Hello, this is my first post here and I hope you guys can help me out. I have a 95 TSI AWD with a 6-bolt swap. I bought the car maybe one month ago and it drove perfect. A few days after buying it I had Circuit City install an aftermarket CD player, rear speakers, and Python alarm system w/ remote starter(its a manual). After I got my car back I started noticing the car misfiring a lot, idling rough, and it has even died a few times while stopped. A few times on the highway it would shake like crazy so I haven't been driving it on the highway anymore but it's starting to do it in the city too sometimes. I've been having a CEL come on which I got scanned and it said multiple misfires. The guy who sold me the car says Circuit City must have either messed with the fuel trim knob, or did something to the wiring. He says the spark plugs and wires(NGK) are all fairly new, and they seem to look good. He took the car on the highway a couple times to try and set the knob to the right place but the problem keeps happening. He said the only way to solve it is by buying DSM-Link or the cheaper Keydiver chip. I don't really have money for DSM Link plus I don't plan on tuning it in the future since I don't know much about these cars and also i'm not going to do any heavy racing. Does anyone know what my problem may be and if this is the only way to fix it? I appreciate any feedback you guys may have, thanks so much!!

may need a bigger battery...

circuit city probably didn't wire something right in the ignition when putting the remote starter in.

take it back to them and tell them what happened. They should be the ones to track down the problem.

They probably like they did on a friends STi took it for a joy ride and **** did nothing but cause damage that resulted in a brand new transmission, driveshaft, rear diff, ect.

I wouldn't even bother with those clowns. Where in the USA are you? Find a DSM shop and have them fix your car.

I took it to circuit city and they said the ignition was wired correctly... yeah it sucks i just bought it like a month ago and it's sat in the garage like the entire time. I live in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Anyone around there that knows a good DSM shop? Thanks!

do you know what that guy meant by, "fuel trim knob"?

It has a long term that I don't remember. It's the knob in the center console that controls the amount of fuel being distributed is what I understand? Circuit city doesn't think it was them, there giving me a real hassle about this. Should I have them just take out everything they did?

Picture is required I have no idea what you are talking about.

This knob has me stumped...

Here is a pic of the knob in the center console. I thought it was pretty weird when he told me about it but he said all 6-bolt swaps need the knob to keep it from misfiring unless you have DSMLink or something similar...

now I got it, you didn't mention before that it was a 6-bolt swap (unless I missed it), that knob is a potentiometer. basically,,,,,a volume knob. They are sometimes necessary in 6-bolt swaps for any years 96-95 because the injector pins are different on the ECU and the Baro sensor reads slightly different.

Read page 8-11 of this article :thumbsup: :
http://www.magnusmotorsports.com/tech/1gina2g.pdf

you are probably getting some kind of interference from what circuit city installed and that potentiometer. OR they seperated one of the splicings that someone did to your ECU harness. Check all of your harness wires to make sure nothing is broken and spliced correctly

Okay excuse me but I am a noob about DSM's. Do I have to remove the cd player to go the ECU harness or is it just on the right side under the dash? Thanks!

everyone was a noob at some point :thumbsup:

the ecu is right behind the drivers kick panel (the big panel on the side of the center console). Remove that panel and unclip the wiring harness. You don't actually have to remove the ecu to check thisout