Engine warning light

[ItchyHeid]

Hello people,

The engine warning light has recently lit up in our Transporter T6, while we were away for a long weekend. We were able to take it to a local garage near where we were camping and they hooked it up to their computer and produced a print out of the faults. The mechanic said it was nothing serious and we should be fine to drive home (about 115 miles).

I have now contacted a VW specialist and booked the van in to be assessed and (hopefully) repaired. I described the issue and gave the specialist some of the fault codes and he seems rather more concerned than the first guy who looked at it. He told me about a problem that some of these vans have with the "con-rods" or "connecting rods" in the engine - seemingly they can bend, and if that happens, you need a new engine.

It's another week until the van goes in to be assessed and I'm getting a bit anxious about the possibility of having to foot a bill to make that sort of repair, especially when we only bought the van in late May this year.

Has anyone else come across an instance where a T6 engine had to be replaced because of the connecting rods bending? Is it a common complaint?

***I should point out that I have basically no knowledge of engines and how they work***

Thanks,

Ross

 

[jimc91]

Post the fault codes and you’ll get some help

 

[whodat]

Yeah - and a few more details. year/engine/mileage/gearbox etc?

 

[ItchyHeid]

Yeah - and a few more details. year/engine/mileage/gearbox etc?

2017 VW T6
2 litre diesel
Around 78,000 miles
5 speed gear box

There are a lot of fault codes. I will add them below but there may be the odd error in there as I'm just typing it from the print out - don't know if there is a way to get a digital copy…

Fault codes:

01 - Engine control module 1 (19 DTCs)

P010100 Mass or volume air flow 'A' circuit range/performance Passive/Sporadic

P010300 Mass or volume air flow sensor ‘A’ circuit high Passive/Sporadic

P13D600 Cylinder 3 internal pressure sensor signal implausible Passive/Sporadic

P046C00 Exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) sensor A circuit range/performance Passive/Sporadic

P040100 Exhaust gas record.flow insufficient detected Passive/Sporadic

P068400 Glow plug control unit signal implausible Passive/Sporadic

P066A00 Cylinder 1 glow plug control circuit low Passive/Sporadic

P066C00 Cylinder 2 glow plug control circuit low Passive/Sporadic

P066E00 Cylinder 3 glow plug control circuit low Passive/Sporadic

P067A00 Cylinder 4 glow plug control circuit low Passive/Sporadic

P20EE00 SCR Nix Catalyst efficiency below threshold bank 1 Passive/Sporadic

P056200 System voltage low voltage Passive/Sporadic

P246F00 Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) sensor 4 (bank 1) circuit range/performance Passive/Sporadic

P012100 Throttle/pedal position sensor/switch A circuit range performance Passive/Sporadic

U101900 Instrument cluster control unit oil level/temperature signal missing Passive/Sporadic

P064100 Sensor reference voltage A circuit open Passive/Sporadic

P065100 Sensor reference voltage B circuit open Passive/Sporadic

P069700 Sensor reference voltage C circuit open Passive/Sporadic

P06A300 Sensor reference voltage D circuit/open Passive/Sporadic


03 Brakes 1 (1 DTC)

C102DF0 Tyre pressure warning pressure loss Active/Static


09 - Electronic central electric (2 DTCs)

01838:014 Interior monitoring send/receive module 2 - Faulty Active/Static

00936:014 Window lift switch, frt. pass. side - faulty Passive/Sporadic


17 - Instrument cluster (1 DTC)

U112100 Data bus message missing Active/Static


18 - Auxiliary/parking heating (4 DTCs)

U140000 Function restriction caused by low voltage Active/Static

B1389F0 No flame during initial startup attempt Active/Static

B1389F1 No flame after repeated start attempt Active/Static

B138F00 Heater locked


19 - Gateway (1 DTC)

03158:004 Information electronics control module 1 - No signal/communication Active/Static

 

[whodat]

Ouch.
Have you driven through a massive puddle lately?
Have you checked the battery voltage - it seems that a bad battery can cause problems with sensors.
Maybe someone who actually knows what they are talking about will reply soon.

 

[ItchyHeid]

Ouch.
Have you driven through a massive puddle lately?
Have you checked the battery voltage - it seems that a bad battery can cause problems with sensors.
Maybe someone who actually knows what they are talking about will reply soon.

I haven't driven through any big puddles, but I did wonder if moisture might have something to do with it, as there has been massive condensation build up on the inside of the windscreen when we get up in the mornings now that it's a bit colder. I mean we're having to use a dish cloth to clear the windscreen before we can drive anywhere and then literally squeeze the cloth out because it has so much water in it. Could some water have seeped into the sensors?

 

[Paynewright]

(Karcher window vac)

 

[whodat]

Don't suppose you could run a dehumidifier (on low power) inside it for a couple of days? See what it collects.

 

[Dav-Tec]

Random question to do with the moisture. By any chance have you stopped using the Aircon now the good weather is gone. Only reason I ask is when Aircon is on it dries the air coming in. When you turn it off it can in some case leave excess moisture in the ducts and cause condensation.

Other than that the error in the van I would clear and see which ones come back. I'd definitely get the battery checked as there's a lot of faults that aren't all related to each other

 

[manfrotto]

As dav-Tec says, I would get the faults cleared and see which ones (if any) come back. Quite possibly likely to be a flat/faulty battery based on the random array of faults.

 

[jimc91]

Given you’ve got to wait another week before it goes into the garage get on to Amazon and get a Carista with the free one month subscription, very easy to use, clear the faults, get you battery charged up to max and see which faults come back after you have cleared them

 

[ItchyHeid]

Random question to do with the moisture. By any chance have you stopped using the Aircon now the good weather is gone. Only reason I ask is when Aircon is on it dries the air coming in. When you turn it off it can in some case leave excess moisture in the ducts and cause condensation.

Other than that the error in the van I would clear and see which ones come back. I'd definitely get the battery checked as there's a lot of faults that aren't all related to each other

I don't think the van has aircon. I certainly haven't seen any sign of it. We missed having aircon on the couple of days this year that it was actually warm enough to need it. I have to say, I was surprised that a vehicle made in 2016/17 would not have aircon.

 

[whodat]

I think Startline doesn't have aircon out of factory.
Highline does.

 

[ItchyHeid]

Anyway, possibly not surprising that there is a lot of moisture in the van. With two of us and a dog sleeping in there and doing cooking, plus the weather being noticeably cooler, it's bound to happen. Getting back on topic, I just wondered if the water running down the inside of the windscreen could possibly have got into the electronics/sensors or are they well enough tucked away from that sort of thing?

 

[Stay Frosty]

Does the van struggle to start at times and has the stop/start stopped working as these point to the starter battery being forked and as has been said already low power can set off unrelated "passive sporadic" faults definitely don't automatically entertain bent conrods or similar dead engine scenarios from a garage possibly taking your trousers down.
Also look at leaving a window open to ventilate that condensation.

 

[ItchyHeid]

Does the van struggle to start at times and has the stop/start stopped working as these point to the starter battery being forked and as has been said already low power can set off unrelated "passive sporadic" faults definitely don't automatically entertain bent conrods or similar dead engine scenarios from a garage possibly taking your trousers down.
Also look at leaving a window open to ventilate that condensation.

Thanks for your insight Stay Frosty. I haven't really found a problem with the van starting. It can take a second or two to respond to the key being turned but I thought that was just a diesel thing. The stop/start is a bit intermittent though - sometimes works, sometimes doesn't. I just put it down to atmospheric conditions though - our Kia tends to only do the stop/start thing in the summer, when it's warm and if the car has been used regularly. That might be worth looking into though. Thanks.

 

[Stay Frosty]

Most of the 2017 model year seemed to have "Moll" make batteries and these were mostly replaced under warranty at two or three years old, mine included by VW Assistance.
Stop start relies on the battery being in a good state and the ECU will bypass stop/start if the battery is soft.