1.8 tsi coolant temp sensor

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
had engine management light come on about a day after my apr stage 1. just had the old man round with the code reader and got these:
p2681
p2556 engine coolant switch
p0116 engine coolant temp
p2181 cooling system performance
the codes would not clear at all. i spoke to awesome and they rekon its not the map but my old man rekons its defo something they did. my problem now is do i change the coolant temp switch or do i drive all the way back to manchester to awesome? they just said bring it in but its a 2 hour drive with faulty coolant sensor.

can anyone point me towards the location of the coolant temp sensor? i cant seem to find info on it.
 

adam davies

Active Member
Dec 30, 2019
347
145
had engine management light come on about a day after my apr stage 1. just had the old man round with the code reader and got these:
p2681
p2556 engine coolant switch
p0116 engine coolant temp
p2181 cooling system performance
the codes would not clear at all. i spoke to awesome and they rekon its not the map but my old man rekons its defo something they did. my problem now is do i change the coolant temp switch or do i drive all the way back to manchester to awesome? they just said bring it in but its a 2 hour drive with faulty coolant sensor.

can anyone point me towards the location of the coolant temp sensor? i cant seem to find info on it.
Type in ea888 coolant temp sensor on youtube in first vid it shows location. Did you scan using vcds or obd11.
Does car have coolant in it and does it use coolant(also check silica bag isnt broke in the coolant res).
Does the car blow hot air through vents when on hot in the car.
Does the car run and drive normal.
Does the engine oil and or water heat up on the instrument cluster. If they are both cold that would suggest thermostat is stuck open.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Was obd11. Has all its coolant and was in perfect health. I am getting hot air through the vents but not as hot as usual. And car runs normal. But just had the remap done. So who knows whats normal now. Only about 4 hours driving been put on it since wednesday when the remap was done. And no got no read outs on instrument cluster. No oil temp or coolant. But have had the coolant pop up from time to time but only seen it read between 50-65. The other coolant guage by the dials doesnt budge anymore. From the codes it seems to be coolant temp switch which is coolant temp sensor?
 

adam davies

Active Member
Dec 30, 2019
347
145
It seems your coolant temp and oil temp may be reading correctly and that the problem is the thermostat is broke and stuck open not allowing the car oil and water to heat up throwing a temp sensor issue, hense why the heat in the cabin is less than normal.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
It seems your coolant temp and oil temp may be reading correctly and that the problem is the thermostat is broke and stuck open not allowing the car oil and water to heat up throwing a temp sensor issue, hense why the heat in the cabin is less than normal.
Got it in the garage today. Hopefully not to serious.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Will let u know adam. Got it booked in for monday as the garage was booked up till next week. Its parked up for now.
seems its my own thread look what came through the door today tho.
 

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adam davies

Active Member
Dec 30, 2019
347
145
Will let u know adam. Got it booked in for monday as the garage was booked up till next week. Its parked up for now.
seems its my own thread look what came through the door today tho.
Ah nice, looks quality. If you could do a vid or sound clip of induction noise before and after that would be great, may tempt me to buy one 🤣.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Did you fix the problem ?
No mate. So from the fault codes me and the garage got. We thought we best go for temp sensor change. Seems to have fixed an issue with the temp not showing on the readout. Coolant gauge DOES go up on standstill on the dash but drops again when driving. The other code was for coolant level sensor which i have a brand new header tank to install. But…… i dont think this is going to clear up my issue. Could be thermostat but everyone thts looked cant guarantee it. Its an expensive maybe.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Type in ea888 coolant temp sensor on youtube in first vid it shows location. Did you scan using vcds or obd11.
Does car have coolant in it and does it use coolant(also check silica bag isnt broke in the coolant res).
Does the car blow hot air through vents when on hot in the car.
Does the car run and drive normal.
Does the engine oil and or water heat up on the instrument cluster. If they are both cold that would suggest thermostat is stuck open.
An update to this.
car has full coolant and showing p2556 coolant level switch. Other codes seem to have cleared. I also have a coolant level switch new to install in the new header bottle.
also the heaters still blow warmish air but not as hot as normal. The car only starts to heat up when in standstill and takes a long time. Only seen it get to 70. But drops back to 50 when driving again.
i guess im looking at a thermostat.
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Ah nice, looks quality. If you could do a vid or sound clip of induction noise before and after that would be great, may tempt me to buy one 🤣.
On a good note i threw the induction kit on and it made a huge difference in noise for me. Can clearly hear the spool and diverter now. One of my mates has ordered one for his s3 after he heard it. I will be putting the airbox back on when the car goes to have whatever needs doing next and get the comparison for you. Sounds much different when driving so might have to get the mrs hanging out the window with my phone haha
 
Jan 7, 2022
1
0
An update to this.
car has full coolant and showing p2556 coolant level switch. Other codes seem to have cleared. I also have a coolant level switch new to install in the new header bottle.
also the heaters still blow warmish air but not as hot as normal. The car only starts to heat up when in standstill and takes a long time. Only seen it get to 70. But drops back to 50 when driving again.
i guess im looking at a thermostat.
Did u get it sorted, have a very similar problem with my 1.2 tsi leon, one garage tells me he thinks its the water pump, another tells me its the thermostat,
 
Last edited:

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Did u get it sorted, have a very similar problem with my 1.2 tsi leon, one garage tells me he thinks its the water pump, another tells me its the thermostat,
Yes and no really. On the 1.8 the thermostat and waterpump are in one housing. Which has a tendency to leak coolant. Now the bad bit. Its a expensive part at £350 and 4-5 hour labour job. Ive got a quote from a vw specialist mechanic by me. An eye watering £950. To be honest i expected about 750-800 quid tops. Christmas and all i just never bothered shelling out. Saving up some money and booking it in at end of jan sometime. My cars not used mid week so its not a massive issue for me right now. The thermostat defaults to open so my car is just overcooling itself at the minute.
 

adam davies

Active Member
Dec 30, 2019
347
145
Yes and no really. On the 1.8 the thermostat and waterpump are in one housing. Which has a tendency to leak coolant. Now the bad bit. Its a expensive part at £350 and 4-5 hour labour job. Ive got a quote from a vw specialist mechanic by me. An eye watering £950. To be honest i expected about 750-800 quid tops. Christmas and all i just never bothered shelling out. Saving up some money and booking it in at end of jan sometime. My cars not used mid week so its not a massive issue for me right now. The thermostat defaults to open so my car is just overcooling itself at the minute.
Be carefull as a car overcooling is not healthy for the engine. The cat and valves wont reach the necessary temp to burn of carbon deposits etc.
Yes the 1.8tsi and 2.0tsi share the same water water pump and thermostat. Normally the water pump leaks but the thermostats are normally ok obviously not in your case.
Good luck with the fix cost sounds about right to be honest.
 
Nov 24, 2020
5
0
had engine management light come on about a day after my apr stage 1. just had the old man round with the code reader and got these:
p2681
p2556 engine coolant switch
p0116 engine coolant temp
p2181 cooling system performance
the codes would not clear at all. i spoke to awesome and they rekon its not the map but my old man rekons its defo something they did. my problem now is do i change the coolant temp switch or do i drive all the way back to manchester to awesome? they just said bring it in but its a 2 hour drive with faulty coolant sensor.

can anyone point me towards the location of the coolant temp sensor? i cant seem to find info on it.
Maybe this can be of some help for you? Hopefully you've got the issue sorted, mine needs a new thermostat and pump ££££££££
had engine management light come on about a day after my apr stage 1. just had the old man round with the code reader and got these:
p2681
p2556 engine coolant switch
p0116 engine coolant temp
p2181 cooling system performance
the codes would not clear at all. i spoke to awesome and they rekon its not the map but my old man rekons its defo something they did. my problem now is do i change the coolant temp switch or do i drive all the way back to manchester to awesome? they just said bring it in but its a 2 hour drive with faulty coolant sensor.

can anyone point me towards the location of the coolant temp sensor? i cant seem to find info on it.
Maybe this can be some help to you. Mine needs a new thermostat and pump
 

mike000

mk3 1.8 tsi
Jul 21, 2008
123
23
Birmingham
Bit of closure for the thread.

thermostat housing was gone. Signs of leaks and a small fracture to the side. Took to a vag specialist and all genuine parts were use. Had. New thermostat housing and water pump, new belt, odis scan, coolant sensor was changed again and they put the header tank with sensor inside on which i already had brought. £996.
everything back to normal.
 
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