The van is a 2010 Ducato X250 2.3l 120 multijet.
Recently it has developed the following fault.
When cold, it won't rev above about 2000 rpm and has a major hiccup around 1500 rpm.
If I start it and leave it idling for a few minutes, it is drivable, but still far from perfect.
But driving straight away after starting from cold, I have to accelerate VERY gently to avoid the huge flat spot at 1500 rpm, otherwise it's like it's on 'kangaroo juice' and, at one point, this caused the engine management light to come on, although strangely, it went off later in the day and hasn't come on since!
Once up to temperature, it drives as normal, smooth, and plenty of power.
I was advised to put some injector cleaner in the tank, as the garage suspected dirty diesel, but this made no discernable difference.
The van has done 140,000 miles, and has been regularly serviced.
Anyone had similar problems, or can shed any light on the subject? Or is it a trip to the hospital for the old girl?
Thanks in advance.....

sounds like the throttle body s dirty to me why it starts and wont run till warm because the ecu cant see its position correctly and under fuels when its warm the engine can run because the fuel is better ignited hiding the problem Cheers adam

Hi I had a similar problem with my Peugeot diesel it was cheap supermarket derv that caused the problem.
I was advised to use jlm diesel extreme clean which cleared the problem after a few hundred miles, It’s not cheap about £35 but it worked for me.
I usually run on super diesel now a bit more expensive but the motor runs so much better

Thanks Cris 117, I'm going to change the fuel filter and bung in some more cleaner, then see how it behaves after that......I'll post any progress, or otherwise, on here......

Thanks adlarplant, nothing else seems to be sorting out the problem, so how can I clean the throttle body? Is it easy to do?.......

windyjools said:

Thanks adlarplant, nothing else seems to be sorting out the problem, so how can I clean the throttle body? Is it easy to do?.......

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Just remove it from the engine and use carby cleaner is all ive done in the past Cheers Adam

Thanks Adam, I've replaced the fuel filter, which improved the situation, but it's still not running as it should, so I reckon it's a look at the throttle body next.........I'll post any progress when I make any.

Finally decided to bite the bullet and give the van to a diesel specialist. They diagnosed a faulty O2 sensor, replaced it and all seems well.
Interestingly, the Fiat price for the part was £180+VAT, the garage sourced one at £120+VAT, and when they took the faulty one of, it was identical to the non-OE one!!
So, either, it has had one replaced before, or Fiat are using parts from a supplier and adding 50% in for fun!
I leave you to decide which is more likely?

Re: 2010 Ducato problems when cold ......UPDATE!!!

I spoke too soon it seems! The van behaved fine for 48 hours, then the problem re-occurred. Back to having a van that is almost undriveable when cold as it hesitates and won't rev above 2000 rpm.
Been back to the garage, they put it on the machine, fault showed up as EGR sticking. The guy cleared the fault codes and took the van for a test drive, and of course, it drove fine (it was of course well warmed up by then).
So, back to square one, I have to call them when the problem re-occurs (probably tomorrow when the van is cold and I try to drive it), and then make another trip back to the garage and go from there.......frustrating.
Watch this space....

Re: 2010 Ducato problems when cold ......UPDATE!!!

Did I miss the post where you removed and cleaned the throttle body and afterwards still had the same issue?

Re: 2010 Ducato problems when cold ......UPDATE!!!

Bad maf sensor...

No CDK, you didn't! I decided that I would trust the professionals to do what they get paid for!!!But it seems they are guessing a bit too.
To be fair, the garage has a good reputation, and so, as I don't have the time, facilities, and if I'm honest, the confidence to take off the throttle body and clean it, I took the decision to go to a garage.
The problem hasn't re-occured since they cleared the fault codes, so I'll wait and see what happens over the next week or so, and post any progress on here.....

Re: 2010 Ducato problems when cold ......UPDATE!!!

Thanks, Timmosio, I'll suggest it to the garage when I next visit.....

Sourced a MAF sensor, easy to change, problem still the same!
The van is now chucking out grey smoke when cold, black smoke when it gets warmed up! Back onto the machine next week to see if they can suggest something else.
Ah well, it was worth a try.....
Watch this space

windyjools said:

Sourced a MAF sensor, easy to change, problem still the same!
The van is now chucking out grey smoke when cold, black smoke when it gets warmed up! Back onto the machine next week to see if they can suggest something else.
Ah well, it was worth a try.....
Watch this space

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Has anyone actually looked at the egr I mean physically, white is unburnt diesel that will be washing the oil off the cylinder bore so you can't keep running like that.

corcai said:

Has anyone actually looked at the egr I mean physically, white is unburnt diesel that will be washing the oil off the cylinder bore so you can't keep running like that.

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Not yet! I'm putting my faith in the diagnostics, so if that points towards the EGR, then that's the next course of action. Point taken about the overfuelling, If the van is running badly, I leave it idling for 5-10mins, then it will be driveable, the black smoke only started last time out

windyjools said:

Not yet! I'm putting my faith in the diagnostics, so if that points towards the EGR, then that's the next course of action. Point taken about the overfuelling, If the van is running badly, I leave it idling for 5-10mins, then it will be driveable, the black smoke only started last time out

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When you have egr and/or throttle valve sticking the MAF reading will be off, lambda will be off.

Trouble with putting your faith in diagnostics as a quick example a low maf reading could be contaminated / bad maf, choked filter, excess egr due to egr stuck open, reduced intake due to throttle partially closed, restriction in the exhaust, oil in intercooler, collapsed / internally delaminated intake hose, incorrect map or iat reading etc. etc. How can the diagnostics differentiate.

corcai said:

When you have egr and/or throttle valve sticking the MAF reading will be off, lambda will be off.

Trouble with putting your faith in diagnostics as a quick example a low maf reading could be contaminated / bad maf, choked filter, excess egr due to egr stuck open, reduced intake due to throttle partially closed.

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So not checked on my Ducato but on the our more recent 1.3 multijet the requested and actual positions of both the throttle and the egr actuators can be scoped. If they are stuck it will clearly show up. And even then I would check for a modest wiring fault first as the voltage readings can also be read by the ecu and measured in real life. There are many more parameters available too such as each injector pressure, which is what I would actually do first in this case.

corcai said:

When you have egr and/or throttle valve sticking the MAF reading will be off, lambda will be off.

Trouble with putting your faith in diagnostics as a quick example a low maf reading could be contaminated / bad maf, choked filter, excess egr due to egr stuck open, reduced intake due to throttle partially closed, restriction in the exhaust, oil in intercooler, collapsed / internally delaminated intake hose, incorrect map or iat reading etc. etc. How can the diagnostics differentiate.

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OK, so what would you do? I've tried to do the cheap/easy repairs that I can do, and also the things suggested here (and elsewhere), but the results are still the same!
I have limited facilities, and expertise, so I can't think of what else I can do but to put my faith in the people who do this for a living, and hope that the bank account can handle it!
Appreciate all the advice though, and I do understand that diagnosing problems like this isn't an exact artform......hence the frustration.......

I might be a bit behind here but there's a guy called Nick Fisher of Euroserv/Euro Truck Hire who runs a fleet of Ducatos and has a wealth of experience. He can usually be found on this forum http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/3/


Might be worth contacting him to see if there's light at the end of the tunnel.