99 T5 - ETS light, no symptoms?

Post by **j-dawg** » 06 Jun 2014, 09:07

my 99 T5 has been exhibiting some odd behavior lately that might be ETM-related. car is at 243k. ETM has a white label, but i have no idea what that means. records for my car are spotty before the last 50K and nonexistent before the last 150k, but i feel like something as big as the ETM would be listed, and it's not.

i replaced the radiator a few weeks back. the next day i drove a short local trip during which i noticed engine speed dropping too quickly between gears, making shifts very bumpy unless i rushed through them. i also noticed that if i blipped the throttle at a standstill, it wouldn't rev. i had jostled the final intake pipe to the throttle while installing the radiator, so i played around with that and it seems to have resolved the issue - the car has been driving fine since then. i considered the case closed.

a few days ago the ETS light came on when i booted the car up. it stayed on, but the car behaved fine up to 60-70mph. the light stayed on for the next few days, after which it went out. throughout this time the car drove as normal. the engine spun happily to high revs on full boost.

should i be worried, or was this just an electronic brain fart? i'm going to be dropping the intake soon to do the PCV. can i clean the TPS while i do this? would it make sense to do so?

Post by **mikealder** » 06 Jun 2014, 10:43

I would clean out the inlet tract of the ETM and its butterfly valve using a rag soaked in carb cleaner, don't blast carb cleaner in to the ETM or it can get past the seals in the spindle and ruin the internal components. Either do this prior to the PCV job or as part of it as you will have the inlet manifold off it makes sense to do it at the same time.
Read up on how to extract the ETM though, the cable to it is trapped between the engine and the starter motor, removal of the starter motor steady bracket makes it easy to get the cable out, the connector is low down near the middle of the engine bay just aft of the radiator, the plug is too large to go behind the starter motor, where the cables enter the ETM is NOT a connector so don't try taking that point to parts otherwise you will ruin the ETM.
If cleaning it out doesn't cure the revs and poor performance it might be time to look up the xemodex solution to upgrade your existing ETM as this is a better solution than replacing it with the same OEM crap from Volvo - Mike

Post by **j-dawg** » 06 Jun 2014, 12:21

okay, i'll do that. the performance issue was only present for a single ten-minute drive several weeks ago, and i don't know if it's related to the ETS light's fleeting tenure on my dashboard.

i just want to know, based on these experiences, if i should be budgeting time, space, and money for an ETM replacement soon, and if there's anything i can do or learn with the intake off. assuming my white-label ETM isn't a "fixed" unit, it'll need doing eventually, but it'd be nice to know if that's imminent.

Post by **JRL** » 06 Jun 2014, 14:13

Brake module throws an ETS code/light

Post by **j-dawg** » 07 Jun 2014, 12:27

JRL wrote:Brake module throws an ETS code/light

do you mean the ABS module? does it do that for a specific ailment or just for any error?

Post by **JRL** » 07 Jun 2014, 14:55

No
BRAKE PEDAL module

Why can't anyone ever take it to a dealer if you don't have VIDA? It WILL have stored codes

Post by **precopster** » 07 Jun 2014, 16:43

JRL means: It COULD be the brake pedal position sensor located on the brake booster, however it could also be an intermittent failure of only one of the throttle position sensors if you have updated software.

Don't waste your time cleaning anything just yet. If you're doing the PCV it will be easy enough when you do this.

Do you still have cruise?