Engine Management Light

[RS6Fan]

On my way home from work last night, the engine management warning light comes on. This morning I ring my local Audi dealer and they say bring it in and we will plug it into the diagnostics system.

The car drives fine, absolutely no different to normal. They check the car and say there is an ECU fault and re-set the light. They suggest ordering a new ECU under warranty, and the technician asks if it has been chipped as they will know when the old ECU is sent back to Germany. Within 5 minutes the light is back on!

The car is a 2003 I have had from new, it's done nearly 50000 miles and has had the MTM chip from 3000 miles. It has never had the ECU light come on before.

Any thoughts on what it is/what I should do?

Thanks

[Aronis]

buy another new ECU under an assumed name and swap it yourself!

If they 'test' yours, your warrantee is gone!

Mike

[JAXRS6]

Originally posted by Aronis
If they 'test' yours, your warrantee is gone!

That could happen, but not necessarily as a result of discovering or admitting to a chip.

First, he's in the UK, and warranties are different there. I read here some time ago that Abt chips were even allowed under warranty in England, with the trade-off being a warranty for two years rather than four. What the impact of an MTM chip would be, I don't know.

Second, even in the US, just having a chip does not void warranty. AoA's memo on the subject specifies that problems caused by a chip will not be repaired under warranty, not that merely having a chip voids anything.

So, under that rule, if something else is causing the problem, the chip should not void the warranty. This happened to me, but it's been a while since I explained it so here goes (as it relates to my 2000 B5 S4):

My CEL (check engine light) came on, but there were no symptoms -- just like RS6Fan. Took to dealer, who asked if I was chipped; I said yes (APR). They supposedly ran diagnostics, found nothing, and concluded "it must be the chip."

Not satisfied, I visited a tech friend with a VAG-COM. He produced a readout showing that there was in fact a pressure leak of some sort. Dealer said "Hmmm," could not deny the data, replaced my MAF filter under warranty -- and the CEL never came on again.

Later, AoA extended its warranty on the MAF filter beyond original factory limits, indicating my problem was common. In any case I fought the dealer's initial finding and won -- with data and help from a friend with VAG-COM.

Also -- The suggestion to swap ECMs has two issues. It is deceitful, and if caught, the perpetrator can expect zero cooperation from Audi, perhaps forever because they could no longer trust you. And, unlike the B5 S4s, there are not many RS6s around, making a "spare" ECM more difficult to obtain. Maybe much more difficult. I don't know for sure; haven't tried.

I'm not sure if the assumed name suggestion was serious :vhmmm: but it's not something I'd attempt.

[JAXRS6]

Here's a link to the aforementioned AOA memo, as I posted it elsewhere (sorry, I've had no luck doing pix here so far):

http://forums.audiworld.com/rs6/msgs/4749.phtml

Caveat: The AOA memo is over four years old, so it seems possible their policy is different now. Anyone with evidence of a change, please post!

:D