Engine management light on. Please help.

[DynamiqueDebz]

Misfiring like hell, cat stinks, engine management light intermittent. Please help!

I just went to go out in my car and I couldn't believe it. It was totally fine on Saturday, haven't driven her since. She now sounds like she is misfiring like hell, the cat stinks of rotten eggs, it stank of fuel when started and the engine manegement light keeps coming on and going off.

Any ideas guys? It's freaked the hell out of me as she has been perfectly ok up until this minute. Please help.

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

I just called the revovery/breakdown people, f**king w**kers! They say as it is not a serious problem, it would take them about an hour to get here then they have no guarantees they can fix it, and most garages will be closed by the time they arrive so they think there is little point in coming out today.

How can they say it isn't serious when the darn thing isn't running at all well, is popping and banging and stinks to high heaven?

They say there is only 1 call-out per fault too. So I have to leave it until tomorrow.

 

[rwaterman]

I had this or similiar problem recently happen on my 182 had the leads and spark plugs changed which repaired it..

 

[tommyboy]

as above ^^ same with my old mk2

 

[ben_p]

cant change the HT leads ona 1.2 as there park of the coil which it proberly is

will be..

lambda
ecu needs re flash (a lot of 1.2's had this)
coil
map sensor (wouldnt of thought it would be this though)

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Is this the sort of problem that is likely to happen without warning then? She was perfectly ok on Saturday. I can't get to the darn plugs, need a special tool apparently. (which I haven't got). In all my years of motoring I don't think I have ever heard a car make such a racket without warning. She feels like she's trying to shake herself to pieces too. To be honest it does feel like a plug or lead problem, but I just don't understand how it can happen without any prior warning. Never had a misfires before. She's always been spot on.

What is really pissing me off is I am in no physical fit state anymore to be able to try and sort this out myself even if I did have the right tools. It's sooo frustrating. I'm just not used to not being able to do these things myself, and now I find myself more angry with me than anything else.

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

will be..

lambda
ecu needs re flash (a lot of 1.2's had this)
coil
map sensor (wouldnt of thought it would be this though)

Oh s**t. That's way above my head. What does this mean and what does it involve? Can the breakdown people do this?

 

[tommyboy]

will be..

lambda
ecu needs re flash (a lot of 1.2's had this)
coil
map sensor (wouldnt of thought it would be this though)

Oh s**t. That's way above my head. What does this mea and what does it involve? Can the breakdown people do this?

would be done at a Reno garage I think.... that's where mine went, my mk2 was fine then fucked the next day but it was under warranty luckily phhhewwww

 

[ben_p]

nope...

.lambda reads exorst gas to adjust fuel, air, fbw t/b

.ECU brain of engine.. sometimes they f**k upa nd need re setting (re flash of software)

.coil pack sends a "spark" current down a HT lead to fire a plug. they fire in order. if one fails the car mis fires and wont run

.map sensor helps the car run on idle ect. but dont think its this as normally ythe revs will jump up and down ect then it would stall

 

[tidyclio]

Wouldn't worry to much yours is a 1.6 he's talking about the 1.2's the coil packs on your car are even worse than the one's one the 1.2 my money would be on that although at about £40 each i'd get it diagnosed by the recovery guy when he comes out.
I wouldn't get angry at yourself for not being able to do anything about it, with electrical things unless you had spare coils sitting around their isn't much you can do just put your feet up and have a relaxing night with a bottle of wine!

 

[ben_p]

the coils fail over time.. there a big problem on the 1.2 16v

they cost around £70-£80

the pack is on the left hand side of the block (facing it) under the grey cover and is held in by 4 torx screw t35 iirc..


4 leads go from this to the plugs.. easy to change like 15mins max. but u may need the fault codes clearing


some aa men carry the coils... they did for my mates anyway

 

[ben_p]

edit you have a 1.6

you have the individual pencil coils. they are about 40 per coil and are not where i said they were in my last post lol


aa should carry spares as there used in the 1.6 and 1.4 clio/meggy engines

 

[tidyclio]

Hers is a 1.6 going by her profile mate so it'll be the individual coils at around
£40 each and every person i've known with a Renault that uses these has had one fail.
If it done it as soon as it fired up it's probably not the lambda sensor either only really if it started when the engine was warming up

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

I f**king hate all this new fangled b****cks! Bring back the old crossflow engines I say. They were piss easy to work on and very rarely gave you any trouble with basic maintenance. I hate all this computerised s**t. Electric this, chips for that. It's all done to try and make sure the general can't fix them themselves, thus lining the garages pockets. Grrrrrr!!

 

[ben_p]

Hers is a 1.6 going by her profile mate so it'll be the individual coils at around
£40 each and every person i've known with a Renault that uses these has had one fail.
If it done it as soon as it fired up it's probably not the lambda sensor either only really if it started when the engine was warming up

lol ..... i realised half way through..


the lambda i too doubt it would be that.. but if its of the ecu loop and does it then it could be that.. think they run on loop under 2k

 

[ben_p]

I f**king hate all this new fangled b****cks! Bring back the old crossflow engines I say. They were piss easy to work on and very rarely gave you any trouble with basic maintenance. I hate all this computerised s**t. Electric this, chips for that. It's all done to try and make sure the general can't fix them themselves, thus lining the garages pockets. Grrrrrr!!

its all cheaper running and saving the planet lol!

i dont agree with it though mind

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Hers is a 1.6 going by her profile mate so it'll be the individual coils at around
£40 each and every person i've known with a Renault that uses these has had one fail.
If it done it as soon as it fired up it's probably not the lambda sensor either only really if it started when the engine was warming up

It started as soon as the engine fired. The car started shaking and misfiring like f**k! I wondered wether she had got abit wet under the bonnet being as it's been raining, and we all know some Renaults hate the rain., so I thought I would just take her up the road to see if it cleared, but it got worse and I had to limp her home. Only dorve her for about 1/4 mile if that.

Will the recovery bloke have these darn coil things on him?


I think I must have jynxed myself as I was only saying on saturday how good she has been. Bloody typical isn't it?

One thing that confused me though was, the breakdopwn people wanted to know if it had been lowered. How the f**k would lowering it make the darn thing misfire? They wanted to know exactly how much ground clearenace there is. Hubby poited out that it has only been lowered 30mm so it is highly unlikely that it has been grounded, and I think I would have noticed if I had grounded her.

 

[ben_p]

they wanted to know if its lowered incase it needs to go on the back a wagon

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

I f**king hate all this new fangled b****cks! Bring back the old crossflow engines I say. They were piss easy to work on and very rarely gave you any trouble with basic maintenance. I hate all this computerised s**t. Electric this, chips for that. It's all done to try and make sure the general can't fix them themselves, thus lining the garages pockets. Grrrrrr!!

its all cheaper running and saving the planet lol!

i dont agree with it though mind

Cheaper running? My mk1 1.6 race tuned Capri cost less to run than my Clio. Was piss easy to wrok on too. This better for the planet s**t makes me laugh as well, as the unleaded fuel is far worse for us and the planet the leaded fuel ever was. It's a joke isn't it?

 

[ben_p]

yes. it sucks

 

[ben_p]

alhough depending how long ago it was when you had the capri ..... fuel has gone up 10 fold lol

as has oil, raw materials for parts etc

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

they wanted to know if its lowered incase it needs to go on the back a wagon

Ah yeah right. I didn't think of that. Doh, silly me! lol

I'm not exactly thinking straight right now. I'm actually quite upset that my baby is sick. To top it all off the darn trick or treaters have started rining the darn door bell. I have nothing ti give them either as I didn't make it to the shops, so I'm gutted about that too. I just gave two kids £1 each, but I've run out of change now too. f**k sake!! Grrrrr

 

[ben_p]

lol.. its my bday so my mum just gives all the chocs and sweets i get for it away

 

[tidyclio]

BenP not %100 sure thought their were on open loop for around a minute or two until the lamda heater gets it up to temp but you may be right.
I agree Debz it make working on them harder but someone who's fixing them could argue it makes fault finding easier, also makes cars more reliable and like said more efficient but every system has it downfalls. You should take a trip to your local breakers sometime and fill up a toolbox with all different sensors coils etc incase anything does go wrong it's saved me a fortune.
As for the kids just switch the lights off and pretend your not in lol sure as s**t I won't be answering my door tonight!

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

alhough depending how long ago it was when you had the capri ..... fuel has gone up 10 fold lol

as has oil, raw materials for parts etc

It was years and years ago, and although petrol is alot dearer, the parts would probably still be cheaper than buying them for the Clio. Plus I didn't have to worry about all this computerised crap! Plugs were a piece of piss to do too. I wouldn't swap my Clio to have my Capri back mind you, but I would swap the hastle that these new cars bring any day.


Another question. Being as the cat stank and it reeked of fuel, could it have damaged the cat at all?

 

[ben_p]

could of but i doubt it... it will just be unburnt fuel lying in it then geting hot in the cat causing that smell.. not good for it but as long as you didnt run it for ages it should be ok

 

[tidyclio]

Yes it could it's sulphur in the petrol reacting with the cat and cats hate a rich mixture but if you havn't drove it for long it should be ok, for the price of them i'd take the chance

 

[ben_p]

snap lol

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Drove it for no more than 1/4 mile.

Hubby has just freaked me by saying he hopes it isnt a case that the cam belt slipped. Jesus christ, please tell me he's talking b****cks! My sense of what could have happened has gone out of the window along with all my years of training and working on motors. I think it's the shock to be honest.

 

[tidyclio]

Lol beat me to it some team eh!
Yeah he's talking b****cks cam belt won't slip with the problem your desrcribing

 

[ben_p]

Drove it for no more than 1/4 mile.

Hubby has just freaked me by saying he hopes it isnt a case that the cam belt slipped. Jesus christ, please tell me he's talking b****cks! My sense of what could have happened has gone out of the window along with all my years of training and working on motors. I think it's the shock to be honest.

not the cambelt..well 99.999999999999999999999999999999999999999% its not, i doubt it would jump a tooth and it wouldnt really do what you have described...

my money is on a pencil coil.

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Lol beat me to it some team eh!
Yeah he's talking b****cks cam belt won't slip with the problem your desrcribing

f**king hell, thank f**k for that! I didn't think so, but like I say I'm not exactly thinking straight. I'm going to slaughter him for worrying me like that! I should know better really with all the motors I have worked on over the years. It's just these new computerised things have me puzzled sometimes.
In a way I am bloody glad I am not fit to work on them anymore. Talk about major grief!


Oh god yeah, Hubby just said something that I totally agree with. What a f**king stupid place to put a dipstick. Talk about almost get your arm wedged between the engine and the front of the car, not to mention the fact you could burn your bloody arm. How daft is that????

 

[ben_p]

lol the f4r is the same..


key in.. start engine, press the trip.... oil level


not that i would trust renault computers lol

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

lol the f4r is the same..


key in.. start engine, press the trip.... oil level


not that i would trust renault computers lol

Exactly. Mine said 'Oil ok', but I wans't about to trust it. Wanted to check to see if it had burnt any oil as it stank. I'm really short, only 5-1 so it was abit of an effort to reach down that bloody far. What a daft place to put it. I know it has to be where it is, but they could have made the darn thing longer so you can actually reach it! f**king french cars! lol

 

[tidyclio]

Not exactly sure where it is on your car never seen a 1.6 but if you think your going to get hurt best leave it to a man hehe!
Renault do some stupid things like the way they mount everything to the subframe and then have no consideration about how the hell you get bolts etc out when it's jammed right up against the car body so if it is in a stupid place I wouldn't be surprised.

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Not exactly sure where it is on your car never seen a 1.6 but if you think your going to get hurt best leave it to a man hehe!
Renault do some stupid things like the way they mount everything to the subframe and then have no consideration about how the hell you get bolts etc out when it's jammed right up against the car body so if it is in a stupid place I wouldn't be surprised.

It's right at the front underneath the inlet manifold. Darn stupid if you ask me!

 

[bmh.01]

Coil packs are a damn sight cheaper of ebay believe it or not, proper reno ones too. Seen them going for £14 a piece, one of mine has started to misfire slightly in the wet so i'm expecting it to start to get worse over time. So i've bought one and am keeping hold of it until it develops a full blown misfire, will save you a few bob if you can wait for postage.

 

[TomTom]

Debz have you taken the 10 mms on each coil and ran it up with the coils still in, and listening to see if its definetly a coil?

Got plenty of spares in the 'garage' could send you some if you need some

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

Debz have you taken the 10 mms on each coil and ran it up with the coils still in, and listening to see if its definetly a coil?

Got plenty of spares in the 'garage' could send you some if you need some

No Tom I haven't. I'll be totally honest. There is absolutely no way I am going to try and take anythng apart on the damn thing. I took one look under the bonnet and simply said "f**k that for a game of conkers!" I do not know much about all these new things these darn computerised cars have, most of it is way above my head. All I know is , it's misfiring like hell, sounds like a tank on heat and bloody well stinks! She seems to rev ok if you blip the throttle, but she idles like s**t and is as lumpy as hell when you drive her.

Thanks for the offer of some spares. I may well pm you if I fiind out that is what the problem is. Better to have some reserves just in case it happens again. Cheers for that.

The breakdown/recovery guy is coming tomorrow, so I will keep my fingers crossed that it is that simple. I am hoping this is not the start of a slippery slop down hill to Clio ownership. :S

 

[DynamiqueDebz]

There is one other thing I have been wondering. I dismissed this earlier as purely being paranoid, but it is making me wonder. In the early hours of this morning 1.30amish I heard this loud clang, like someone had dropped something on the pavement. I was nice and cosey in my bed and being as my alarm didn't go off I couldn't be arsed to get up to see what it was. Would it be possible for someone to do something from the outside/underneath that could cause this? Like I said, I am probably being paranoid, but I am wondering whether someone could have disconnected something. Nothing would surprise me these days. lol