CEL came on

fstsven · November 16, 2005, 14:52

I was doing some brisk driving today, and after about 20 miles, the CEL sudenly came on. The engine is still running fine though: idle speed is normal, it pulls well, runs smoothly at high and low revs, doesn't stall...
Completely normal so far.
They will connect it to diagnostics tomorrow
Anyone had this?
What do you think it will be?
Is it ok to drive the car? (I have to work, you see s:(

s:( )
Greetz

kanujunkie · November 16, 2005, 15:49

Hi fstsven,

If i were you i'd disconnect the battery for 15mins and then reconnect it and start it up, this will reset the ECU and if the CEL comes back then you know you have a real fault. Also at the same time it may be worth quickly cleaning the MAF sensor as the most likely reason for a CEL is caused by this. Dont fret though, this is most likely a spurious glitch, but do get it checked out anyway

SteveJ · November 16, 2005, 16:07

The only snag with resetting the ECU is the dealer wont be able to read the error code (assuming it doesnt come back up)

If the engine hasnt gone into limp mode then the fault cant be too serious - my money would be on O2 Bank 1 Sensor 2 failure (cant remember the code number).

HTH

SteveJ

Anonymous · November 16, 2005, 17:24

sorry for being very very very thick!!

what is a cel?

Anonymous · November 16, 2005, 17:26

Check Engine Light: It's the little orange light on the lower-right of the instrument cluster that looks like an engine.

Anonymous · November 16, 2005, 17:42

d'oh...thanks. s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

fstsven · November 16, 2005, 18:12

Thanx for the replies guys.
We'll see tomorrow... s:? :? s:?
I'll keep you posted

fstsven · November 18, 2005, 19:11

The dealer collected the car yesterday. Two fault codes in the ECU: 1)an out of tolerance value on the third o2sensor (after the main cat) Mechanic said this is probably due to precat removal s:? :? s:? Does he have a point? Is there anyone else who had a CEL due to removed precats? (I told him no-one ever experienced this)
2)"something" with the "brandstofdebietmeter" I'll try to translate (roughly): fuel pressure regulator
They cleaned the first one, fiddled some with the second one and reset the ECU; cost me 35 euros, no more CEL... s:D

s:D
...until about 5 or 6 miles further, when it came back on! s:shock: :shock: s:shock: s:evil: :evil: s:evil: s:cry: :cry: s:cry:
Car is still running normal as far as I am concerned.
I called them and they said to run it like that (provided it continues to run normal) until the next service, which is due in about a month, then they'll look further into it... s:? :? s:? Not happy... s:(

s:(
Now I know there is some serious knowledge assembled here; so what do you reckon guys s:?: :?: s:?: Any s:idea: :idea: s:idea: 's?
Thanx in advance!

Tem · November 18, 2005, 19:32

Quote from: "fstsven"1)an out of tolerance value on the third o2sensor (after the main cat) Mechanic said this is probably due to precat removal s:? :? s:? Does he have a point?

The 3rd sensor wants to see a difference from the first sensors. It's the main cat that makes it, not the precats.

I suppose it's possible that your main cat is dead and the precats have been enough to keep the CEL off for now.

Anonymous · November 19, 2005, 11:30

the RAC or the AA can be called out to read the faults and reset or advise what to do if your a member use the service the dealer will charge you a fee just to tell you whats wrong and a fee to reset and a fee to repair or replace you can cut your bill in half if you know what the fault is beforehand

Chris · November 19, 2005, 11:56

Quote from: "SteveJ"The only snag with resetting the ECU is the dealer wont be able to read the error code (assuming it doesnt come back up)

SteveJ

That's the problem that i've got no, as I replaced my battery yesterday, and no no cel's anymore... Which is good in one respect, but gives the garage nothing to go on... might have to get me an obd reader