hi all, first post here so please be gentle

am currently working on the wifes R plate 899cc cinq

she complained on friday about the 2 red lights which were a bit distracting!!

#1 oil light. looks like shes been off road and the sump had a hole in it. n/p's, sump off, hole(s) welded (brazed) up, dents hammered out, wire brushed and hammerited and ready to go back on. (am changing oil filter too and cleaning up and painting the rusty cover plate that needed to come off to access x2 nearside sump bolts.)

Dont have a Haynes, anyone know how much oil it'll take to refill?

#2 injector light. doesnt stay on all the time. when it does light up, theres a bit of a judder/ acceleration drop. acceleration etc poor and sluggish. seems to happen at random revs (no damn rev counter though so hard to tell ), and at any speed.
smallish bore hose to top front nipple on throttle housing was real 'squidgy', so cut it out and fitted 3/8 clear plastic hose, (joined to rubber hose further back with 1/4 copper pipe inside) acceleration etc seems better, but light still comes on sometimes with 'judder'. spark plugs look fine, the rest of the hose back to the airbox is clear (trace oil maybe, but ok) airfilter is good and airbox clear. the new 3/8 hose is showing a bit of moisture in it.

Any ideas? Phoned a garage. They said it could be anything and theyd probably have to go down the road of fitting bits until it went away. That sounds way too expensive considering what the cars worth!


While I'm here, theres a rusty looking thing near the horn, about the size of a 10-pack of fags, with what looks like a big spring in it. 3 wires so am guessing probably some kind of 'stat.
Whats it do?
Also, inside the airbox theres a flap which directs air from either the exhaust manifold, or from the front vent. Its controlled by a fairly stiff plunger thing with (again), a spring thingy inside!
Hows this work then? surely the air inside the airbox doesnt get hot enough to change it over does it? Never seen this before. (Then again, MY car has an induction kit fitted :devil: , AND an engine bigger than the lawnmowers )

Hope somebody can help.

I actually like taking the wee beastie out for a spin myself sometimes, but its starting to push the envelope on 'cheap motoring'! (Had it 2 years. Its had a new petrol tank, new (to me) alternator, brakes replaced all round, 4 new tyres, new (to me) wheel (the old one wouldnt seat the tyre right), new (to me, yeah you guessed it, I hunt the scrapyards regularly!!) wingmirrors, new (to me) drivers seat after the old one broke the bar across the back at the bottom. New shafts seals both sides at the gearbox. Exhaust complete. Also fitted clear front indicators and those pinkish looking rear lights, and a set or red seatbelts. (these were cos I found them at the scrappy and they were cheap!)
I can hear a squeek from the back of the car when I get in too, so probably looking at new springs, maybe shocks before MOT time

Oil capacity is 3.75 litres. If it runs OK after fresh oil and filter, you could always take itr in for a diagnostic to see why the injector light (ECU warning light, really) stays on. That way you'll know what part you're after at the scrappy!

When the ecu light comes on, it usually puts the management into 'get home mode', and only allows reduced revs to save the engine from damage.

If it does this from cold, then its not the lambda sensor, as the car is open circuit until the lambda warms up.

Lambdas have been known to fail, so if its a 'warm' fault, it could be. Throttle position sensors can crack up leading to a problem at a certain throttle opening, and map sensors can fail, or their pipes become full of condensation.

Make sure the map pipe is clear and connected correctly.

The spring flap is temerature controlled to prevent icing in the throttle body. As the air temp increases the bimetallic spring lets fresh air in.

Cheers

D

cheers for the sharp replies guys.

will stick the sump back on tomorrow and oil her up.

the airbox springflap control would make sense I guess, just seemed pretty stiff to me. am guessing this would cause probs if i were to alter the airbox to squeeze a little more oomph out?

am told the injector light has at times come on immediately on startup, so I guess that means the lambda probe is ok. apparently happened before AND after the exhaust was done, so doubtful of a dodgy connection or anything there.

wheres this MAP pipe and sensor then?, and what would cause excess condensation? Have had a good squint and there doesnt seem to be a MAF fitted anywhere, does this MAP do the same job?

these things have diagnostic? am guessing theres a socket somewhere on the silver box type thing in the neaside engine compartment. is it the short out 2 pins and count the blinks after starting the engine type or does it need a laptop diagnostic type setup?

any clues on this 'possibly-a-thermostat' doobry at the front near the horn?

(sorry for all the noob type questions. :worship: am unfamiliar with most bits under the bonnet. might be able to spring for a haynes after Xmas, are they any good for this cinq? the one I got for my other car is worse than useless. )

MAP sensor is behind the ECU. Strictly doesn't do the same job as a MAF, but is sensor for ECU.

Its attached to the inlet manifold and as the manifold can get condensation in it, it runs down the pipe unless the pipe is supported.

There is a diagnostic plug near the ecu. needs a reader.

Where abouts in the world are you?

Cheers

D

well that all went badly.

the dog came out when I was setting everything ready to go and ran off round the garden with the box from the new oil filter. unfortunately I was using said box to store all those tiny little metal spacer disks that stop you from overtightening the sump gasket............

tried fitting the sump twice, once with the gasket, once with some instant gasket, and once with both. all three times I got leaks after I'd got verything warmed up and taken the car out for a wee run. the sump is a real PITA to fit too, so I've given up. (its gonna cost me fortune in oil before I get it right!!)

no sign of the ecu light today though. does it save its 'codes' even after the light has gone off? local garage doesnt have a code reader so I'd have to take it into town to get checked, and dont want a wasted journey.......

oops, didnt see your post b4 rallycinq. cheers for that info, might look into it later, but at the moment I'm sulking!! gonna take it along to the garage tomorrow first thing and get them to fit the sump right, not what I'd usually resort to, but I have to go to work and its too damn cold to be lying on the driveway at this time of year. :yuck:

I live in Insch (north of Aberdeen) btw.

Jings. someone from Aderdeenshire I can understand, there is a a first.

I know where Insch is, I am a wee bit further south, but good to find another Scot on here.

Cheers

D

woohoo. car now running again as normal.

even the garage bloke had a few problems getting the new gasket to seal right, but is now leak free (£150 though )

checked the MAP sensor and hose as advised, cheers for the advice, condensation was the prob right enough.

unfortunately repairs have hit my self-set limit for a year, so the car is now for sale. should be a bargain for someone as almost everything has been changed now!! see classifieds
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