'Resetting' an error code - Mk 5 Golf ED30

[hewlett]

About six months I was pottering through rural Hertfordshire and my Golf started playing up. When it wasn't in gear the revs were going up and down of their own accord. Not massively, range wise, but maybe up 500 rpm, down 500 rpm space of a few seconds and it felt like the car had lost power too. Fearing the worst and not wanting to continue to drive it I pulled into a very rural, very small garage and asked if they could have a look at it. They had a plug-in diagnostic tool and said that it was probably just some kind of an ECU error code, resetting it would probably solve the issue. I was quite sceptical about this thinking that the issue is probably going to be far more fundamental than this but to my amazement and 20 quid later the error code have been reset and the car was back to health. Now it's started playing up again, any idea what I suggest when I go to my local independent VW dealer and mention that this may be resolution for the issue? Does anyone know what the fundamental problem that occurs is?

[CoolHands]

doesn't matter what you tell them - they will scan it. It will tell them what fault codes have occurred since it was wiped by the rural place. Depending on what the fault codes are will determine what to do. Eg it could be a lambda sensor, or it could be an engine coolant sensor etc who knows.

[CoolHands]

by the way if I was you I would charge up the battery for a few hours with a battery charger (if you have one) as low voltages can cause problems as the battery gets old.

[hewlett]

Thanks guys useful info. Will take it in and see what they say.

[CoolHands]

your both welcome

[hewlett]

thanks Coolhands

[anonymous-user]

Revs rising and falling will be the PCV valve. It's a pretty easy fix to do yourself, even if you're not mechanically minded and the part is relatively cheap.

[hewlett]

Certainly willing to give it a try, will get onto Mr Google today and see what I can find, thanks a lot.

[SmithyAG]

As above, PCV is quite a common cause of the revs "hunting".

[hewlett]

A quick question, my MOT is due today and I'm planning to take it for a test. This will be prior to me sorting out this issue, is the car likely to fail on emissions?

[anonymous-user]

Depends really - is still at the point of being an intermittent problem?

FWIW I looked back at my VW bills and VW charged £169 to change my PCV, but the part cost is something like £34. Having looked at guides on how to do it the hardest bit looks like removing the engine cover!

[hewlett]

Thanks Andrew. It looks like it's a pretty constant thing now, I will have a look on youtube and see how easy it is - Sounds like it will be a doddle.

[hewlett]

Goods result, went to the local VAG Independent garage. Straight through the MOT, they stuck it on the diagnosing machine (£40) and sorted this issue via a loose air pipe so now it's tested and back running normally.

On to the next job, DSG oil change and I'm adding XADO treatment, that's right, snake oil!