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Wastegate blues

faid

Ready to race!
Location
Canada
Thanks guys. I already change it back to 3.6v. Settle down to 3.56 after a drive and a pull. Will leave it even if it changes after a while. I am just preparing for mpi once cobb release it.
 

Guywithchickens

New member
Location
New England
I'll go ahead and post this here. :

Since most stuff online is what to set to and not why or what will go wrong when setting yourself DIY I'll go ahead and post this for those adapting by themselves using the lowly obd eleven..

1) Get your badass new turbo in the mail

2) Install the waste gate actuator onto the turbo if necessary (it's probably not)

3) Follow this APR instructional video with 2 turns instead of their 2.5 but disregard the VCDS part.

4) Install your badass turbo onto car

5) Finish up the entire install. Fluids, mounts everything.

6) Take off Axle Grease Cover (the white shield in the way from the bottom of the car) 2 bolts super easy

7) Press ignition on but do not start car.

8) In obd11 go to control modules - engine - live data

9) Check charge pressure actuator acknowledgement and charge pressure actuator adaptation for lower stop

10) Look at acknowledgement voltage. It's gonna be out of range. Your goal is to set it to 3.550IshV by fiddling with the threaded rod and nut. Turning the rod clockwise drops the voltage. Turning the rod counter cw raises the voltage. Make sure nut is backed off enough to adjust. You shouldnt have to worry about preload on the rod threads if you followed aprs video.

11) shoot for a voltage of 3.55X voltage for is38 install or 3.618V for hybrid install. For boss kits use 3.71X and for comparable laggy bishes. For the boss600 if you're using a factory is38 actuator it is reccomended to use 3.8-4.0 ack. This is due to the friction caused by the materials used by cts on the pivot point/flapper arm requiring more rod leverage.

12) It is totally easy and doable to get voltage exactly right, just have your phone with you and watch it as you adjust on car.

13) Once it's good to go, make final nut tighten with pliers holding the threaded rod wherever you can (so it doesn't move too)

14) I noticed it's best to make your final tighten hit a slightly lower voltage, then when you tighten the nut the rod moves ever so slightly with it, bringing it to exact V and locking both in very tight. Or just use aforementioned pliers method if needed.

15) Double check voltage for acknowledgement is right on the money.

16) Go back to obd11. Go to control modules - engine - basic settings - first adaptation of charge pressure actuator

17) Hit the green button. It should just say basic settings ended. Yes it really is that vague.
18) Go back to live data, charge actuator adaptation for lower stop

19) The reading should be 3.6x The ecu has just blipped the waste gate into a seal, then gauging where it stopped at. This is your full shut voltage. This figure should be in the 3.6s.
20) glob a healthy amount of blue loctite onto the nut and surrounding threads.

21) Drive around , do a couple pulls, etc.
20) It will settle around a little bit the first day. Mine dropped about .03-.05V on both occasions.

22) If the value starts to go UP over the course of a few days then it is loosening.

If it seems stable yer doneee.

Why the different voltages? I asked a few different tuners that sold varying degrees of aftermarket turbos about how they did theirs. There seems to be an underlying consensus that bigger turbos require a slightly less loaded flap. Hence, the higher voltage. It also has things to do with how they spool up, how the wg works with their mapping, and keeping a smooth boost build in check as the wg opens and shuts very rapidly to either bleed or shuttle boost pressure.

Will having a v at the end of the vw range cause issues? No probably not. It doesn't really make a massive difference as long as the test passes. HOWEVER with that being said after i took mine from 3.75 to 3.6 I felt immediate gains in idle quality.

I know this is an old thread, but I'll share my experience for internet posterity. The instructions above were the final fix.

2015 GTI, all stock, 60K miles. EPC light started to show up intermittently at first accel before car warmed up. Turn ignition off, restart and code cleared. Then a few months ago it became more persistent, taking 2-3 off cycles to clear code. Then a month ago it would stay on. Never threw a CEL. OBD11 showed charge pressure issues. I tried cleaning and replacing the pressure sensors, no luck. Then I noticed that the wastegate actuator voltage looked odd. Long story short, I removed the turbo and the pin that connects the wastegate actuator to the clevis was completely seized. I removed it with some convincing, cleaned and polished it, then reassembled with nickel anti-seize. Installed a new Mahle wastegate actuator, reinstalled the turbo, still got the EPC light. Then I followed the instructions above and the voltages (including low stop) are correct at 3.6V and holding steady. All appears to be well!

Thanks to this group for the help!
 

blaqsheep

Autocross Champion
Location
Canada
Car(s)
IS38 GTI
Just so I have something to reference if I put my car back to stock, does anyone know what the original wastegate voltage of the IS20 is?
 

Gvazquez

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina
Just so I have something to reference if I put my car back to stock, does anyone know what the original wastegate voltage of the IS20 is?
Leave about 8 threads showing on the actuator rod and try to run wastegate adaptation
 

Gvazquez

Go Kart Champion
Location
North Carolina

7umberjackZac

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Car(s)
Gti
I'm in the process of this right now with turbo on car. It's been giving me EPCs for overboost. with Engine off ACC on, OBD11 showing voltage I can't get it to go higher than 2.7 before the rod completely unscrews from the hinge. This is the same actuator that came with the turbo but it looks different from all the actuators I've seen in video how to's. Looks almost exactly like my is20. Pictured poorly is both turbos is38 and is20 appear to have exact same wastegate actuators.
20200209_152348.jpg
I bought it from 2018 Golf R. Do I need a rod extension or is the voltage a different value for this actuator? Why is this so dang confusing?
20200207_104513.jpg
 

7umberjackZac

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Car(s)
Gti
run end stops test to see closed voltage
Do you have to run the test with the engine running? Test hangs and then fails. Also similar failures with the first pressure charge adaption
Screenshot_20200715-163220_OBDeleven.jpg
Screenshot_20200715-163341_OBDeleven.jpg
 

7umberjackZac

Go Kart Newbie
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Car(s)
Gti
3.89 too high. aim for 3.6. rerun test to see how your asjustment did
Took a few tries. But the voltage I was told to watch was the wrong number I see now. Also crazy you gotta turn ACC off and then ACC back on and run tests after each adjustment. I think I'm happy enough with it to try and drive it now. Million thanks
Screenshot_20200715-175202_OBDeleven.jpg
 
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