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Sun Jan 08, 2006
10:32
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A few days before Claire and I went down south to visit relatives
we had a very cold morning. It was right around 0 degrees
Fahrenheit. Our 96 Golf had always seemed to be harder to start
in very cold weather, and this particular morning it just would
not start after several attempts. When we finally did get it
started, it ran funny and the check engine light was on. At that
point, I didn't have time to look into it before we left for our
trip, so I left it until we got back. When we got back and I
hooked the car up to my laptop running
vagcom, this is what I found for a code stored in the ECU:
VAG-COM Version: Release 512.1-UD
Control Module Part Number: 037 906 259
Component and/or Version: MOTRONIC M5.9 HS V08
Software Coding: 00000
Work Shop Code: WSC 09446
1 Fault Found:
17988 - Throttle Actuator (Bank 1): Malfunction
P1580 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent
Seeing this made a lot of sense to me, because I have heard that
the electronic throttle actuators used in OBD-II Volkswagens are
prone to sticking and jamming during colder weather. I cleared
the code and it hasn't returned yet, although I expect that it
would be a problem again once the temperature drops. I hope that
some cleaning and silicone or white lithium grease will do the
trick to keep this from becoming a problem again.
Post your comments below. Please note that your comments will not be visible until
they have been approved by a moderator (me).
Date: 12/07/06, 12:50:58 PST
From: brett
Comments: mine is reading the same code how do i go about fixing it? please HELP asap. thanks
Date: 12/07/06, 16:29:54 PST
From: Max
Comments: Brett, this code is commonly caused by grime built up in the throttle actuator (or even in the throttle valve itself), but could also be bad wiring between the actuator and the ECU or it could be that the actuator itself is simply worn out and failing. Try cleaning the throttle body as well as the actuator mechanism itself first (you may need special tools to open up your actuator if it uses tamper proof torx screws). If that doesn't help, then check the wiring between the throttle actuator and ECU (you'll need a multimeter for that), and while you're at it make sure the terminals at both ends are not corroded. If that still doesn't help, then it's probably a bad throttle actuator, which means you'll need to replace the throttle body assembly. New throttle bodies for OBD-II VWs are pretty expensive, so you may want to consider a used one.
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