VW warning light expertise please

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DIYspanner

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2004 Bora 1.9 TDI

I've had a look around and there was a suggestion it was the brake lights. Have checked them and LH, RH and bar lights are all lighting when pedal is pushed.
Brake fluid level seems good too.

Anyone know what the generic symptoms are for this warning light?


full
 
The Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) light in a Volkswagen can come on for a number of reasons, including:
  • The "ESP off" button has been pressed
  • Traction loss
  • Faulty sensors
  • Brake system issues
  • Faulty ABS system
  • Incorrect wheel alignment
  • Low tire pressure
  • Faulty wiring or connectors
  • Damaged battery
  • Corrupted software
  • Bald tires

  • If the ESP light is on constantly and the ESP/ESC system is not switched off, you should contact a Volkswagen retailer to have the system checked. If the ESP light flashes while the vehicle is in motion, the ESP or traction control system is intervening, which is normal.

    The ESP light usually looks like a picture of a car swerving. It's an important safety feature that helps prevent a car from skidding or losing control, so if the light is on, it could make the car more dangerous to drive and it may fail the MOT.


  • Andy
 
Had it on mine and it was a faulty wheel speed sensor.
Didn't need replacing because for some reason it was too close to the slotted part of the hub when it needed to be around 3/4mm away from it.
Repositioned and all good.
I diagnosed it with vcds lite by driving below 20mph and looking at wheel speed readings on the laptop.
The nearside front was going up and down, the others where reading correct steady speed.
Mind you, it might be something else in your case, but you need to scan the car.
 
HERTS P&D said:
Sometimes you need a better scan reader.
Click to expand...
Surely if the code reader can communicate with the onboard, all faults should be reported?

My reader was a Santa prezzy from my sister. She got it at Aldi!

How about the Streetwize brand stocked by ECP?
 
DIYspanner said:
Surely if the code reader can communicate with the onboard, all faults should be reported?

My reader was a Santa prezzy from my sister. She got it at Aldi!

How about the Streetwize brand stocked by ECP?
Click to expand...
I've got 3 different professional (expensive) scanners. Different ones work better on different cars.

The cheap scanners can usually pick up most if not all engine codes. But very little else.
 
Rather than spend £££s on code reader/scanner, seems sense to have the car scanned by an auto sparky to pin point the bother.
 
Have been to a local garage who plugged his diagnostics in. It didn't find any recorded faults.

I found an article on a VW forum about resetting the esp by holding the esp button in for 5 seconds. I did this with the ign on and the warning flickered and then starting the engine, the light goes out. The warning light can then be turn on/off with the esp switch and when off, if the car is moved, the light comes on and stays on.

This suggests to me a faulty wheel sensor.
 
Possibly, but if the wheel sensor is faulty, even intermittantly it will have recorded a fault code.
 
I had a wheel bearing (front) changed on a Mondeo. Had esp problems after and it was down to a faulty insert of the new bearing.

If there is no codes and the bearings are demonstrably good then live testing of sensor outputs would be a logical step.
 
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