flashing emission control system light on S3

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julians

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Earlier today, i acclerated hard up to the red line in 4th gear, but just before the rev limiter came on, I noticed the emissions control system light (the one that looks like an engine) started flashing. I slowed down, but the light continued to flash, the car appeared to drive normally, accelerating normally , and generally pulling fine.

The light stayed flashing until I switched the ignition off and back on again, since then it hasnt reappeared, even if I accelerate hard in each gear. I'm presuming its nothing, but just wondered if anyone knows what causes the light to start flashing.

The manual just says:-

"if the warning lamp flashes drive on at reduced speed and seek professional help in order to avoid damage to the catalytic converter"

Any ideas?
 
no, I have no access to any form of diagnostics other than going to he dealer.

I was just wondering what sort of conditions would cause the light the flash continuously until turning the ignition off.
 
yes, a revo remap, but no other changes, standard exhaust, air intake etc.
 
Could be a number of things - Vagcom obviously will tell you exactly what the problem is. I got the same thing when nearing the redline after my car was remapped - same symptoms as yours. Turned out that the injectors were dirty and after some cleaner was added to a couple of tanks of fuel the problem went away. If the light hasn't come back on it means you shouldn't be in danger of damaging anything on the car. Anyone agree?
 
Could it be due to the fact that I had earlier filled up with 97ron fuel, whereas normally I use 99ron? I guess thats a fairly likely culprit.


Will find out tomorrow, going to get the fault codes read and see what gives.
 
This is the dreaded misfire issue l had with mine. When it first happened they asked if l had gunned it and was l low on fuel. They reset the light. Second time they said misfiring on cylinder 3 and changed the coils. Third time they said it was the ecu and changed that out. l had the motor on the rr and they said it was still misfiring. But since l got it back and after putting the motor through various revs, hills, gears l havent seen it rear its head. There was a thread somewhere about a guy that had the same problem and turns out a valve was sticking.
 
julians said:
Could it be due to the fact that I had earlier filled up with 97ron fuel, whereas normally I use 99ron? I guess thats a fairly likely culprit.


Will find out tomorrow, going to get the fault codes read and see what gives.
Click to expand...

I have REVO only and have never had this happen during `spirited driving`.
Fortunately Ive only been caught short once or twice when Ive had to put a gallon of 97 on just to get me to a Shell station.

Good luck.
Paul
 
Well, if it isnt being caused by the slightly lower RON fuel, then it can only be the remap thats causing it because it never did this before the remap, In which case, the remap will be being removed (or I guess it might be worth trying slightly less agressive settings first).

I managed to cause to light to flash again this morning, similar circustances, top end of 3rd gear this time.

Will get the diags performed on it tomorrow, and depending on what it shows, will make a descision on whether to keep the remap or get rid.
 
dc240969 - you say sticking valve ? Was this the sticking / permantly stuck open exhaust valve ?

Richard
 
audi upgrades
julians said:
Earlier today, i acclerated hard up to the red line in 4th gear, but just before the rev limiter came on, I noticed the emissions control system light (the one that looks like an engine) started flashing. I slowed down, but the light continued to flash, the car appeared to drive normally, accelerating normally , and generally pulling fine.

The light stayed flashing until I switched the ignition off and back on again, since then it hasnt reappeared, even if I accelerate hard in each gear. I'm presuming its nothing, but just wondered if anyone knows what causes the light to start flashing.

The manual just says:-

"if the warning lamp flashes drive on at reduced speed and seek professional help in order to avoid damage to the catalytic converter"

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

This is the same issue as me! The car was fine till the Revo stage 1. The car feels fine but hit the redline in 4th and the light comes on. mine flashed for about 1 min and went out.
Here is what my failt codes were;

2 Faults Found:

000768 - Random/Multiple Cylinder Misfire Detected
P0300 - 001 - Upper Limit Exceeded
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 2
Mileage: 2927 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2009.01.02b
Time: 12:07:37

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 6566 /min
Load: 75.7 %
Speed: 172.0 km/h
Temperature: 84.0°C
Temperature: 20.0°C
Absolute Pres.: 1030.0 mbar
Voltage: 14.351 V

000771 - Cylinder 3: Misfire Detected
P0303 - 001 - Upper Limit Exceeded
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 01100001
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 2
Mileage: 2927 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2009.01.02
Time: 12:07:37

Freeze Frame:
RPM: 6566 /min
Load: 75.7 %
Speed: 172.0 km/h
Temperature: 84.0°C
Temperature: 20.0°C
Absolute Pres.: 1030.0 mbar
Voltage: 14.351 V

I'm guessing your will be the same......
Let me know what you find out.

Thanks
 
julians said:
Earlier today, i acclerated hard up to the red line in 4th gear
Click to expand...

You must have been doing some serious speed ....

Injectors are the likely cause mate - lots of threads on this. A remap will highlight a latent problem, not be the cause of it.
 
According to the diags machines, I have P0300 and P0303 errors (combustion malfunction). So the same problem as everyone else.

We have decided to fill with 99ron fuel and see if I can get the problem to reoccur. If it still occurs after that, then we'll try reducing some of the settings, if it still occurs after that, then I'll get the map removed.

If the fault still occurs when the car is standard, then I agree that I have a 'latent' problem, if it goes away when standard, then its the map that is causing it (whether it be because the map is asking too much of my particular car or some other reason), and until they produce a map that doesnt cause it, I'll stick with standard.

Will keep you posted on progress, but because of the intermittant nature of this, it might be a long time.
 
There may be some merit to this being highlighted on remapped cars but standard cars have been shown to have the problem as well. For example a new unmapped S3 was checked at my local rr before mapping and was found to have this problem, before and after.
 
I have had the same errors with mine show up on my facelift s3 after a Revo Stage 1. After talking to the guys down at Revo it seems to be a problem with the new set up of the catalyst on the downpipe on >2008 models.

I have orderd myself a Miltek Turbo Back exhaust and hopefully this will clear the problems. I will let you's all know how i get on. Wont be till after next week as im stuck offshore at the moment.
 
r18jsh said:
I have had the same errors with mine show up on my facelift s3 after a Revo Stage 1. After talking to the guys down at Revo it seems to be a problem with the new set up of the catalyst on the downpipe on >2008 models.

I have orderd myself a Miltek Turbo Back exhaust and hopefully this will clear the problems. I will let you's all know how i get on. Wont be till after next week as im stuck offshore at the moment.
Click to expand...

I'm glad i'm not the only one with a facelift having these issues. I've only run V-power in mine BTW.
So are Revo going to chane the map for this then? Who told you about the issues with the cats etc? Kev?
Thanks
 
mine is a non facelift 57 plate s3, if that helps anyone deduce any conclusions
 
julians said:
mine is a non facelift 57 plate s3, if that helps anyone deduce any conclusions
Click to expand...

As is mine - with Revo stage 1. Never had a single fault code or problem.
I agree there may be something different with facelift cars as the engines are slightly different but for pre-facelift cars with this problem this is the thread to read. After trying EVERYTHING possible a new set of injectors was diagnosed and voila - the problem disappeared and didn't reoccur after mapping and all other modifcations were added.
http://audi-sport.net/vb/showthread.php?t=60131&highlight=poorly
 
I think theres something in the fact you were running lower octane fuel, if its been alright the rest of the time and the only time its done it is with the lower stuff its probably the ECU pulling things back, only my opinion of course;)
 
audi upgrades
r18jsh said:
After talking to the guys down at Revo it seems to be a problem with the new set up of the catalyst on the downpipe on >2008 models.
Click to expand...

I've just had this confirmed. According to Revo this is the problem.
 
JustCharlie, I did wonder whether its the ecu pulling back due to sensing a bit of knock, but I had assumed that when the ecu does that, that it does it without throwing an error code and illuminating the light, Does anyone know for sure what the behaviour of the ecu is when it pulls back the timing due to sensing knock or another reason?
 
DeckedS3 said:
I'm glad i'm not the only one with a facelift having these issues. I've only run V-power in mine BTW.
So are Revo going to chane the map for this then? Who told you about the issues with the cats etc? Kev?
Thanks
Click to expand...


It was Carl who i was talking to, very knowledgeable chap aswell. I only run v-power as well. They wont change the map for that as technically it isnt the map that is causing the problem. He did say we could alter the boost settings and that would possibly cure it..... but then that defeats the point in geting it mapped in the 1st place, all depends what your after really?

After talking to Carl it seems with a TBE you can go for the stage 2 map so this is the route i will be going down. As i say i have the TBE waiting in my garage to be fitted when i return home so will let you know how i get on once it is fitted.

Apart from that problem what do you think of the remap?
 
deckeds3, Do you know if Revo are going to modify the map for the facelift as a result? or are they going to stipulate that you must have a modified downpipe if you have your car remapped?
 
r18jsh said:
They wont change the map for that as technically it isnt the map that is causing the problem.
Click to expand...

I don't quite get this - are Revo saying that there is a problem with facelift exhaust systems ? If so then surely you could get this done under warranty ?
If they are saying that the problem only arises if you have a remap then surely the remap is the cause of the problem and they should fix it.
Am I missing something here ?
 
Iggu, from what I can gather, it appears that the revo remap is incompatible with the standard facelift exhaust system, so they either need to modify the map to work with the standard facelift exhaust system (which I guess may not be possible), or need to stipulate/state that the remap wont work 100% perfectly on a facelift s3 unless you also fit a modified downpipe.

i dont think this is my problem though, as I dont have a facelift s3.

Been doing some more testing though, and it only occurs intermittantly, at very high rpm (6750+ rpm), and it doesnt happen in first or second gear, but does happen occaisionally in 3rd and more often in 4th, but it does not occur consistently.
 
r18jsh said:
It was Carl who i was talking to, very knowledgeable chap aswell. I only run v-power as well. They wont change the map for that as technically it isnt the map that is causing the problem. He did say we could alter the boost settings and that would possibly cure it..... but then that defeats the point in geting it mapped in the 1st place, all depends what your after really?

After talking to Carl it seems with a TBE you can go for the stage 2 map so this is the route i will be going down. As i say i have the TBE waiting in my garage to be fitted when i return home so will let you know how i get on once it is fitted.

Apart from that problem what do you think of the remap?
Click to expand...

If you set the timing to 4, boost to 6, fuel 9 you wont see the check engine light come up. In my case anyway....
The car is totally different with the map, frees it up nicely. Need to do some more miles TBH.
Let me know how you get on with the zorst.
:racer:
 
r18jsh said:
I have had the same errors with mine show up on my facelift s3 after a Revo Stage 1. After talking to the guys down at Revo it seems to be a problem with the new set up of the catalyst on the downpipe on >2008 models.

I have orderd myself a Miltek Turbo Back exhaust and hopefully this will clear the problems. I will let you's all know how i get on. Wont be till after next week as im stuck offshore at the moment.
Click to expand...

lm after a TBE as well. Guess what, lm offshore as well. But mine wont be until Feb. In Angola now.
 
Iggu said:
I don't quite get this - are Revo saying that there is a problem with facelift exhaust systems ? If so then surely you could get this done under warranty ?
If they are saying that the problem only arises if you have a remap then surely the remap is the cause of the problem and they should fix it.
Am I missing something here ?
Click to expand...

What they are saying is the Facelift exhaust is not as free flowing as the pre-facelift. Revo would easy change the settings on my map to allow for this. But to be honest id rather get the best out of the map and that is why i have chose to go for a tbe.

There is no problem with the exhaust when the car is standard so warranty would not cover that.

DC, from what i read the tbe really free's up the car and goes well with the map, can only be a good thing in my opinion. Angola, at least its warmer than here then!!
 
Firstly you shouldn't really run REVO SW with 97 RON fuel. :whistle2:

The S3 is 98 as the norm anyway. The car should have been tuned by the REVO installer to achieve the best power with the car's setup at the time, if you were running 98 at the time then that is what the map is optimised for.

If you can understand what is happening with the ECU and the parameters that are being checked/adjusted it would become much clearer why you might be seeing these problems and the hesitation. If you have VCDS then it's worth logging some of the channels such as fuel pressure, boost requested and achieved, timing correction factors and of course RPM and throttle position.

I have an excellent little guide to VCDS logging produced by an American guy which I can send you if you wish.

Not meant to be having a dig at you but you've got a highly tuned engine, you need to put the correct fuel in it. :thumbsup:
 
Hi Vrstu,

Thanks for the input, like I mentioned earlier on, It could well be due to me running lower RON fuel than normal, I've since filled up with 99 ron, so will keep an eye on it and see what happens, but since I filled up wih 99 ron earlier today I have still had the light illuminated at high revs in 4th gear, but I will give it a tank full or two to settle down, and see what happens.

I guess it might be that the settings need reducing slightly, the current settings (as set by the revo dealer) are Boost 6, timing 6, fuel 9. My own uneducated guess would be to reduce to timing to 5 , but I'll leave that up to the revo dealer to decide.

I;m glad of any suggestions you or anyone else may have, so keep them coming.

Cheers
 
I don't think your settings are excessive but it's really quiet individual to the car, I would maybe consider dropping the timing by one. Although boost and timing (as well as AFR) are all linked, often timing too high will give a feeling of hesitation as the car 'pulls' back to prevent knock.

FWIW I run B7 T5 F8 but it's only a guide as I said each car is slightly different.
 
julians said:
I guess it might be that the settings need reducing slightly, the current settings (as set by the revo dealer) are Boost 6, timing 6, fuel 9. My own uneducated guess would be to reduce to timing to 5 , but I'll leave that up to the revo dealer to decide.

I;m glad of any suggestions you or anyone else may have, so keep them coming.

Cheers
Click to expand...

Just a suggestion but with B6 T6 F9 I see too many correctional factors showing up in Vagcom for my liking. So I run B6 T5 F9 or B7 T5 F9 now and the car feels quicker due to less hesitation and the datalogs look much healthier.
Like VRStu says though each car behaves slightly differently so this may not work for you.
 
I had similar issues intially on my 08 S3 when Revo'd and we had to run really conservative settings, when we fitted the downpipe and cat, there were no issues at all so the downpipe comments earlier may have a point
 
Julians;

drop me a PM with the details of the dealer you had your software installed, where you're based and some contact details and i'll see what i can sort out for you! :)
 
Ok, heres an update for you all.

Apparently all MY2008 cars have the different downpipe, not just facelift cars (which is something I hadnt appreciated).

Revo have a fix for the issue that is caused by the different downpipe design, I'll be dropping my car in to have the new map applied at some point in the next couple of weeks , when I get a chance.

I'll let you know if it fixes the issue, but revo are confident it will.
 
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