No power, no revs, but not stalling

[Jay]

Hey all,

Just got the bleeding thing less than a week ago and already having problems   

It's a late 2000 (X reg in the UK) Galaxy using a 1.9TDI PD, so still relevant.   

Driving into work today the first 15 miles were fine, stuck in a lot of traffic but that's nawt unusual.
I tried over taking a cyclist but couldn't! I was in 2nd doing 10/15mph and floored it but nothing happened, then the glow plug light came on so I pulled over and turned the car off.

Turned it over to key pos 2 and the GP light went out after a second and started her up, she drove for a few hundred yards and done the same again... at this point in holding up traffic on a busy road in the middle of Oxford   So I tried again and it works again for a few hundred yards.... It happened again when at a point where I wouldn't block traffic so I decided to call my breakdown cover I have with my insurance, they couldn't find my details on their system (possibly because I'm a new customer) and couldn't confirm my address because their postcode system (GreenFlag) doesn't yet have my postcode... comon' it's been a year since the place was built!

They said call insurance directly and have them confirm my address with them, so I call them and their systems are DOWN   

So after all that f@cking about I still couldn't get recovered, I tried again and she worked! I was only 2 miles down the road from my work so I drove there where she is now parked up.

So when this happens...

1.) No Acceleration.
2.) GP light comes on after a few seconds of this and starts flashing.
3.) Rev counter is just above 1k when this happens.
4.) The car will pull itself along as if you have released the clutch and applying no acceleration.
5.) Plenty of fuel.

Any ideas where to start looking?   I don't have a fault code reader or cable for vag-com yet.

[aidan]

The pedal has to be the first thing to look at, although to be honest you need vagcom straight away, unless you fancy just throwing money at it. Go on one of the VW/SEAT forums and find someone local to you, some have a section of vagcom owners in it that you can contact

[Jay]

Already posted on golfgtiforum.co.uk vag-com section, waiting for a reply. Also posted on a Galaxy Forum, I'll give the local Golf specialists a call to see if  they have vag-com, though they deal mainly in MK1's.

[Vincent Waldon]

There's many many things this could be, and the car is trying to help... best bet is get the codes scanned and go from there.  Otherwise it's all just random guessing....which can be expensive. 

[Jay]

Took the TPS (whole peddle and sensor unit) out and cleaned it up, including the contacts inside and so far it seems to be OK.

Vag-Com cable on order for future diags 

[CdnVWJunkie]

Plugged fuel filter?

[Jay]

Plugged fuel filter?

Nope, TPS contacts dirty... 

Will be giving it a service soon as it doesn't have recent service history.

[Jay]

Happened again so tried finding one from a dealer but none of them had them in stock, so ordered one off ebay for almost half the price, along with a VAGCOM lead 

[gigaz2]

I would bet on a faulty MAF connection, when that happens you get the code and the accelerator pedal only works on the first couple of mm, i.e. you can control if you want to accelerate (more like mantain speed) or engine brake, and thats it.
mine had a plastic thing inside the female plug, it looked like it belonged there, vw partnumber and all, it would allow the plug to click but the electrical connection inside would fail randomly.

[Jay]

When it happens the peddle has no control what so ever - not even a few mm, putting the car in Neutral the engine speed rises to ~1100rpm, same as when putting it in first or second and releasing the clutch.
I hope the TPS I ordered comes tomorrow, along with the vagcom lead, my smoked side repeaters and Galaxy workshop manual 

[gigaz2]

any news on the codes it reports?

[Jay]

Can't get my vag-com lead to work and the new TPS is in and has not let me down yet, as a long time 'old scrapper' owner/driver I've now followed suit and kept the old TPS in the car "Just in case"

The symptoms are basically when you accelerate there is no response, will idle at 1100-1300rpm even in neutral. It will creep along in 1st/2nd as if you were holding the throttle at 1100-1300rpm, but the Glow Plug light soon comes on.