passat tdi stalling at idle

[jason261270]

can anyone help!. i've got a 2000 passat tdi 115pd, i've just driven 330 miles from cornwall.when i was leaving the m1 in my hometown,as i approached the roundabout off the sliproad, my car stalled as i dipped the clutch.since then the vehicle stuggles starting, will not tickover,sounds terrible in low revs.above 3000rpm it runs fine, but below that,its like the cars running on 3 cyls.a friend of mine has got an excellent up to date code reader,which i've just plugged in,but no faults were found on this.this ones got me baffled! please help.

[spasticone]

I know everyone else is thinkin it... Vacuum leak. I don't know the TDI's, but the bake booster hose has 2 little vacuum lines running over behind the battery. In my quest to find my own vacuum leak, I found a bunch of other cars with the solenoid broken from throwing in a new battery. I'ts probably a lot dif in a 2000 also, but I figured I'd mention it. Hopefully it's an easy fix. Good luck

[boschmann]

Most common related problem on NA models is the MAF sensor. Do a google search on "VW TDI MAF".

[jason261270]

thanks boschmann for the possibility of the maf sensor being the fault as an option.would'nt you think the code reader that was plugged in should have detected this faulty sensor? i thought a code reader commonly recorded faulty sensors when they fail as the main culprits.all possibilities anyone may have are greatly appreciated.cos this is looking like heading to vw ££££££ please sir!. many thanks

[boschmann]

I have come across more of them that are out of calibration than just quit. Unfortunately what typically happens is they start giving erroneous readings which are within the accepable parameters, it is just calculating the air flow wrong. The result is an incorrect air/fuel ratio and the computer starts having trouble making the engine run correctly, but doesn't know what the problem is. The only way to find this is to use a generic scanner to look at the computer datastream at the fuel trim values and O2 readings or a VAG scanner to look at certain measuring blocks. Some people have had luck cleaning the sensor in rubbing alcohol (at least 90%). I have tried this but have not been successful yet, if you try it be very careful as the sensor is fragile (do not touch the center wire with anything, only soak it).