Technical Engine light on

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Technical Engine light on

Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Messages
152
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Location
liverpool
Hi my daughter has our 2005 panda and phoned me today to tell me her engine light has come on.the problem is she is at hull uni and I am in liverpool so would be gratefull if anyone could give me some pointers as to what it could be or even the name of someone who could look at it thanks in advance
 
Is it on constant? Does it go off when engine is turned off and back on?
 
Just spoke to her now and the light came on again I've asked her to see if the rac could help if not maybe an auto elec in hull could look at it
 
My daughter spoke to the rac and they are coming out to her at about 4 15 hopefully they may sort it for her . I will post again later with the news good or bad
 
well the rac have been and red the codes and in my daughters words it was the lambada sensor :) she said he thought it was just clogged wwith soot?and to give it a blast on the motorway does that sound plausable? she works at a dog rescue centre in hull and will be dropping of a dog de bordeaux there at 8:30 and then going onto the motorway for a run hopefully the light will stay off
 
Lambda sensors are consumable parts and if I were looking at a Lambda sensor fault code on an 8yr old car I'd be more inclined to replace it than rev the t*ts off it & hope.

They're not that expensive & you might even save enough in fuel to offest the cost of a replacement.
 
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My no 1 lambda sensor went and that was relatively easy to replace. Did the RAC say which one it was? A new lambda was no more that £50 from memory.
 
I'm not sure if they said which one it was but I know she has had it out on the motorway for a good run and all is ok now :thumbup:she is back home in liverpool next weekend for the summer so will try to get it sorted
 
I'd recommend getting a code reader, or if you have a recent Android smart phone, get a bluetooth OBD code reader like this eBay item 11108630486

I'm pleased with my bluetooth OBD code reader. I've tested it on numerous cars inc my MJ Pand and Mk2 Punto and they all work. It wouldn't connect with my samsung i5700 (Bluetooth issue) but works fine on later phones and works with my current i5800.

I have read reports that these units are cheap and don't work but mine's been fine.

The CD is totally useless and should be discarded, use Torquelite (free) and update to the paid version if you want to say thanks financially to the guy who created it. This needs an Android phone.

I'm not aware of any software for the iPhone, maybe other members can add their experience.
 
If a Lambda sensor I'd wait until your daughter returns from uni to sort it.

As others have said its a consumable, so I'd just replace it rather than playing with possibly cleaning it.

Unless there's nothing wrong with it and it's actually doing it's job and flagging an emissions problem.

Seems these O2 sensors get a bad reputation, many rush out and replace them when the get a O2 related DTC as their reputation isn't great.
When it's quite possible all it's doing is noticing exhaust gases outside the tolerance, often due to something like a air/vacuum leak.

The pre cat O2/Lambda sensor will trim the fueling once the car has reached operating temp, if there's say an air leak/over fueling, the sensor will notice a lean/rich trim and it'll signal the ECU to compensate, richen/lean up.
If it can't trim back inside it's limit, it'll throw a DTC and engine light.

Get the actual code first before attempting to change it, if it's reporting a lean/rich reading, it's not the sensor that's duff, there's another problem elsewhere.
If it's reporting an open circuit, check the wiring connectors first.

If you need a new sensor, don't bother with the universal replacements you have to wire in yourself, get a direct plug in replacement like I have sitting here, new and unused, not needed, that comes with the correct special socket to remove it from the exhaust!
 
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