QuiKKK Silver S4

Recently I've been having intermittent problems at WOT where my S4 would pretty much lose all power at WOT once getting heavy into boost. Friends behind me said that when this happens all they see are huge clouds of black smoke coming from my tailpipe indicating a rich condition.

I pulled the codes with the vag-com and got the following code:

17861 - Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor 1 (G235): Open or Short to Plus P1453 - 35-10 - - - Intermittent

Once I clear this code, the car will be fast again for a few more pulls. Then the problem comes back at WOT with the clouds of black smoke out the exhaust and the code resurfaces.

A quick search of the archives revealed that the exhaust gas temp sensors play a role in adjusting the a/f at WOT and if one of them isn't working properly, the computer could freak out and dump tons of fuel to keep things "safe."

My questions are:

1) What is the most likely culprit for this code? Could it be the EGT sensor box or the probe itself which is inside the manifold? Or could it be the wiring is getting shorted out on the manifold? Any ideas here?

2) I'm assuming Exhaust Gas Temp Sensor 1 is the one on the driver's side but I'm just not sure. Can anyone confirm that the "1" in this case would be the driver's side!

Thanks for the help guys!

DAP@EPL

Sensor 1 is bank 1 (passenger side).

-Dave Pramanik