VW Golf mk4 exhaust emission warning light

VW Golf mk4 exhaust emission warning light

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lamb86

Original Poster:

3 posts

155 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Last month the exhaust emission warning light came on on my Golf mk4 (2002). Took it to the garage (VW specialist) and they said it needed a new lambda probe. Job done and the light went out...but after about 50 miles it re-appeared so took it back to the garage. They thought it might have been a faulty lambda probe they installed, so fitted a new one but the same thing happened again. They refunded me and advised I take it to a dealer.

So took it into a VW dealer (Hawco, Inverness) and they ran exhaustive checks (no pun intended) to track down what the problem was...only to come to the conclusion that they had no idea! They could only suggest that they try replacing the wiring between the lambda and the ECU (£COSTLY).

Anybody else had similar issues?

Craphouserat

1,494 posts

200 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Similar thing happened to G/F's MK4 Gti - warning light came on and they replaced the lambda sensor - been fine since. My only thoughts on this are its something to do with that...weird though.

lamb86

Original Poster:

3 posts

155 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Yeah mine's a 1.8T GTI. Haven't noticed any changes in performance/fuel consumption, so maybe it is just faulty wiring rather than a problem with the lambda. Might have to grin and bear it and just get it done...

The Walrus

1,857 posts

204 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Have you checked all your pipework in the engine bay, oil pipes, intercooler hoses, Diverter valve these can throw up these issues and not be obvious until you physically check them for splits.

lamb86

Original Poster:

3 posts

155 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Thanks for that - will get it checked out.

The Walrus

1,857 posts

204 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Also what did vag-com say ? as that should at least give and idea of the issue, if it is coming from the exhaust and the lamba are not the problem it could well be the CAT is on it's way out.

Jw Vw

4,826 posts

162 months

Thursday 14th April 2011
quotequote all
Stick it on VAG-COM. Alternatively stick some redex in the tank. Sorted my MK4 out when the emissions light came on.

Matt_N

8,900 posts

201 months

Friday 15th April 2011
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Get the VAGCOM fault code number, then put it into this site:

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Category:...

You can pick up a cheap code reader from ebay for about £15, search for a U280 code reader.