Engine Diagnosis Light :-(

[benuk]

Around 2/3rds into an 100 mile round trip this morning the Engine Diagnosis Light came on, I don't notice anything different about the car or its performance. This evening I started the car and the light was out... but back again 5 mins later.. and has stayed on since.

From what I have read this could be anything from a minor sensor failing to the MAF or Lambda probe :-(

I have my 60k cambelt service in 2 weeks.. should I leave it until then to get this checked out or should I go ASAP??

Also anyone else have this light.. and what was the problem / cost ££

 

[RUM4MO]

Well, the script goes like this:- fault appears > warning light comes on > if fault then disappears > light stays on for 6 or 7 engine starts > then goes off > but, if fault stays on light stays on until fault goes away!

Light starting to come back on 5 minutes after engine start could mean Lambda prob trouble as probe output is ignored until engine and probe have had time to heat up!

 

[benuk]

thanks for the reply. No doubt it will be something expensive.. oh the 'joy' of owning a almost 5 year old car

 

[Damoegan]

Could be 1001 things mate, unless you get vag-com on it you will never know.

 

[benuk]

Could be 1001 things mate, unless you get vag-com on it you will never know.

Yeah.. I'm going to sort myself out with that for the future I think.

 

[beezanick]

You can pick up a lead for about £10 from ebay and get the software free. The ebay leads can take a bit of fiddleing with to get to work initialy, but then they are fine. The free software doesnt have all the functions, but it does tell tell you the fault codes and you can clear them, which is what you want.

 

[RUM4MO]

thanks for the reply. No doubt it will be something expensive.. oh the 'joy' of owning a almost 5 year old car

For the ENGINE+AUTO TRANS+ABS+SRS - where most of the annoying on the road problems stem from, Gendan sell a VAG + CAN scan tool for less than £40, I've got one in the glovebox - although I do have a fully legal VCDS back at home!

As you have found out, newer cars are more reliable, but when 4 or 5 years old, these nasty little VAG cars can and do bite your wallet quite a bit! This I am aware of only too well!

 

[benuk]

Light was on for a minute or so this morning after starting the car, and has been off ever since. So perhaps it was just a glitch.... I have ordered VAGCOM cable for myself and will get the dealer to check it out when I get my service in a couple of weeks anyway.

 

[beezanick]

Hopefully just a glitch then. After speaking to a seat technician about it, he said that the ECU checks to see if the fault is there each time the car is turned on. If it isnt it wont display the warning light. If it is a seious issue, it will leave the light on untill the fault code is cleared. Such as airbag failure ect.

 

[benuk]

Back on this afternoon as I feared :-( guess its something intermittent, will hopefully have VAG cable before the end of the week and I can post the diagnostic codes.

 

[RUM4MO]

Hopefully just a glitch then. After speaking to a seat technician about it, he said that the ECU checks to see if the fault is there each time the car is turned on. If it isnt it wont display the warning light. If it is a seious issue, it will leave the light on untill the fault code is cleared. Such as airbag failure ect.

Not really completely right, as I have said (and unfortunately seen too often on three VAG cars):- for non safety related faults - FAULT PRESENT = LIGHT ON > FAULT DISAPPEARS > LIGHT STAYS ON FOR 6 OR 7 FURTHER ENGINE STARTS THEN GOES OFF (fault codes are still held in controller module for that group).

 

[James_3]

I had the emissions light come on mine last week and like you say it stayed on for several starts and has now disappeared.

 

[benuk]

Got VAGCOM cable today, scanned all the auto-scan modules for 6L Seat Ibiza manually, results below.

The engine light has been going on and off for the last couple of days, scanned with light on.

Which of these codes can result in the engine light.. pretty sure Engine Coolant Temp Sensor (G62): Open or Short to Plus has been going for a while.. temp gauge fluctuates sometimes... so can't be that.. the next two seem to be to do with the climate control or something.. and not sure about the last one.

Searched the net for all these codes.. but nothing specific mentions the engine light.. I could clear the codes and see if any come back.. but want them to be there for when the garage look at it..

anyone got any ideas about what relates to the engine light.. or if there is any other modules I should scan in addition to the autoscan ones?? or can explain about each fault?

6L - Seat Ibiza
VAG-COM Version: Release 409.1-S

01,02(no response),03,08,09,15(dont do airbags),17,19,37(no response),44,46,56,69(no response)

01

1 Fault Found:
17664 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor (G62): Open or Short to Plus
P1256 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent

08

2 Faults Found:
00710 - Defroster Flap Positioning Motor (V107)
000 - - - Intermittent
01271 - Positioning Motor for Temperature Flap (V68)
000 - - - Intermittent

09

1 Fault Found:
01598 - Drive Battery Voltage
07-10 - Signal too Low - Intermittent

 

[benuk]

Decided to clear the codes this morning anyway.. (I will show the last scan results to the garage if they don't come back)

Cleared them all starting with 17664 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor (G62): Open or Short to Plus.. as soon as I cleared this one the engine light went out.. so I guess this must have been the cause.. which is funny as my temp gauge has been a bit weird for a while.

I'm expecting 17664 - Engine Coolant Temp Sensor (G62): Open or Short to Plus to return.. even if it doesn't I think I will get them to replace the sensor anyway.

 

[RUM4MO]

Just remember to buy a seal and retaining clip for that water temperature sensor when you buy it from a VAG dealer - the clip might get broken and the seal will not be fit for re-use. New sensor will probably be a different colour ie green and not black. Black willbe original fit and they are suspect.