ok so this has been a pain the past couple days.. i did the airbox mod and my check engine light came on as a result.. went to my audi tech (at and audi dealership so he is legit) and he said i am pulling TOO much air in.. so i put the airbox back to stock and after a few the check engine light is still on even after a few errands and turning the car on and off and letting it cool

SO.. i have prob taken apart my airbox and put it back together like 6 times now and the last time i made sure it was good and tight and all the hoses are hooked up...

went for test drive.. started to bog down in first i got to where i would usually have to shift just before 7rpm's and it was at like 5 check engine light blinking at me.. i shifted through 2 to 4th and the car became stable and check engine went back to just on and not blinking..

so i opened the hood and heard an electrical tick tick tick... and it was coming from this..
just so you know where i am in the engine..

and the piece


is this a sensor? im assuming it is and it is making an electrical tick... could this be the reason my car is bogging down? or are there other problems do you think?

I NEED HELP

i take my car in mon but would like to know if i can fix before mon

help is appreciated!

 

I forget what its called, but it's supposed to tick and is unrelated to your problem.

As for the blinking CEL, that means a misfire. You might have killed your MAF by manhandling the air box. Get your ecu scanned for fault codes and post them.

 

great i hope its not that b/c one more big cost in the near future on this car and i will be FORCED to sell it and get a new car.. ugh i hope its not at bad as it may be.. now the light doesn't keep blinking though only for a moment and then it goes back to just on?

 

ya that's a misfire. you need to get the fault codes read asap and post them

 

Better start car shopping! Looks like you have a 00 or 01. The most likely cause for a misfire is the MAF if thats the case. If it was 97-99 1.8t then there would be more things to consider. Considering how you were messing with the airbox, it's almost GOT to be the MAF.

 

now say it was a misfire what needs to be replaced?

 

I'm telling you, because your CEL was flashing it was a misfire. Go to auto zone and they will scan your ecu for fault codes, for free. Record and post the fault codes and we'll go from there. I expect there to be a MAF fault code, but we won't know until you get that done. A bad mass airflow sensor (maf) could cause a misfire.

 

ok thanks for the help.. hopefully it is not as bad as it is :/ and maybe just a sensor change will do the trick? i dunno guess i have to see or just wait until mon till i go see my tech :/

 

Do you know what Auto Zone is? Advance Auto Parts? Either place will scan your ecu FOR FREE. When they scan it, there will be codes that can be decoded for free, which will tell us what the problem is, for free. They are open Monday-Sunday. No reason to wait that long. You DO NOT want to drive the car while it' misfiring or you will eventually kill your catalytic converter. The problem can only be as bad as a bad sensor, for now. Paying a technician is not going to be necessary if you listen to the help that people try to give you around here.

 

yes i am listening.. but i know the tech at the audi place and he scans my car for free whenever i need it and get discounted parts through him

also those places like auto zone and so on are farther out than the audi dealership and if i do go and get it checked at the audi place i can leave my car there to keep any damage that may be happening rather than screwim my car up further

now were you talking about physically taking the ecu out and going to get it checked? b/c then i can see doing that.. but if i have to drive i don't want to drive 30 min one way to autozone or advanced to get it checked when audi is 15min from me

i really appreciate the help and i know you are trying to save me money.. im just trying to do what is best for the car