Epc

[mayagrafix]

I've got two warning lights and no power. The RPM's wont go over 2k and the NB wont accelerate.

The warning lights are: EPC and Antiskid (triangle with circular arrow). Oh yeah, lets not forget the good ol' Check Engine signal!

NB was running fine untill I decided to wash the motor. It ran fine after wards until the next day when all hell broke loose

What can the wise and weary suggest I do? is there a reset option or do I need to wait a few weeks to let it dry?

[noR]

Give it some time to dry; hope you didn't short anything serious.

EPC usually means there's an electrical abnormality. a bad sensor reading is one thing; a completely wonky sensor reading or a massive loss of current or something along those lines would cause the EPC.

I'd give it a couple days and alot of hope. Cause diag & repair might not be too easy/cheap.

[mayagrafix]

Thanks for the soothing advice. Good thing I have another ride (its an SUV so I'm not so thrilled about using it) and can afford to let the NB sit and dry. Is this a common occurrence among NB's? is the Achilles' heel of the NB the electrical system?

I just bought this NB from my sister (she was going to trade it in) and never heeded her complaints about the reliability of the car, I always thought SHE was at fault one way or another. Guess I'll get a big dose of my own medicine now for just deserts

So to sum up: if after a couple of days the Warning Lights and lack of power continue what is my best course of action? down to the repair shop or should I R+R the EPC thinguie?

[noR]

If the symptoms stay... Try to find an OBD scanner. Something to read the codes and help indicate a possible solution. I bought a vag-com, it's kinda pricey, but if you compare the cost against what a dealership charges to diagnose problems; it's not so bad.

I'm a DIY kinda person; I'm not sure if that's the best course of action but it doesn't hurt to get more information about your problem before you take it to a shop.

I've washed my engine several times w/no ill effects; but I was careful to cover the alternator, the injector wires, and any other wires/connections I could with plastic bags.

The Achilles' heal is actually the engine cooling system. The water pump is a poor design (plastic parts in a high-heat environment); the fans aren't properlly wired to be independent, so if 1 has a problem, it drags the other down w/it.

Good luck, it's a great car, w/great personality. But it's not super-reliable unfortunately. They're pretty great; but reliability is not the high-point of the ownership experience.

[mayagrafix]

OkyDoky. Thanks for the info and advice. Ill look into getting one of those scanners. Meanwhile, I was poking at the deceased and found this:



So I unplugged the socket next to the fuses and the NB started right up (Although all kind of alarms went off), next I cleaned the plug thinguie and restarted again with no more Warning Lights on the dashboard

As u can see there is a burnt fuse and it made a big mess in the fuse socket (I see a trip to the auto parts yards coming) but she seems to run allright.

Question: what is the plug for? what are the fuses for? (besides the obvious prevention of overloads answer)

Yeah I think "La Cucaracha" is keeper. Just have to figure out her measure

[noR]

HAHAHA. Sir, that melted fuse? Yeah, I believe that's part of the cooling system I mentioned.

Fan control related I think. I could be wrong, maybe it's just A/C. To be honest, I don't know the electrical system well at all.

And an awesome job on getting it to run proper again.

[mayagrafix]

Thanks for the kudos. Walking is no fun most of the time so I try real hard to keep my wheels going

That's good intel on the fans and w/p to be aware of, and you're right: plastic parts in a hot environment sure sounds like a recipe for disaster. There must be a better way!

Me thinks I will put aside plans on turbo upgrade and work on solving the cooling problems for now ("La Cucaracha" lives in the HOT HOT tropics).

[mayagrafix]

Just got the "Cucaracha" back from the shop. She runs like a champ now... Huaaahh! Seems that the problem was with the butterfly in the throttle assembly - it had water and/or moisture inside. Hence the EPC light and no acceleration. So I'm told it is all electronic down there, no cable or rod hookup from the accelerator pedal. Anyways I'm one happy camper.