of the diesel which was a bit murky (in a lucozade bottle) but no filings evident or even mentioned.
Don't think they checked the fuel pump - no mention of it anyway - i think it was a quick in-out with a new filter and clear the code to be honest. It's going back in tomorrow so with your permission I'll quote your post if that's ok.
The car has manufacturers warranty until March next year.
Thanks again - really appreciate the advice.
Cooks


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

We have miss fuelled a touran a couple of times and fillings were found, it was cleaned out new filters and it still runs, I think it was almost 4k if they went wn the replacement parts route ... Ouch.


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

By the way - the car has 44k on it with a full Agnew's Seat service history.

Cooks


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Cookies said:


> Cheers Possul -
> yes the glow plug coil was flashing but went out after stopping/starting again - obviously the code remained in the background but i'm not aware of the actual code. Agnew's replaced the genuine filter with another new genuine one - they captured some of the diesel which was a bit murky (in a lucozade bottle) but no filings evident or even mentioned.
> Don't think they checked the fuel pump - no mention of it anyway - i think it was a quick in-out with a new filter and clear the code to be honest. It's going back in tomorrow so with your permission I'll quote your post if that's ok.
> The car has manufacturers warranty until March next year.
> ...


No problem, coil light could also be EGR faults, common again now on the common rail vag diesels. We have done a lot of those to!


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Cookies said:


> Cheers Possul -
> in tomorrow so with your permission I'll quote your post if that's ok.
> Cooks


They might pull there finger out if you mention things like that, if someone has an idea about things they tend to get looked at properly


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Possul - many thanks again for your help and advice. Quick update from today's events - they sent a fuel sample for analysis and it came back clear so SEAT will be covering any necessary repairs under warranty! Absolutely delighted by this and the guys at Agnews were all brilliant to be honest. I was shocked at the cost of a high pressure fuel pump though (£1100).... and i may need 4 injectors too @ £450 odd each!

Cooks


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

That sounds to me like contamination. Not your fault, something worn maybe.
For it to need a high pressure pump and injectors. 
Only fault for the pump is contamination from metal particles imo.

Glad it's being sorted


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## Cookies (Dec 10, 2008)

Quick update - car now back in my hands and it's better than ever. I have to honestly say that the service staff and technicians in Agnew's Seat on the Boucher Road, Belfast have been absolutely FANTASTIC - guy called Sandy in particular -it's nice to deal with and be treated like a human being for a change. They've completely restored my faith in Agnew's after an awful experience with Agnew's VW 2 years ago! 
Really big thankyou to you possul for the words of advice and help.
Cheers
Cooks


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

That's brilliant every thing has been sorted, talking about limp mode I have a Golf TDI and that thing goes in limp mode all the time, usually when shifting from third gear to 4 th gear, the car has been in limp mode 7 times in total, can be dangerous at times I might have a fuel pump issue as well.


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

Change the fuel pump relay, cheap and easy to do and a possibility it could cue it.
Does it do it on full throttle?


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## mikeydee (May 4, 2010)

had a similar fault on my mondeo tdci and it turned out to be the high pressure pump.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Thankyou Possul, mines a PD version one so will there be a relay fuel pump plus will it show on a diagnostics port.
I was speaking to mechanics for cleaning the egr out, but was informed diesels do not need doing, but I think it could with a clean.

Possul it does not do it on full throttle though, only when going up hill and changing from 3rd to 4th gear.


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

They have a lift pump in the tank so should have a relay fitted.
I've seen suel starvation faults caused by clogged fuel filters, worst was a toureg that has both turbos replaced which turned out to be fuel filters!
Very common on PD lumps due to the cylinder head design.
Cleaning out EGR valve is an idea, they get clogged up to fxxk on diesels
They may also have a variable runner on the inlet manifold which either brakes of and causes boost leaks or siezes up. Did one last week on a passat which was snapped and leaking.
If it is going into limp mode there will be some sort of code stored, if fuel pressure related, go with above


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Thank you Possul for your help, what I will do is get the scanned tomorrow at my local garage for the fualt codes, but one thing I forgot to mention was when I start from cold for the first minute I cannot hear the turbo wine at all, after a minute the turbo sound comes which I have to mention to the garage tomorrow, just hope it's not the turbo going, but what I will do is change the fuel filter and see where the fault codes lie, thank you for your help on here, you have alot of knowledge with in VW'S.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

I got my car scanned today and it came with a fault Charge pressure control, was informed my turbo might need a strip down and clean or too possibly buy a new turbo due to my vanes might be caked with carbon.

But one thing the mechanic was not to sure on was why when starting the car from cold, it takes the turbo 1 to 2 minutes to spool up and whine, which is baffling as he suggested when starting the car the turbo always whines from the start but mine does not, would anyone know what could cause this, could it be not enough pressure generated from the exhaust gases, so after a minute there is enough to spool the turbo up.


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## Geordieexile (May 21, 2013)

Trip tdi said:


> I got my car scanned today and it came with a fault Charge pressure control, was informed my turbo might need a strip down and clean or too possibly buy a new turbo due to my vanes might be caked with carbon.
> 
> But one thing the mechanic was not to sure on was why when starting the car from cold, it takes the turbo 1 to 2 minutes to spool up and whine, which is baffling as he suggested when starting the car the turbo always whines from the start but mine does not, would anyone know what could cause this, could it be not enough pressure generated from the exhaust gases, so after a minute there is enough to spool the turbo up.


Not sure why it would noticeably whine on idle as you're not on boost, though it should spin up. The only reason I would imagine it wouldn't start to spin up as normal at low speeds would be a wastegate that's jammed open when cold for some reason. The turbine either spins or it doesn't. A turbo with knackered bearings can be a slow spinner but they don't last and get hotter than satan's bath! Holding the tip of a long screwdriver against the turbo body with your ear on the handle can give an idea that the turbo is spinning.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Thank you for your help on here Geordieexile, I start the car and drive the car immediately but for the first minute to two minutes I can not hear the whine, I don't rev the car from idle just drive but even at 2,300 rpm the turbo turbine can not be heard for the first two minutes, then afterwards the turbo sound kicks in, I was thinking maybe the exhaust gases have not reached a pressure or my vnt rod is stuck; but one thing I do notice is when starting the car from cold I sometimes get a white smoke from the intercooler side, checked the connections and the pipes are intact and look ok.


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## Geordieexile (May 21, 2013)

When you say smoke from the intercooler side you mean from the pressure side not the exhaust? If that's the case I'd be tempted to check the intercooler inlet hose for oil and that the pipe isn't collapsing or restricted in some way, though its hard to say without seeing it.


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

It's not from the exhaust from the rear or underneath the engine, it's from the front driver side Intercooler, but where the intercooler is I have a splash guard in the way but I know it does smoke white smoke on the first start up and have oil leaking from the intercooler, slight oil leak but the mechanic informed me it's normal and nothing to worry about, but I alot of wooshing sound from the intercooler side but when the charge pressure control code was erased my power has come back now, which is plus point now.

The mechanic has given me a quote of £200 for taking the turbo off the car and cleaning the turbo of soot, but the thing is he is not to sure what the issue could be yet.


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## Geordieexile (May 21, 2013)

A whooshing sound from the intercooler sounds like loss of pressure supplied by the turbo. Removing soot/ carbon isn't going to stop oil getting to the intercooler if it's coming from the turbo. There are a couple of things that can lead to oil in the intercooler on different cars. One is turbo seals which a de-coke won't sort. Another is that the crankcase breather can send oil to the inlet side of the turbo which will push through to the intercooler. Most diesels will get some oil in the intercooler from either of these reasons and from some oil vapour condensing out from breather tubes; however, I wouldn't expect the intercooler to smoke or significantly leak.
From what you've said here the mechanic's offer to clean your turbo won't fix the problem you're having ... unless you thing the wastegate is coked open and this may spool you up faster. It'll do nothing for a leaky /oily intercooler.


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## possul (Nov 14, 2008)

I would of thought waste gate stuck open would give a slower spool with boost pressure being released through the waste gate.
Did they give a reading with the code? Vag normally get over boost or under boost faults


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