Golf GTI Edition 35 : N276 / N80 / N75 fault codes together suddenly / effective limp mode : root cause was broken loom wire under the main engine bay fuse box

 

no recent changes
car running great
54k miles

just went out to the car after work on Thurs, it started but misfired, i turned it off then it was ok and i drove home...
then went to use it again an hr later and it barely started, and i get EPC/EML lights on, and its barely driveable , just bogs down

VCDS scan shows me at least 4 things that now appear to have no power
(which implies an upstream relay, fuse or cable issue , hopefuly not the ECU!)

4 Faults Found:
008852 - Fuel Pressure Regulator Valve (N276)
               P2294 - 004 - Open Circuit
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 01100100
                    Fault Priority: 2
                    Fault Frequency: 1
                    Reset counter: 255
                    Mileage: 88207 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2050.14.20
                    Time: 21:43:24

             Freeze Frame:
                    RPM: 756 /min
                    Load: 20.0 %
                    Speed: 0.0 km/h
                    Temperature: 66.0°C
                    Temperature: 41.0°C
                    Absolute Pres.: 1010.0 mbar
                    Voltage: 14.224 V

001112 - Evap System Purge Control Valve (N80)
               P0458 - 002 - Short to Ground
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 01100010
                    Fault Priority: 2
                    Fault Frequency: 1
                    Reset counter: 255
                    Mileage: 88207 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2050.14.20
                    Time: 21:43:25

             Freeze Frame:
                    RPM: 765 /min
                    Load: 20.0 %
                    Speed: 0.0 km/h
                    Temperature: 66.0°C
                    Temperature: 41.0°C
                    Absolute Pres.: 1010.0 mbar
                    Voltage: 14.097 V

000052 - Turbocharger Bypass Valve Control Circuit
               P0034 - 002 - Low
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 01100010
                    Fault Priority: 2
                    Fault Frequency: 1
                    Reset counter: 255
                    Mileage: 88207 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2050.14.20
                    Time: 21:43:25

             Freeze Frame:
                    RPM: 765 /min
                    Load: 20.0 %
                    Speed: 0.0 km/h
                    Temperature: 66.0°C
                    Temperature: 41.0°C
                    Absolute Pres.: 1010.0 mbar
                    Voltage: 14.097 V

000581 - Solenoid Valve  for Boost Pressure Control (N75)
               P0245 - 002 - Short to Ground
             Freeze Frame:
                    Fault Status: 01100010
                    Fault Priority: 2
                    Fault Frequency: 1
                    Reset counter: 255
                    Mileage: 88207 km
                    Time Indication: 0
                    Date: 2050.14.20
                    Time: 21:43:25

             Freeze Frame:
                    RPM: 765 /min
                    Load: 20.0 %
                    Speed: 0.0 km/h
                    Temperature: 66.0°C
                    Temperature: 41.0°C
                    Absolute Pres.: 1010.0 mbar
                    Voltage: 14.097 V

Battery voltage is good (see above)

which at this point looks like a fuse/relay ive missed , ecu or broken wire

At this point I took the car to my local trusted garage for them to triage from here


symptoms were reduced voltage (3V) against the circuits indicated as faulty on the fusebox

garage tried loom checks, fusebox replacement, an ecu swap
and it made no difference, so they went back through the continuity loom check and they then found a short under the fusebox as it bends and passes through metal

(anyone got a picture of the loom routing under the fusebox by any chance?)

at that point they also worked out the relay had been taken out by the problem too.

So in all whats changed on the path to resolution

• new relay
• a few new fusebars (precaution)
• new fusebox engine bay
• repair loom short
• 4 hrs labour

final bill was just short of £700, of which 50% is parts and 50% labour.     

Garage have been brill in progressing this work, I left it with them indicating they had as much time as needed to resolve and no rush
that way they could work on it as and when around other jobs (they did way more than the 4hrs they charged for)


moral of the story , its usually something simple (but it can take a lot of time to get to just where!)


Most of this is repeated at https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,132793.0.html to share the knowledge

326 miles in a day around Wales on the S1000r gen2

The biggest single day trip Ive personally ever done on a motorbike ever.
A superb rideout with Rubber Side Down facebook group (which I only joined 12hrs earlier).

326 miles in total

started 730 am arrived home 12 hrs later!
at least 8.5 hrs in the seat

Had so much fun and riding I failed to take many pictures.
Bike was faultless.
scrubbed the rear tyre in nicely and finally noticed its a dual compound design
These bar risers (came on the bike) , are simply superb and I had no neck pain
( https://www.sportouring.co.uk/shop/mvmotorrad/mvbarrisers/mv-handlebar-adapter-bmw-s1000r-901443/ )

up to 10414 miles now (bike came with 9253) , 

so 1161 miles so far into ownership since 01/11/2021

a quarter of that mileage just on this day trip!

(tyres new at that stage too)

tyre now showing the obvious dual compound line
Pirelli Diablo IV

Golf GTI Edition 35 service 2022 : Oil / Filter and Cabin Filter

Last service blog is 2020 to 2021 blog service entry

from

Feb 2021 49546

to

Feb 2022 53285

3739 miles between services (even less than 2020-21)

this time I went for 

• Bosch oil filter x 1
• Bosch cabin/pollen filter x 1
• Oil sump drain plug with seal x 1
• Millers Oils Trident Professional 5w40 engine oil x 5 litres (4.6L capacity listed by Millers for this vehicle)

given the low mileage, no need for cam follower yet (replaced at 34k and I dont run a stg2 pump kit so low risk)

lots of service kits available 

Fergusons of Stirling : CDLG service kit

cost £47.90

Easy job now, jack up car, remove undertray (8 screws), drain oil, replace filter (remember to replace the lip seal).

reset indicator using VCDS which I have

 Mileage should now increase as lockdown is over.
Yearly service is done, car finally gets a properwash as its dry and sunny.

Car will be 10 years old and approx 55,000 miles  at the end on May 2022

(for comparison my Edition 30 was 110,000 miles at 10 years old!)

how to fit dashcam (nextbase 322GW) to Mk2 VW Tiguan RHD

 

by far the best guide ive seen specific for this vehicle (and Australia match UK in being RHD)

https://www.autoinstruct.com.au/manufacturer/volkswagen/mk2-tiguan/mk2-tiguan-dash-cam-install/

nextbase 322GW camera kit which was a 50th birthday gift

sandisk 128GB high endurance sd card £19 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07NY23WBG/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

nextbase fitting kit from amazon £19

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07QHTPPYJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I put off fitting but it really was simple (30 mins)

just dont switch the ignition on if you have the airbag deactivation switch unclipped !

some additional pictures below which may help with the clip (the guide above wasnt clear on this)

heres the first top clip pulled out a little (but still attached to the car)

heres after ive used a screwdriver to push the clip up and out of the plastic

heres what the clip looks like removed from the car

the location i piggybacked into a switched live feed

location on windscreen , cant really be seen from drivers seat (RHD)

new rear tyres VW Tiguan Mk2 at 40,629 miles : Pirelli Scorpion Verde All Season 255/40 R20 V (101)

original rear are Continental but these are expensive and i already had the front tyres changed to the Pirellis just before Xmas.

Seem to be good for the price, so replacing the rears will give a matched brand set and close on tread depth (there is talk on forums of the haldex system failing if you go > 3mm tread depth difference front to rear)

Of note they also retain the self seal capacity (but are NOT run flats)

Still not cheap as they are 20inch wheels

255/40 R20 V (101)

2017 Gen2 BMW S1000R evotech tail tidy fitting install / UK number plate options (standard legal, 8x6, 7x5)

 why ?

+ : creates cleaner lines for the bike

- : provides less weather protection, you will get a wet/dirty back! rooster tails

you can also go for integrated tail lights (which removes the indicator stalks as well) but i find these harder to see and in my opinion not a great idea on a motorcycle (but do give an awesome clean rear end!)

options

many inc R&G , evotech, ebay copies etc

check out the https://www.s1000r.co.uk/index.php forum and do some searching lots of options,pictures and comment to help you decide

of note i didnt like the R&G as it spaces the indicators wider than the OE positions

evotech get good reviews , appears well made. full kit, includes a replacement LED rear number plate lamp

https://evotech-performance.com/collections/bmw-s-1000-r-2017-2020/products/bmw-s-1000-naked-2013-onwards-tail-tidy-2017-onwards

£82

(i got mine from https://chainspeed.co.uk/ , but they dont seem to sell them anymore! )

Evotech Tail Tidy vs BMW OE hanger

note the huge reflector in OE part

note the change from rectangular light to small oval led 

installation is relatively simple.
despite the instructions , you do have to cut the wires to the rear number plate lamp

i chose to use hot gun soldering mini connectors (not supplied) , then black heat shrink supplied in kit) over the top for an OE look job.

at this point I also chose to move to a 7x5 number plate from the original UK MOT legal one which is 9x7 and has BS number and postcode.

its also up to you whether you want to fit a reflector or not.
some might argue running a non legal uk plate then why bother.
you could use a small round button reflector and fit to corner of number plate.

I wanted to fit a reflector , but needed to be much smaller than the one supplied in the evotech kit.

I used 

https://pyramid-plastics.co.uk/products/universal-number-plate-reflector

which is much smaller, neater and in keeping with the smaller plate, and means you dont drill.

(i bought 2 , one for my new plate and one for the original full size plate)

Come MOT time , I can then just undo 2 number plate screws and make the bike pass an MOT.

BEFORE and AFTER

heres a comparison of UK motorcycle plates of different sizes

the general format for a recent plate would be

AA11
 AAA

(letter box fully horizontal all text in one line is possible but no longer road legal and pretty obvious at that)

as below you can see

• fully UK legal 9x7 plate including postcode / BS number with small reflector
• 7x5 (that i ended up fitting) with small reflector 
• 8x6 which is somewhere inbetween