2001 turbodiesel, no power, no codes

[bighillman]

Well folks, I'm a straight up virgin to the VW diesel. A girl that is one of my good friends has a beetle with an auto tranny that just doesn't want to go. I'm usually pretty good on fixing diesels, but this one is throwing me for a loop. I've checked the wastegate to make sure it was working and checked vacuum lines, but after that I'm not sure where to go. I pulled of the hose going from the air to air up to the intake and it has some oil in it, but it doesn't seem to be plugged or anything. The car just basically has no power, to the point that 50 is about the best it will do. She had her mechanic change fuel and air filters, but other than that, nothing else has been done to it. The main problem is that the nearest VW dealership is about 4 hours away, and It would sure be nice to fix it here.

[veedubmechanic]

either 3 things - power supply relay/ glow plug relays

- intake it clogged, just because the egr doesnt look clogged doesnt mean the intake manifold and egr cooler arent clogged

- maf sensor (unplug it and if the car has lots of power replace it)
if you cant hear the turbo spool when hard accell than your turbo might be shot but looks more like the intake is clogged

[bighillman]

The reason I don't believe the intake is clogged is the fact that I pulled of the air cooler to intake hose, and it seems to blow plenty of air, but I'll sure check it again. What do the glow plug relays have to do with power? One more question, why a mass air flow sensor on a diesel?

[veedubmechanic]

the intake manifold is what gets clogged with black carbon buildup not the actual intake pipes.

power supply relay controls all the electrical sensors (boost solenoid, map sensor, egr valve solenoid)

if the glow plug relay is overheating and opening up than the glow plugs stop working.

it has both a maf sensor and map sensor. (map used for boost pressure sensing and maf used for quantity of air coming in)

[bighillman]

Well, it ended up being the MAF, thanks for your help.