Check engine light - on Apr 1.1 and downpipe

[isaidsthats]

Hello all, my cel came on last night when driving home from work. I immediately pulled over, turned off the car and started it back up but the cel stayed on. There are no other lights on the dash that is lighting up.

My current mods are Apr 1.1, and awe catted down pipe.

In the past month, I had an epc light come on twice but I was idling for a while. Turning the car off and on resolved that issue.

Now however, I'm getting a solid cel with no sounds of an abnormal whining turbo. I am hearing a slight misfire, but I am unsure.

Should I see a dealership that offers Apr tuning and also can diagnose my problem? I'm near the Philly area, and I heard Smith VW in Delaware does Apr tuning.

Thanks!

 

[StormTrooper1]

Lol go get a stage 2 tune and that'll go away.

 

[GoTime1]

or if you don't want the stage 2 file load the stage 1.2 test pipes file which clears the light

 

[notavr1]

or if you don't want the stage 2 file load the stage 1.2 test pipes file which clears the light

this you more than likely have the cel for the downpipe

 

[witsbusa]

As far as I know, a CEL doesn't go away without clearing it. An android app called Torque can be used going through a connection (I use a bluetooth adapter) to the OBDII port can let you see what the fault code is so you can deal with it, or if what you received is like the CEL I received after going with my catted downpipe is just an emissions level code because of higher flowing pipe and cat, the app lets you clear. I was also running a stage 1.5 tune from Eurodyne, so I put on a stage 2 as prior poster mentioned which I am confident will avoid that code going forward.

That is the beauty of the eurodyne for me versus trying to arrange a time to get in to the dealer to do what I just did in my garage. In any event, no clue on the EPC warning but the CEL is probably to be expected and unless I misunderstand, while the fault code remains, you will see it until you clear out the code.

 

[PRND[S]]

I'm not a fan of just clearing the code and assuming it is the downpipe -- I would get the ECU scanned by an APR dealer (so the car can be flashed if needed) or another member with VCDS.

 

[DAS_STIG]

I'm not a fan of just clearing the code and assuming it is the downpipe -- I would get the ECU scanned by an APR dealer (so the car can be flashed if needed) or another member with VCDS.

stage 1 makes no changes to o2 sensor readings. secondary o2 sensor (emissions control reading) detects incorrect amounts of various pollutants in exhaust gas, flips CEL due to emissions "issue."

going to go ahead and say with 99.9% confidence that it's the downpipe.

 

[isaidsthats]

Thanks for the replies!
I'm not able to see an Apr dealer soon, would it be OK if I drive around with the cel for a bit? Are there other physical signs to tell that it's not the turbo going?

I have no rough idle, and no loud turbo whining unless I'm gunning it. I hear slight misfires, but I still have power through out the band.

 

[witsbusa]

Thanks for the replies!
I'm not able to see an Apr dealer soon, would it be OK if I drive around with the cel for a bit? Are there other physical signs to tell that it's not the turbo going?

I have no rough idle, and no loud turbo whining unless I'm gunning it. I hear slight misfires, but I still have power through out the band.

If in fact the fault code related to the emissions / downpipe, then it would be OK. But despite that being a somewhat "educated" guess, it is still a guess. Especially with those prior EPC warnings you received, it would make me really anxious continuing to go on my way without pulling the code and confirming. I agree with the 99% guess you will get a code relating to the emissions reading, but if it were me, I would be really anxious until I figured it out.. I am in Montgomery County and see you are in the Philly area, and would be happy to plug in and pull the code for you, but logistics would probably make it a lot easier to stop at an STS or some other garage and ask them for a big favor to plug in a scanner and confirm the code..

 

[witsbusa]

I would definitely not visit a dealer for that favor.. I am not a conspiracy theory fan, so if you did, I can't imagine the tech getting on the batman phone to corporate or something.. but why take even the most remote chance when every other shop where they couldn't care less about a downpipe and would never have a clue about your car having a tune can give you that information..

Or again, look up the bluetooth obd-II things, and if you have an android device, get torque pro.. it actually is fun to play around with and your price to play is probably about $20-30 total.. to read codes, clear codes, check on all the diagnostics the car is running, set up personal readouts of information you want displayed like intake air temp, boost pressure, gps speed, fluid temps, AFR actual and specified.. pretty cool little setup!

 

[notavr1]

How long have you had the down pipe on?

 

[witsbusa]

How long have you had the down pipe on?

That was the other piece of missing information I meant to point out.. it sounded like he had his downpipe on for a while, which would make it seem strange that he would not have experienced a CEL relating to emissions before.. Maybe that was just unclear in his first message, but I got my CEL and wasn't surprised by it, within a day after running aftermarket downpipe with stage 1.5 tune..

 

[DAS_STIG]

That was the other piece of missing information I meant to point out.. it sounded like he had his downpipe on for a while, which would make it seem strange that he would not have experienced a CEL relating to emissions before.. Maybe that was just unclear in his first message, but I got my CEL and wasn't surprised by it, within a day after running aftermarket downpipe with stage 1.5 tune..

the CEL for emissions can be a bit weird sometimes. if you get a "catted" downpipe it might not pick it up immediately, but take a few hours/days to trip the emissions failure.

 

[805mk7gti]

After installing my APR downpipe I got the little engine picture/light within 20-30 miles while I was still stage 1.

 

[witsbusa]

the CEL for emissions can be a bit weird sometimes. if you get a "catted" downpipe it might not pick it up immediately, but take a few hours/days to trip the emissions failure.

Understood.. I was taking a little trip out of town and it took probably 2.5 hours and 140 miles before it went off.. when I was leaving to come back home.. I had my wife and kids with me and my first thought (my wife being aware I had been under the car for a while the night before) was uh-oh...... but then figured it was emissions issue which I confirmed when I got home.. ha.