No power, sluggish acceleration - 1.6 BFQ Engine

[JustCruisn]

It was scanned immediately after codes were cleared and returned 00545 Enginge-Transmission Electrical Connection fault.



Hmm. How involved would it be to replace it with a manual box? I'm guessing probably not worth it. Why are euro cars so complicated.

About $2k more than fixing the bad connection you have.
00545 - Ross-Tech Wiki

Find the transmission fuse and check it for corrosion etc, number 15 and 31
Check the battery terminals and any ground connections are sound.

Check the connection from Engine Control Unit to Transmisison Control Module, buzz those wires, check the pins are clean the wires are not broken, frayed etc.

[JustCruisn]

This may help also
MK4 Golf 1.6 Automatic 4000rpm @ 100km/h

[epitrochoid]

The engine and transmission ECU's are under the plastic plenum cover. It is possible that they have been wet at some stage (they shouldn't get wet but you never know where people stick hoses)
Justcruisn is spot on about what to check.
It sounds like an electrical connection that is bad and when a bit of heat gets into the connector, contact is lost and the ECU goes into a limp mode.

[kaspa_lee]

About $2k more than fixing the bad connection you have.
00545 - Ross-Tech Wiki

Find the transmission fuse and check it for corrosion etc, number 15 and 31
Check the battery terminals and any ground connections are sound.

Check the connection from Engine Control Unit to Transmisison Control Module, buzz those wires, check the pins are clean the wires are not broken, frayed etc.

The engine and transmission ECU's are under the plastic plenum cover. It is possible that they have been wet at some stage (they shouldn't get wet but you never know where people stick hoses)
Justcruisn is spot on about what to check.
It sounds like an electrical connection that is bad and when a bit of heat gets into the connector, contact is lost and the ECU goes into a limp mode.

Cheers guys, I'm hoping this is the case. I checked those fuses and one of them was corroded and I replaced it but no dice.

Weather is pretty bad in Perth at the moment so started getting to the ECU but only got as far as 1 windscreen wiper lol. But then I noticed this...possible cause?

[kaspa_lee]

Hey guys, I've checked the fuses and plugs, I really can't do much except for a visual inspection I don't have a multimeter. I unplugged both the TCM and ECU and cleaned them with some MAF cleaner, the only thing I noticed is that the 'pedal' light now works after I replugged them in. But alas, same issue - limp mode after about 10 minutes driving.

I think I'd like to take it to someone to have it sort it out, would it better to take it to an auto eleccy or a euro specialist?

[h100vw]

Mate, give those 2 plugs another blast with the cleaner and then re-rack the connectors a few times. If one light has come good, then maybe something else will too.

I hate to write is on the internet as a licensed aircraft engineer but it wouldn't be the first time I saw that action fix something.

Something that is sus though is that it takes 10 minutes to fail. Sort of makes me think that maybe it's something in the box. Like and overtemp. You can see that with VCDS on live data I am sure.

Gavin