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Thread: Sluggish starting and EPC light

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  1. Sluggish starting and EPC light 
    #1
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    Hi .

    Re VW Passat 1.8t (2005, 106k miles)

    I’m getting occasional problems starting and my local garages can’t getto the bottom of it. Every few days I try and start the car (from either warmor cold) and I seem to have to hold the key open for 7 to 10 seconds before itfires up. If it takes this amount of time to fire up it will always throw anEPC light. I then turn the engine off and turn the key again and it fires upnormally (ie within a second or two) and runs perfectly with no EPC light.

    Two years ago during the summer I took it to a localFord dealer over the road from where I live (for convenience as they have VAGdiagnostics). They read the diagnostics and replaced the engine speed sensor.It was ok for a couple of months then the issue came up again so they replacedthe sensor, assuming it was faulty. It was fine for a while then sameissue happened again last year so I took it back to them. They looked elsewhereand replaced the cam belt, water pump and cam belt tensioner as this had jammedand they thought this was causing the issue. Things were fine for a week andthe problem returned once, but then went away. Winter and spring passed withoutan issue but this summer the problem came back.

    My local garage near where I work read the diagnostics againbut they yet again pointed to the engine speed sensor. They experienced thestarting issue but once they had the car on the ramp and started it again itstarted fine for them and didn’t play up again, so unfortunately they couldn’trun any tests.

    On the odd occasion the car also cuts out completely whengoing at low speed (say in traffic) with the clutch depressed. It always startsup fine from this situation with no EPC light but I throw this information injust in case it might point to something. The other thing is that just over twoyears ago I stupidly drove through some deep flood water and have had otherelectrical issues since as water apparently got in to the foot well via thepollen filter grommet. These latter footwell issues have now been sorted butthe water ingress may also have something to do with the starting issue I have.

    Apologies for the ramblings but based on the above and givenyour experience, does anyone have any idea as to what is causing the starting issuesand EPC light to throw randomly? Forums suggest it could be the EPC itselfwhich I know I can have reconditioned by a place down here in Devon. Before Igo to this expense though I just wanted to throw this out to folks in theknow?

    Thanks for your time and any guidance you could providewould be greatly appreciated.

    Regards
     
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  2. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    first thing to do is a Battery Test

    this is free , it could be a duff cell(s) in the battery and therefore the car is turning over too slow. Please note if the starter is not turning the engine over fast enough, it switches off the fuel supply.

    However, I would put in a Genuine Speed Sensor from VW . It wont actually cost much more ..................................


    that's the cheapest option at this stage
    VW POLO 2002 1.2 12v , Audi A6 2006 2.0 TDi SE , Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDi

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  3. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    The EPC isn't an actual device, it is an algorithm in the engines ECU map which uses various inputs to decide how much to open the throttle body butterfly. I would be interested if you can find out what the fault code number is. The water getting in through the pollen filter isn't your fault, it is a design weakness of the plenum chamber drains.
    Anthropogenic climate change, the biggest con inflicted on mankind since religion...

    Slava Ukraini
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  4. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    yes the fault can be brake pedal & accelerator position as well for a red herring

    we need the code
    VW POLO 2002 1.2 12v , Audi A6 2006 2.0 TDi SE , Skoda Fabia 1.4 TDi

    All 3 cars in the current fleet
     
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  5. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    Thanks for your advice and support on this gents. I'll go back to the garage near my office as they read the fault codes a few months back and always service the car etc. They are pretty efficient so hopefully they will have noted down the codes. They commented that the speed sensor was a non standard part when they looked at it last time so I will get the proper VW part installed next month anyway when it is serviced. I want to keep the car for a good few more years as it is still a pleasure to drive. I'll come back to you if I may. Regards, Jonathan.
     
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  6. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    Just popped in to the garage and they said the only code that was recorded was a P0322. If the sensor fitted by the other garage was a non-VW part then is there a chance that this could have subtly different tolerances, I would have thought they would all be built to the same specifications. I'm going to get the proper VW part (presumably Bosch) put on irrespective of this when it goes in next month for its service. Thanks again for all your help on this, Jonathan.
     
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  7. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    Just thought I'd add the resolution to this as threads don't always get updated. Last month I finally decided to stump up for the genuine VAG engine speed sensor and touch wood all the issues have now gone away. I can only surmise that the tolerances are different between the VAG part and other sensors on the market or the materials differ in some way. Thanks for everyone's help.
     
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  8. Re: Sluggish starting and EPC light 
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    Bit late to the party, but on my 2.0 20V, these symptoms, along with random stalling were due to a failing crankshaft position sensor.
     
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