Audi A3 1.6 Sport Engine Management Light

[Jamstercat]

I have just bought a 2001 Audi A3 1.6 Sport with 90k on the clock.
At the weekend was driving along, it was very wet and raining when the ASR (Traction Control System) light came on shortly followed by the EPC (Engine Power Control) light. At this stage the engine started to misfire, lose power and stalled; lucky for me I was on base and managed to park it up. I turned engine off and re-started but no joy so parked it up and an hour later it started fine and engine was smooth again, however the EML has now lit up.
Don't want to risk driving it...
Any advice would be most welcome....

 

[Barch]

Get yourself an OBD tool, there are plenty out there on ebay.

Reset the light and flog the car.

 

[rest have risen above me]

As Barch said but take the time to check as many plugs and black box lids as possible are on tight. Just to try and keep the water out as it sound like some kit got splashed. Unfortunately you'll only be hoping to get the offending area as the test to see if it's cured is to drive round Somerset for a bit. You'll be able to see what triggered the light by the fault codes but where the water got in would be anybody's guess if that is the problem. My laguna used to do it regular and for 20 notes off e-bay the reader has paid for itself twice over by pointing me in the right direction. A lot of the lads at work advised me to stay away from the Bluetooth ones that connect via a smart phone though.

 

[ScoobTech]

I have a Bluetooth one that connects via smartphone using the Torque OBD app, I have never had a problem with it. Some of the Bluetooth modules are better than others, I paid about £25 for mine, and it doesn't cause any problems.

 

[Jamstercat]

As Barch said but take the time to check as many plugs and black box lids as possible are on tight. Just to try and keep the water out as it sound like some kit got splashed. Unfortunately you'll only be hoping to get the offending area as the test to see if it's cured is to drive round Somerset for a bit. You'll be able to see what triggered the light by the fault codes but where the water got in would be anybody's guess if that is the problem. My laguna used to do it regular and for 20 notes off e-bay the reader has paid for itself twice over by pointing me in the right direction. A lot of the lads at work advised me to stay away from the Bluetooth ones that connect via a smart phone though.

Will do. Thanks for the advice. I was driving around flooded South Oxfordshire at the time and I had gone down a back road with lots of surface water about.

 

[Gord]

As Barch said but take the time to check as many plugs and black box lids as possible are on tight. Just to try and keep the water out as it sound like some kit got splashed. Unfortunately you'll only be hoping to get the offending area as the test to see if it's cured is to drive round Somerset for a bit. You'll be able to see what triggered the light by the fault codes but where the water got in would be anybody's guess if that is the problem. My laguna used to do it regular and for 20 notes off e-bay the reader has paid for itself twice over by pointing me in the right direction. A lot of the lads at work advised me to stay away from the Bluetooth ones that connect via a smart phone though.

Just make sure you get the correct reader, there are two sets of OBD codes, OBD1 and OBD2. OBD1 covers cars made up to a certain year, after which OBD2 readers are required. Check to see which system your car employs or you could be shelling out cash for a reader that won't work worth a sh!t on your car.

2001 should be OBD2 but you never know until you check it out as some manufacturers hung onto the OBD1 system longer than others and one reader will not work with the other system unless the reader is one of those where both systems are loaded into it's memory banks which means you can simply switch from one to the other depending on the year and type of your car before beginning your tests.

 

[Hu Jardon]

A bluetooth OBD2 scanner will let you see the codes but funnily enough Audi/Vag requires a cable one connectedvia USB to a laptop to get full access to the Audi codes via VAGCOM software - still as cheap as chips though through a search on a well known auction site search for VAG OBD2 tool and make sure you get the one for your model year too.

 

[ScoobTech]

A bluetooth OBD2 scanner will let you see the codes but funnily enough Audi/Vag requires a cable one connectedvia USB to a laptop to get full access to the Audi codes via VAGCOM software - still as cheap as chips though through a search on a well known auction site search for VAG OBD2 tool and make sure you get the one for your model year too.

Same with Renault, you need the Renault clip software to see everything. RAC man could see a lot more than I could on my bluetooth dongle/software combination, I suspect most manufacturers are the same, some access through OBDII but full access through their software

 

[Jamstercat]

Update: RPM Sensor

Update: RPM Sensor

Update: It was the RPM sensor that had gone faulty. Been replaced and now running sweet again.