Cold weather behaviour...??? (Van.)

[Audi-ence]

Hey guys, ever since the weather got colder (below 0) this past week and a half my car has been acting kinda strange.

Before this colder weather I'd start her up in the morning and the idle would be higher than normal and then kick down to normal idle after about a minute. It has always done this since I've owned it.

Since this colder weather has come along when I start up in the morning the idle is at normal rmp right away, and my cooling fans are running like crazy upon start-up. The fans do turn off after a while, but they seem to turn on a lot more often in this colder weather than I've ever noticed and the temp. gauge is normal.

Just wondering if this is normal....everything else seems to be fine while driving.

[MacDaddy]

you sure its not the air injection pump and not the fans?

as long as it dosn't leave me stranded, i'm happy.

[Audized]

Perfectly normal. At cold start, the secondary air pump adds extra air for combustion with more fuel to warm up and protect the cat, which leads to a higher RPM at idle. When the temperature is this low, combustion is less efficient and hence the RPM stays low.

[doobiesdaddy]

Could be the secondary air pump going bad. Secondary air pump is bolted on the rear top of the engine.
During start up it pumps air into the exhaust which helps burn off raw gas from the start up cycle's rich mixture. The pumps bearings go which gives the nice sound. Without a check code/light the pump is still working but getting ready to go.

[Audi-ence]

The pumps bearings go which gives the nice sound. Without a check code/light the pump is still working but getting ready to go.

What sound should I be listening for? If or when this secondary pump is malfunctioning will I get a check light?

My car was a CPO from Capilano Audi so I'm assuming this type of repair (if necessary) would be covered anyway.

[Audi-ence]

Well wouldn't you know it, last night on my way home from a friend's place my CEL came on. I didn't notice until I got home that it was on because the car was running fine, but do you suppose the CEL turning on is related to the issues I described in the first post in this thread?......I'm guessing yes.

What are my options as far as getting the CEL turned off other than visiting the dealer?

[WingsnHorns]

Get a friend with a code scanner to scan the car and see what the CEL is. Mine is acting wierd too, my airbag light has come on and I need to find someone with a VAGCOM to scan it.

[Audi-ence]

None of my friends are really "car guys" so I doubt any of them would have a code scanner.

Will any scanner work? or does it have to be a certain type for Audi/VW vehicles?

Where can I get one and how much should I expect to spend?

[Audi-ence]

Is this what I need? OBD or OBD2? I found this one at Canadian Tire, are there better ones out there?

[WingsnHorns]

That one will work, but it'd be best to find someone with a VAGCOM. I personally have one of these that I bought last year and it works great as I had a random engine misfire code last year. Let me know if you want to meet up sometime so we can scan it.