2011 amarok auxiliary water pump frustrations.

[5h4d0w]

Ladies and gentlemen i come to you with the classic auxiliary water pump failure issue. So I'm hoping i can gather some knowledge from you guys.

I've got a 2011 2.0 tdi amarok with about 162000 ks on it. K bought it second hand and I'm pretty sure the last owner gave it hell. Anyway it's first aux pump failed about 1.5 years ago. It gave the standard p261a error code. Took it to a shop and they replaced the Pump with a good brand ( the shop was a euro specialist). That pump lasted under a year. I have replaced the pump twice since then and got around 3 months of use. Turned it on this morning and poof the good ol p261a error code.

Bit of vehicle usage info, it barely does long drives anymore. I mainly use it to drive to and from works a few times a week which takes around 7mins. It has other errors related to other unrelated systems. Apart from the errors the car drives fine when its not in limp mode and the temps seem to be stable around 80-90 degrees.

The shop told me about 1.5 years ago that my battery needed replacing, however it is still starting the car and working as it should.

So my question is, why does this lump of a machine keep killing auxiliary pumps. Is the pump getting to hot where it currently sits? Is it not effectively turning on when the car is off due to the battery? Are short drives preventing it from cycling properly? Does anyone have any insight or suggestions or anything? Im considering relocating it to a cooler location to see if that helps.

I like how car should drive and perform, but the constant issues are beyond the joke now.

Please Halp!!!!!

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[Dinogzav]

Could it be a relay or wiring problem. Maybe a loose connection or something in one of the plugs. Do you change your filter often as my opinion for the cost of it, replace the fuel filter every service. Maybe there is some gunk in line to the pump making it draw harder and run higher amps. All guess but maybe something.

[MIG]

Do you know how the pumps are failing, brushes worn out, coils burnt or something on the impeller side? Might be an idea to pull one apart if you still have it.

If it's on the electrical side, as Dinogzav said, a relay or wiring issue could make the pump run all the time, leading to it wearing out.

[Dinogzav]

Forget my comment about filters. For some reason I thought you talking about fuel pump. Being 11 years old now, maybe a full cooling system flush could help?

[5h4d0w]

Could it be a relay or wiring problem. Maybe a loose connection or something in one of the plugs. Do you change your filter often as my opinion for the cost of it, replace the fuel filter every service. Maybe there is some gunk in line to the pump making it draw harder and run higher amps. All guess but maybe something.

Yeah i had a look at the connection on the pump before replacing the pump and there was some build up, gave it a clean and it ran fine for a week but now I think the pump has actually dies. It gets warm now if i try to get the pump to do anything. Usually i can unlock and lock the car and the pump will kick on for a second. So i thinking something electrical or another thought was maybe the egr cooler has cracked and its causing a build up somewhere causing the pump to cause excessive draw as one of you guys have mentioned

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[5h4d0w]

Could it be a relay or wiring problem. Maybe a loose connection or something in one of the plugs. Do you change your filter often as my opinion for the cost of it, replace the fuel filter every service. Maybe there is some gunk in line to the pump making it draw harder and run higher amps. All guess but maybe something.

Yeah i had a look at the connection on the pump before replacing the pump and there was some build up, gave it a clean and it ran fine for a week but now I think the pump has actually dies. It gets warm now if i try to get the pump to do anything. Usually i can unlock and lock the car and the pump will kick on for a second. So i thinking something electrical or another thought was maybe the egr cooler has cracked and its causing a build up somewhere causing the pump to cause excessive draw as one of you guys have mentioned

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[5h4d0w]

Do you know how the pumps are failing, brushes worn out, coils burnt or something on the impeller side? Might be an idea to pull one apart if you still have it.

If it's on the electrical side, as Dinogzav said, a relay or wiring issue could make the pump run all the time, leading to it wearing out.

I'll pull the next one apart as much as i can. As far as i could tell on the others, the impellers have been ok.

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[5h4d0w]

Thinking back i recall twice where my amarok has dumped a massive amount of white smoke creating a smoke cloud for me to disappear into so I'm thinking i may have to have a look into my egr cooler theory a bit more

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[5h4d0w]

Bit of an update. After a couple weeks the pump has died again. I've replaced and had a look at the intake side of the egr pipe and didn't really see any evidence of coolant making its way into the intake so I'll monitor coolant levels from here.

I went to start the car earlier and it was really sluggish to crank over. It did start but then when I took off the flashing coil light came on and the car was in limp mode. Drove to the fuel station and put fuel in, then when i started it, no flashing light and no limp mode. Im assuming the flashing light was due to a low circuit voltage to the pump during start up so im wondering if it may not be cycling the pump after shut down due to the same reason, hence killing pumps. I shall have the battery tested very soon

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[h100vw]

I had an Amarok in recently and the aux pump was really noisy after doing the timing belt. I ended up opening up some coolant connections around the top of the engine and by the pump. I figured that maybe there was air in the pipes and not lubricating the pump. The correct procedure to refill these is vacuum out the system and then refill. Otherwise you get airlocks all over.
Look at the coolant line, lots are as high up as the reservoir and I dont think the coolant gets in properly

[5h4d0w]

I will double check the lines. I'm getting over whatever this issue is.

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[5h4d0w]

For anyone still reading, today i dumped the coolant, flushed the system to see what pipes lead to where with various connections undone. I tested what I assume to be the heater pump and it didn't really want to do anything. So I've ordered another one and I'll fill the system and bleed once it's all together and see if the heater pump had something to do with the auxiliary pumps dying

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[Milzy]

Hi Mate,

Any update to you solving this issue? I'm in the same boat with a 2016 model which has gone through 4 of the pumps,