Thursday, December 02, 2010 - 03:09 pm, by: Shaun Luckhurst(Pornus)
Hi, last week my TT started to feel like it was spluttering when I accelerated and would get to 2250rpm then cut out back to 1500rpm, then try to accelerate again up to 2250rpm before doing the same. After a few attempts of accelerating not so hard it seemed to be OK and would accelerate pass the 2250rpm cut off point.
Today however I just cannot get it to rev past 2250rpm, whether gently accelerating or flooring it. It fires up OK and idles normally but as soon as I push the accelerator down far enough to get past 2250rpm it just cuts back to about 1500rpm and the car tries again to accelerate again before hitting 2250rpm and dropping back to 1500rpm (it does this whether driving or stationary). It does this quickly and so feels like the car is jerking backwards and forwards. If I do this for a little while (15s) then when I take my foot off the accelerator the revs drop off to nothing and the car stops. It fires up again OK and idles normally.
There are no error warnings on the dash.
Any ideas? I know the trans fluid needs changing (as recommended by my mechanic) but would this cause this weird behaviour? And I need a new air filter and this has yet to be fitted, but again would this cause this behaviour? I see some other posts talk about shorted out gear box solenoids? Or maybe a turbo has blown although there is no whining noticeable - the car is as normal except it won't accelerate past 2250rpm!
Any help would be greatly appreciated before I bring Adelaide traffic to a stop trying to make it to my mechanic at 30km/h!
-try resetting the ecu? -change spark plugs -check oil levels -blocked airfilter? -check all intercooler piping < actually i remember when i blew my piping out it wouldnt pass 2.5k poped and splattered like all hell.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 - 09:01 pm, by: Evan Nguyen(Enguyen87)
Guessing you've got the same problem as me and the ECU has crapped itself. Try doing a diagnostic and see if any errors came up. I had a TPS error which turned out to be an ECU problem.
Thursday, December 02, 2010 - 11:54 pm, by: Aiden Cheese(Chillpen)
I know its something i keep saying over and over, but check your catalytic converter.. when my insides of mine turned 90 degree's i couldn't accellerate at all past about 50 at about 3000rpm it died.. i drove for maybe 250m like that before i pulled onto a safe bit of ground and took the exhaust off from the dumps back.
Maybe not the problem not even that easy to check, but if your cat is falling apart like mine was then it's probably something you'll have to replace anyway soon. Should be able to tell if you can hear it rattling around at just a shake of the pipe. The only bits that can rattle are the honeycomb which have broken off...
Saturday, December 04, 2010 - 06:10 am, by: Daniel Clarke(Dieseltrain)
By the way , If you an intercooler pipe comes off , you can drive the car fine all the way to redline if you want . It wont missfire as these cars run a MAP sensor and are not affected by it .
Only MAF sensored cars like 1JZvvti or Nissans have such issues .
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 - 02:49 pm, by: Shaun Luckhurst(Pornus)
Thanks for all your help guys. The mechanic says its in 'Limp Home Mode' and is trying to work out what is causing this and how to fix it. Does anyone have any experience with this and what the fix is?
Tuesday, December 07, 2010 - 03:45 pm, by: Jeff Bedsor(Jeff_bedsor)
I didn't think Soarers had that feature. If so just disconnecting the battery for a few minutes would reset the ecu back to original. I'm still going with faulty capacitors in the ECU.
Thursday, December 09, 2010 - 10:50 pm, by: Chris Prak(Carizma)
Run a diagnostics, get the codes, and search codes on the forum. Tell us what you get. Could be any of the sensors causing the ECU to go into limp mode to protect it from further damage.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 05:37 pm, by: Samuel David(Sammy_david)
Hi guys, although this is my first 'post', I’ve been browsing through this forum for a couple of years now – ever since I bought my ’91 TT.
First of all, I’d like to thank many of you for your well-considered advice and contribution. Now, the reason for my post: I have exactly the same problem as Shaun. The only difference is, my car doesn’t stop when I take my foot off the accelerator – it idles like normal.
When this problem initially appeared, my first thought (after browsing through this forum) was to try the fuel pump ecu bypass. That worked for a month. After my second semester exams, the symptoms re-appeared. I thought it could be the fuel pump being worn out, so I replaced that. The car drove like a dream for 2 days, and then it went back to the intermittent revving problem described by Shaun.
I’m thinking about handing the car over to a mechanic – Nandi's autocare in Dandenong. Before I do, I just wanted to know if there was any progress with your ride Shaun. Cheers
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 07:42 pm, by: Chris Prak(Carizma)
Samuel, if you temporarily fixed it after changing something, then it could well be related. Try changing the fuel filter, using a fresh batch of 98ron+ fuel, replacing the fuel ECU, and maybe check injectors.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 - 10:33 pm, by: Samuel David(Sammy_david)
Thanks for the speedy reply Chris, but I ought to mention that on one occasion after roughly 2 weeks of inactivity, I started the car up to take it to the mechanic (in Clayton - about 10km from my place) and it worked absolutely flawlessly - I hadn't changed a thing.
The mechanic told me it was an ECU issue and wanted to run a diagnostic for $160. I took the car back. Surprisingly, it drove back home fine too.
The next day, in my elation, I drove it all the way to Berwick and back (40km round trip) without any hassles.
On the third day, however, again without changing a thing, the car started with the intermittent revving.
So, I'm not sure whether the fuel pump was actually a contributing factor. The fuel pump ecu, however, did seem directly related to the jerking; if I started the car on a cold engine with the bypass unclipped, the car would jerk.
Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 07:45 pm, by: Shaun Luckhurst(Pornus)
My mechanic said the ECU was buggered and fitted a reconditioned one (cost ~$750 all up [$550 for the ECU and 2.5 hrs labour for the troubleshooting, fitting etc]). Its worked fine ever since. I don't believe my mechanic knew what the actual problem with the ECU was and it could have just needed new caps, as some recommended, but they didn't have the skills for that so was easier for them to replace the ECU - but did cost me $750 to fix up!!!!
Once again thanks for all your help fellow Soarians...
Thursday, January 20, 2011 - 09:09 pm, by: Samuel David(Sammy_david)
Thanks Shaun for the heads up. I opened up the ecu the other day, and mine looks to be in pristine condition - not even dusty. No leaking capacitors, nothing to indicate any underlying problem...but in either case, looks like it's a job for the professionals. The car's booked in for Monday; I've got my fingers crossed.
Friday, March 11, 2011 - 04:13 pm, by: Samuel David(Sammy_david)
Guys, I just want to give any of you who are interested a heads up:
The car gave trouble ONE DAY after Nandi 'fixed' it. turns out, he didn't check the wiring or configure the TPS position or ...anything.
I took it back, he 'fixed' it again, it worked for ONE day, then same problem.
Took it to Ramesh at 'Fuji Motors' - just down the road from Nandi, they diagnosed as a faulty ECU. So, $330 later ($250 for the ECU, $80 for their diagnostic work - they had to re-check Nandi's work...) the car is again driving smoothly.
My experience with Fuji Motors was FAR more pleasant and they gave a warranty for their work -beat that!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 - 10:55 am, by: Samuel David(Sammy_david)
Hey Kev, I'm not very competent with the electronics of the ecu, but I guess the options are fairly straightforward:
~$300 for a replacement ECU or significantly less for a 'trial' with the capacitor replacements, followed by a $300 replacement of the ECU if still required.
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