04/07/2026
🚗 A good repair isn't always about replacing parts — sometimes it's about having the right people working together.
Recently, this vehicle was taken to the team at TopTech Garage with a difficult cold-start issue.
The symptoms were unusual:
Unstable idle when cold
Hunting/surging RPM
Very aggressive pops and bangs
Poor running until the engine reached operating temperature
The car had been purchased already modified and was known to have a larger turbocharger, sports catalytic converter, aftermarket scorpion exhaust system and a remap.
The technicians at TopTech Garage carried out their diagnostics and thoroughly checked the vehicle from a mechanical perspective. Importantly, they found no obvious mechanical faults that could explain the symptoms.
Rather than guessing or replacing parts unnecessarily, they contacted me to investigate the software side of things.
This is exactly how it should be done.
They focused on the mechanical diagnosis, while I focused on the ECU calibration.
After analysing the software and carrying out further testing, we decided to restore the ECU back to its original factory software.
The result was immediate.
✅ Cold start issue gone
✅ Stable idle
✅ Engine running correctly
This confirmed that the problem wasn't mechanical at all — it was related to the calibration that had previously been installed on the vehicle.
From there, a fresh calibration was built from the original software, including the required catalyst configuration changes.
The final result:
✅ Smooth cold starts
✅ Stable idle
✅ Correct engine operation
✅ No unwanted behaviour
✅ Happy customer
This job is a great example of what can be achieved when specialists work together instead of trying to be experts in everything.
A big thank you to the team at TopTech Garage for their professional diagnosis and for involving me in the process. They did exactly what good technicians should do: investigate properly, rule out mechanical faults, and then bring in the right specialist when needed.
