ok so following a few weeks of epic disastah!
the N14 ECU, as well as missfiring like FOOK, threw up the EML and threw the fans on.
only two possible causes - coolant temp sensor, or ECU failure. since the car was still running, we can point hte finger at the CTS.
whipped the pair out (with EPIC difficulty) and forked over £22.99 for a pair of new ones at my local motor factors.
as you can see, the bigger of the two (ECU sensor) is scorched, and covered in a solid milk like substance (im just gonna go ahead and blame pel for this one) so i would guess someone has had it out for some reason before... most likely alan when he put the thermoblocks on. i replaced the smaller one anyway as i plan to use this for my aftermarked water temp gauge since my OEM one doesnt work.
anyway the car now runs without fault codes on the N14 ECU but still missfires on cylinder 2.
fingers crossed a new ECU from australia lands this week.
also... votes please.
Gti spoiler
OR
Autech spoiler