gugnheim

Hey guys-
First, thanks for the info. Car is an 03 A4 Quattro 1.8t Just this week did the snub mount(only trouble was getting it on the mount even greased, used a wood working clamp and it popped on) and changed turn signal bulbs. Still need to address the tail seal and the front right axle seal leak. Couldn't think of doing any of it with out your help.

On to the point, just the last couple days, when the car is started there are maybe 30 seconds to a minutes worth of a very high pitched leaf blower - hair dryer type noise. It's not RPM dependent. Runs them stops after about a minute. Thoughts?

Thanks
Gug

lyleswk

My 2 cents: Secondary Air Pump. On the 1.8t, it is located sort of below the turbo. This is a pump that pumps air into the exhaust in an attempt to reduce NOx emissions. They are know for the case cracking and some of the air "leaking" back to ambient rather than going into the exhaust stream.

gugnheim

You might be on to it. The noise seems to be coming from that part of the compartment. In what is probably not a coincidence, the check engine light came on today.

lyleswk

I almost asked about a CEL. Check the code and it will probably aim you at the SAI.

gugnheim

I don't have a VAGCOM, can I get the code with a regular reader?

Gingerbread man

That's normal. SAI only runs when the engine is cold, for the first minute after start. It shouldn't be very loud though. It could be dying.

lyleswk

Not sure whether a generic reader will catch that code.

Gingerbread man

Not likely and there's a good chance there's no code at all, not until the SAI dies completely.

aTOMic

If the CEL is on you will definitely see a code with any OBD2 reader. If you don't have one, most auto parts stores will read the code for free.
HTH
Tom

gugnheim

Yup, it got it. PO411. The secondary blower. Thanks guys.