Hi,

I have a 2000 A6 and have an EPC light problem, it has been on for a couple of weeks and cant figure it out for the life of me... The codes I am getting are P1676 and P1690, can anyone point me in the direction of a good site to look up these codes?? Or if someone has had the same problem can help with the fix...

Friday night my car starting running really bad, it felt like I had a flat tire(without the flat) turns out it was the coil pack, I fixed that, but the EPC light is still on, and its driving me nuts... I don't want to be stuck on the side of the road again waiting 2 hours for the AAA tow to come pick me up, it's a shame to see a beautiful car like that riding down the MassPike on the back of a flatbed...

Any help is GREATLY appreciated!

Thank you,

Sterg

 

Code P1676 indicates "Drive By Wire-MIL. Circuit Electrical Malfunction"

Code P1690 indicates "Malfunction Indication Light Malfunction"

I don't really know what these DTC's point to? Have you checked behind yourself under the hood? Is it possible you left an electrical connector loose after the coil pack replacement? Maybe try performing a "Throttle Body Adaptation"?

If you have access to VCDS I woud run a scan with it. The scans done using VCDS usually are a bit more precise than the generic OBDII scans. It may point to a faulty sensor or at least narrow what could be causing the DTC's and VCDS lets you perform many other functions including allowing you the ability to test and reset many different modules.

 

Thanks for the post, I know the mechanic that ran the diagnostic(i copied the codes down) used his laptop... Is the VCDS is something that I can purchase, a program that I can install on my laptop?

The EPC light was on before the the coil pack went, but I definitely checked the connections when it came back on... To be honest I was hoping that the coil pack going was why the EPC was on...

 

VCDS or "Vagcom Diagnostics Software" is the newest version of the Vagcom software offered by Ross-Tech. Yes it can be downloaded and installed on your PC...but I have found that with my car, it only works when you buy the hardware aka diagnostic cable directly from Ross-Tech. If you plan on keeping your car for a while and have issues you want to repair yourself, the $260 cost is well worth it to me. This software can sometimes pay for itself with one successful use or diagnosis, is ubdateable for free for as long as you own it and does much more that just pull and clear DTC's. You can do datalogging, reprogramming of control modules, and run many tests and get much of the same information about your car as a tech using equipment at a dealership that costs ten times the money. Ask around, I'm sure others using it will give you similar answers.