Stevey Y

Hi blocked heater matrix possibly have you checked the expansion tank to see if the silicate bag has broken in which case you will find the bag absent silicate, that will be floating round the water jacket blocking the heater core and any other small aperture it can find, the heater matrix is part of a bypass system for the coolant this ensures you get heat in the cabin as soon as the engine starts to warm, the silicate will also jam open thermostats. Steve.

Hi VW electrics are way more simple from software to the actual wiring of the vehicle, not sure if its because VW are cheaper to buy so they spend as little as necessary to maximise profits, with Audi who seem a law unto themselves the designation Premium Brand has been seen as a licence to inflict the most complicated systems on the owner therefore negating any possibility of DIY on even the most basic level without special tools and diagnostics, the Volkswagen dealers are a mile apart from Audi I recently enquired about a part which I bought to see how much the chrome trim was that fitted to it, turns out the trim was more expensive than the part so they gave me the part number and suggested I looked on line, £45 V £95 from the dealer, thats proper customer care. Steve.

Have you looked underneath the wheel arch there should be a plastic access panel which you unscrew the fixing and pull out to gain access to the rear bulb housing cover. Steve.

Hi what sensor would that be, that looks like a lift pump housing, any description of where and which would be good. Steve.

Hi Volkswagens are good I now run a Passat as a cab, still having counselling for the five years that I ran an A6, you would never believe that both cars originate from the same group. Steve.

Well spotted Cliff I did not look at it for long enough, my mistake. Steve.

Hi an hour window on the change is as far as I would go when changing, see if you can find a mobile diagnostic specialist and explain your problem, chances are they will know a way around unlocking the can gateway, make sure the battery is fully charged, I have had your problem with OBD 11 but its always when its due a big fat update which they tend to do about twice every month so check that first. Steve.

Hi this problem is not peculiar to your vehicle or any brand for that matter Vauxhalls are famous for it, the problem lies with the system it runs water from the engine in tandem with oil going to the filter to cool the oil, the gaskets used are some sort of Nitrile based rubber and worse case scenario is water escaping in to the engine oil as if left it will cause premature component failure in the engine and will block any small oil gallery it comes across, its always a horrible job as they put it where you can't get at it easily necessitating removal of the exhaust manifold, good workshop policy is to renew the filter housing as often as not it warps when you take it off. Steve.

Hi did you code the new battery in when fitted, and was it any length of time before the change with the old unit flat, sounds like the Can gateway has thrown a hissy fit and shut itself down because at some point in the process it thinks its being stolen. Steve.

Hi NO you can't remove the sign permanently best to get it re gassed as soon as possible, this will involve them pressure testing the circuit , cheap it aint but its better than having to buy a new compressor ££££££. Steve.

Hi Dont go there anything over 6000k is normally a blue light or higher up a purple light which wont really give you what you want and will be like a magnet for any police patrols who will then start asking awkward questions probably involving a fine at some point. Steve.

Hi yes they do degrade over time and when they start to die completely they go pink, if yours are the original bulbs they are either 3200k or 4200k, you can upgrade to 5500k or 6000k with a very noticeable brighter light my preference would be 6000k as this is a sharp white light, look on a site for valley lighting, you may be well served changing the ballast units as well as they can also degrade. Steve.

Hi thats the low pressure cooler blocking, official code P200 trap bank 1 below threshold, that would have nothing to do with the update unless the update was to help introduce more Adblue in to the system with blocks the cooler and valve, its a very common problem on any ULTRA engine equipped with that system, if you look through the A6 C7 forum the topic is well subscribed. Stev

Hi I take it they didn't want to give up the codes. Steve.

Hi from about 2000 most cars produced have a PCV that separates oil/air its a pulse diaphragm which stops excessively large droplets of oil from being reintroduced in to the combustion process, they never quoted it as being fool proof thus it still introduces oil vapour hence the sludge, I actually made a catch system that bypassed this as it vented any gas via a filter, the car ran marginally better but then you get the scenario whereby you had to wash the filter once a month and empty the tank every couple of weeks, not ideal when running a taxi especially during the winter months. As for the technical information, when I did my research late 2019 I did a fair amount of archive which I have had to delete about a year after to free up some space for my parts system from memory most of it was from German VAG forums, never thought I would be called on to resurrect it though I have tried recently before it occurred to me that why was I doing this as it has no benefit to me as it no longer is of any concern therefore I came to the conclusion that this is all about trying to prove who knows what, who has the greater knowledge, judging by the qualifications and trade contacts you have I would think you would have far .better access to the data you require, but you have still not answered as to weather you think that even if you remove and delete various systems you can still replicate the same emissions standard as built, therefore I am happy to take a step back and considering I took my vehicle to over 270k using the as built system, so if you are not going to delete anything or change any parts its a bit of pointless exercise. Steve.

Hi Spartacus is correct on every level even the suggestion of using an old laptop the reasoning behind this is that an older laptop equipped with windows eleven and used solely for your diagnostic program will run much faster than if you had it on say a Mac with all your personal stuff on it plus uploading your VCDS is more straightforward, I have an old DELL Latitude which works really well, fortunately your car is pre 19 when all the SFD bull started so you will be amazed by what you can do. Steve.

Hi most likely culprit is a failing EGT sensor, you can only diagnose the with live data [scan whilst running] there are a multitude of variables such as DPF pressure sensors, did they give you the original code that instigated the cleaning process?. Steve.

Hi it would be very helpful to tell us what the error message says and even more helpful if the car is scanned and produces a fault code. Steve.

Hi yes the dynamics you state are correct but its not the EGR that blocks everything up but the addition of crankcase gasses which contain high levels of steam/engine oil vapour and its universally accepted engine oil is not a very combustion friendly medium due to the fact it maintains its molecular structure at high temperatures, the fact remains that if you spend hours researching this as I did on the net the pros and cons are all there for anyone to peruse, the manufacturers spend millions of Euros on development to meet the compliance required for emissions and in my opinion if you can live with this and fixing the things that go wrong you can still enjoy the longevity associated with the older models, the key factor is NOX1 reduction as if you take in to account the effect of nitric acid on the respiratory system you then have to ask the question is my enjoyment of my diesel potentially worth a life that is shortened by my vehicles modifications, there are lots of different opinions on what heat does and plenty of blogs on post remap turbo failures due to heat, this debate will rage on until the eventual demise of the Diesel engine in cars, it a bit like who is the true god Christ, Allah, or Jehovah and that ones been going on for hundreds of years with each side firm in the belief that they are right, last and not least in view of the development times and costs do you realistically believe you can delete all these items and still obtain the same results as the manufacturer?. Steve.

Hi if its proof you need there must be hundreds of posts on here the prime one being look through the C7 forum for a guy called Big Townz he had god knows how much mechanical work and remapping done to his engine, the end result total failure, in essence the whole idea behind Ultra technology was to have a Diesel engine that ran a lot cooler thus producing less Nox1, this was achieved by using a larger coolant radiator with the addition of a low pressure EGR system with its own cooler which operates from start up to cut down Nox emissions until the main EGR valve opens when the engine is up to temperature, there is a fine balance between both systems that are a key to keeping combustion temperatures within limits so producing less Nox the remaing Nox is felt with by the SCR which injects adblue as required to cope with any Nox increase therefore deleting the EGR and increasing the gas temperature by about 40% has a negative effect on the SCR which will over inject to try and compensate, the next stage is delete the adblue system which creates even more heat, it is well known that a hotter running diesel will perform better and give better MPG the problem with tis is that in production of the engine they found the composite of the metals used could be downgraded as for all intents and purposes the engine was never going to run temperatures at the upper level, this saved money, running at higher than manufacturers temps causes turbo failure and even in some cases valve failure which is well documented on the internet mostly on US and European sites, my opinion from ownership is that these engines are already running on the edge therefore why put more strain on them. Steve.

Hi that on the Mini was to allow for oil expansion so you did not get so depressed by the amount of oil it burnt you sold the car, my nieces MINI 1 about a litre a month, no leaks just burnt and this was at 60k. Steve.

Hi two categories in this one, A those who have had the info they require, solved the problem and can't be bothered to let anyone know. B I honestly believe he fell in love with the car partly to do with the self imposed kudos of owning an A6 until the illusion suddenly disappeared in a cloud of problems, I definitely think from the earlier posts that he wanted nothing to do with paying for the repairs but as the butchers bill increased he then thought about contributing to get the original problem fixed, then we had the well documented DPF problem, my theory is that he will pay whatever to get it fixed because he loves the car, as we all know its a costly path to follow but it is his prerogative, I actually think he is possibly embarrassed to admit that. Steve.

10/10 for effort Gareth, your patience and persistence is a credit to the forum. Steve.

Hi not anymore, they have made the sumps smaller [why?], watched a service on a 23 plate Citroen today it was a 1.2 petrol the sump capacity was just over 2l of oil, my mechanic reckons they have cut the sump size to save on oil during production but if you use their special oil £££££ you can still have extended service intervals also less oil means the engine heats more quickly, sounds to me like a manufacturer enforced fairy tale, how about less oil more engine wear. Steve.

Hi yes the fault will develop gradually especially if the discs have not been replaced recently, I have owned cabs now for over twenty years and regardless of make/model the braking systems are virtually the same just different size components , I can tell you one thing when a bearing is on its way out even spinning the wheel slowly you can feel the drag of the dried ball races before you hear it, discs on the other hand have on occasions plagued me sometimes especially when you get a local garage to supply and fit because I was recovering from an operation these particular gems known as NAPA, the rears were ok but the pads wore in record time as did the fronts with the added bonus of the front discs warping after 20k just enough to make noises no judder, this also manifested itself on occasions with better quality discs/pads but the underlying factor was they had done 40k hard miles, regardless of milage age is also a factor. Steve.