2000 1.6 SE - Intermittent EPC Light

[love_my_golf]

hi, i have a golf mk4 1.6se year 2000. i love this car but i'm having a few problems.

my car cuts out and the EPC light keeps coming on, this happens once i've stopped and my car is just sat running for a little while, also once i start the engine back up the EPC light stays on but the car seems to "judder" when moving. it "judders" in 1st and 2nd when accelerating and seems fine in 3rd, 4th and 5th.

i have spoken to a VW specialist who has run VAG-COM but nothing is showing up since its an intermittent problem (EPC was not lit when running VAG-COM). he told me it could be spark plugs as the car is 7yrs old and has no record in the service history of them been replaced.

i replaced my spark plugs last night but today the engine cut out and the EPC light came on again and sure enough the "juddering" followed.

this is really irritating but since the car is always fine when taken to VW finding the fault is proving difficult.

has anyone had similar problems?
what was the cause?
or anyone got any general ideas!

thanks

[Crasher]

Your VW specialist hasn't got a clue what EPC means. It stands for Electronic Performance Control and is related to the electronic throttle system. The usual cause of this problem is a faulty brake light switch, cheap and easy to fix.

[vee-dub-golf]

Yip I Did !!!

Mines Was The Brake Light Switch Cost You 15 A Think It Is Of Volkswagen You Can Do It Your Self If You Know What You Doing .

[love_my_golf]

thanks for your help. will check this out!
how does a brake light switch cause the juddering?

[Crasher]

The brake light switch is a dual contact unit and is used by the engines computer as a safety system. The EPC will cut power if you press the accelerator and brake at the same time whilst driving. If both contacts inside the switch aren’t synchronised, it is flagged as an error. As the switch is probably faulty, the ECU thinks you are pressing the brake on and off whilst driving so the car judders. The switch has been a source of constant pain since it came out and has been redesigned at least four times that I know of. The current number is 1C0 945 511 A and they cost £7.93 from VW. The new ones are easy to fit once the lower covers above the pedals have been removed.

[love_my_golf]

thanks,
don't mean to sound stupid but it cuts out when just sat running and the car is not moving(not pressing any pedals). i guess because its faultly it thinks i'm pressing the accelerator when i'm not??? but wouldn't that mean a sensor on my accelerator was faulty as well???

[Crasher]

Remember we are only assuming the car has a faulty brake light switch, it can come on for other reasons and you may have more than one fault. Before any more guess work, get it fault code read.

[RyuVI]

The current number is 1C0 945 511 A and they cost £7.93 from VW. The new ones are easy to fit once the lower covers above the pedals have been removed.

Crasher, could you please elaborate on how these switches are installed? Is the procedure the same as the old, black switches? I managed to install a black one ok last year but today I bought two of the new green ones from the dealer and can't get either to work.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

p.s. I have a mk4 golf 1.6s yr2000.

[chris.fulton]

Have a look here

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1158315

[RyuVI]

Have a look here

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1158315

Thanks - I tried following that method but it didn't work. Does anyone know if the new green switches are prone to breaking like the older black ones? It's possible that I broke the switches when trying to install them

For instance, if I plug the switch into the wiring harness and push down on the plunger manually shouldn't it light up the brake lights? It doesn't do that for my switches