Hi all,

I have a 2006 Stilo Sporting 1.9 JTD 8V (85K miles). It is currently always displaying the amber engine management light. It has been on for approx 4 weeks and apart from sluggish performance when climbing steep hills it accelerates fine and has no other symptoms such as black smoke from the exhaust.

I took it to a local garage and the mechanic said the engine management code was for the turbo. After looking over the car he believed it may be a faulty sensor. I recently went on a 800 mile round trip and apart from the mentioned lack of power (need to drop down to 4th gear on steep hills to maintain constant speed) the car is running well (70 - 80 mph in 5th no problems). The mechanic advised that it could just need a service it resolve the sluggish performance?? I had all the filters and the oil replaced Sept 13 and I have covered 7k miles since then. I am thinking about putting it into a fiat specialist to have them look over it. Any advice on the following questions would be much appreciated.

If the turbo is on the way out is there a good self test I could carry out?

Approximately how much would a garage charge for a turbo replacement?

If I continue to drive it with the fault and the turbo does fail will this also ruin the engine? And if I don't drive above 3k revs will this reduce the changes of a major failure?

I need to try and minimize costs so if it is just he sensor incorrectly indicating a fault is there a way of hard resetting it such as disconnecting the battery to prove it either way?

Thanks for any advice,

Kev

Get diagnostic code then post on forum this way you will get more help.

Dose your sluggish power go away after a,little time? Your egr. Valve could be blocked.

I'd get a proper diagnostic done asap. There a few things this could be, so I would check:


EGR (as mentioned)
MAF
MAP
Boost Solenoid Valve
Turbo and Intercooler and pipework


My immediate thought is MAF, but its unmistakeable really. I don't know what the garage has done - did they use a code reader to get you the info about the turbo sensor? Which sensor?


If it IS the turbo, and it fails, yes it will most likely ruin the engine because its likely it will run itself on the engine oil until your entire engine bay burns - so it is well worth the cost of a diagnostic or try visit someone who has the MES and reader to check for you.

also, to help, please try disconnecting the MAF and see if it drives any different. Unplugging a healthy MAF should result in bad performance. If performance remains the same, then I suspect its your MAF at fault budget between £40-£100 for a new one.


To be honest though, if it is the MAF, ANY code reader will tell you this. The MAF is located down between the engine and battery - look directly between the two, and you will see a plug pointing up at you, its fiddly, but unplug it and go for a drive.

Hi,

Thanks very much for the replies. I took it into a local garage today and had it re-tested using the code reader. I have been told that the only code now registering in the ECU is P0236 - BOOST PRESSURE. Hopefully this will help narrow down the possible causes.
The mechanic cleared the code and it did not re-appear, but I have yet to go out for a proper run so we will see!

Thanks very much,
Kev

hmmmmm.....remove and clean the MAP sensor. use a cotton bud first and see how coked up it is before cleaning. Then use some electrical contact cleaner and thoroughly clean the inside so that no more black remains.


Go for a run and make sure you blast it!