Momentary cut-out on m/way

[R69]

Hello all you helpful folk! (me, a creep? nah!)

Anyway, driving back home from Stafford on Saturday, on 3 occassions the engine on my LCR 225 (55 plate if it matters) suddenly cut out (at least that's what it felt like).

The car just stuttered but only for a moment then normal service was resumed. This happenend a second time a few minutes later & then a third time. At the same time ALL of the warning lights came on for a second or so before going out & the speedo & rev-counter needles swung round to zero & back again. But the ESP (triangle) light stayed on.
1st time I was on an A road so pulled over & re-started the car, which cleared the ESP light. Next two times were on the m/way so couldn't pull over.

Each time it happened it reset the clocktime, & all of the trip computer data back to zero, BUT the stereo didn't go off!!

Any ideas anyone?

Thanks

 

[ChrisUK]

Vag Com it

 

[Nev_LCR]

like chris said there is no point spending time tring to fault find when there is a service out there that will pin point it in a few minutes.

 

[LEE69]

Fuel pump relay possibly?

You need it scanning tbh could be a number of sensors.

 

[andycupra]

sounds electric to me. i presume it was raining hard?

are the battery connections ok?

is the battery secure? (check its not shortnig against something).

Im thinking along the lines of battery rather than maf, coils, sensors etc as you have described the speedo and rev counter falling to zero which to me indicates electrical failure.

 

[Ronin225]

At times like that breakdown cover is advisable, must remember to get mine sorted
But i would suggest scanning any codes there might be otherwise its stab in the dark stuff

 

[lee_woollett]

I had a similar problem with a previous car, it turned out that the battery wasn't secured properly and when i accelerated, the battery slid and the postitive terminal was shorting onto the inner wing, this in turn caused the car to cut out, lights went out, dash lit up like a christmas tree, but the sudden jerk as the engine cut moved the battery and the car was back to normal. First job i'd recommend is to check the battery and terminals.

 

[R69]

WOW! What a fantastic response! First time I post something (something that was worth posting anyway!) & I get tons of useful information!

Thanks guys you're all stars!

THe VAGcom thing sounds good - I have no idea how to go about it but I'll look into it (Google!), thanks.

Yes andycupra, it was raining hard - man you guys are good! - so I'll get battery checked over tomorrow or Sunday.

lee_woollett, thanks for the advice of your similar problem, as said I will check battery for connections, terminals & to make sure it is secure.

Thanks for all the help people - I'll let you know how I get on

Look forward to making the most of this site & maybe meeting a few of you at meets in the future - I'm based in the West Midlands.

Only joined the site after I got my car in November, but from my experiance so far I'll be on here a hell of a lot more now!

Thanks again peeps

 

[andycupra]

welcome, but let us know how you get on if it solves it then its great to 'have and end to the thread' and if not im sure more tips will come your way.

 

[R69]

Will do, cheers andycupra

 

[highguyuk]

That's cos you were LEAVING Stafford. tut tut.

 

[lee_woollett]

I lived in stafford for 20 odd years and i left, now live in northampton. I go back now and then. Where abouts in stafford are you?

 

[highguyuk]

I lived in stafford for 20 odd years and i left, now live in northampton. I go back now and then. Where abouts in stafford are you?

I live up near the castle! Not too bad an area of Stafford.

 

[R69]

Hello again all.

Well managed to have an uneducated look at the battery today!
The terminals look fine as does all the wiring & connections - so no joy there so far.
Battery seems perfectly secure & well mounted as far as I can tell too.

I was on the motorway again this weekend to Leicester & back but there were zero problems this time round.

andycupra, you correctly assumed that it must've been raining heavy when it happened, which it was.
However it was dry as a bone on the trip to Leicester, with no problems.
Is this of any significance?

I'm thinking for now to just leave it be - do you guys think this is a bad idea? If so should I get it checked out somewhere?

Thanks again all for the interest & help!

 

[andycupra]

Hello again all.

Well managed to have an uneducated look at the battery today!
The terminals look fine as does all the wiring & connections - so no joy there so far.
Battery seems perfectly secure & well mounted as far as I can tell too.

I was on the motorway again this weekend to Leicester & back but there were zero problems this time round.

andycupra, you correctly assumed that it must've been raining heavy when it happened, which it was.
However it was dry as a bone on the trip to Leicester, with no problems.
Is this of any significance?

I'm thinking for now to just leave it be - do you guys think this is a bad idea? If so should I get it checked out somewhere?

Thanks again all for the interest & help!

well i was expecting it to be a battery issue; this could have been poor connections or a battery shorting out issue. I asked about rain as clearly water and electrics dont mix so if the engine bay / battery got a good soaking it may be causing issues. equally i guess water could be playing havok with the alternator, although i dont see this causing a very short total loss like you have had. although electrics are notoriously unpredictable.
Is your engine bay undertray still in place? (if ive not asked this before)

im not totally sure where it is, but another potential issue is if the ecu is not sealed properly and getting wet. but again if this was an issue id expect it to cause a fault that took some time to dry out.

 

[R69]

Cheers andycupra - I'll check undertray & look into checking ECU at the weekend.

Thanks for the help it's very much appreciated

Will keep you all updated so it's useful for future newbie searches!

Thanks again

 

[R69]

Hello guys

Well from what I can tell the undertray is fine & in one piece
ECU seems to be ok too. I'm booking the car in for a cambelt at MidlandVW so will ask them to have a quick looksie for me if they can & mention the incident to them

It hasn't happened again since by the way, & I've been on the motorway & national speed limit dual carriageways too

thanks again all

 

[DannyC87]

if you can get yourself over to loughborough at all i'll scan it for you with vagcom

 

[MrBen2k7]

check your alternator, and the ground connections for the battery.

 

[R69]

if you can get yourself over to loughborough at all i'll scan it for you with vagcom

Wow thanks for the offer DannyC87 - you're a star!
Won't be that way for a while but I may well give you a call if there's no joy at MidlandVW!
Planning on going GoKarting up your way next month so may PM you beforehand - thanks again

check your alternator, and the ground connections for the battery.

Battery checked but not alternator - thanks for the advice mate, much appreciated!