Technical 2003 Ducato 2.0 JTD swb suddenly gone into limp mode.

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Technical 2003 Ducato 2.0 JTD swb suddenly gone into limp mode.

StHawk

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Ok. I bought this van to move my wife and my self to Italy from the Netherlands. It has been great so far hauling a full trailer with my shop tools through the alps. Suddenly I took it out yesterday and it will not rev. I managed to get it home but it won’t do over 50km. Sitting still it won’t rev past 2k rpm. The check engine light is not on and nothing looks out of place on the dash.
It happened yesterday. And the sun has come out so I’m going to go poke around.
I’m a mechanic. But I work primarily on motorbikes. I worked on 5cyl turbo Audis, but diesels are foreign to me so I need some help.
I have an obd2 reader but I’m guessing from what I’ve read I’ll need something that speaks fiat.
I can’t afford to just throw parts at this. Any help would be awesome. Suggestions on where to look?
Recommend mechanics in the Rovigo -Ferrara area?

Thanks,
Jeremy
 
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Hi Jeremy,

I am sorry to learn of your problem. For what its worth I am attaching a pdf copy of what I hope is the appropriate Fiat eLearn fault finding procedure. Please note that this procedure seems to be in two similar, but not identical sections.

The procedure mentions checking the brake pedal switch, which can stick in the operated position. On my 2006 2.8 JTD and on other similar vehicles, the dual contact brake pedal switch was not fitted. (The wiring was there, but only a single contact switch, which had to be changed when adding cruise control.) However what was fitted, and which does not seem to appear on any circuit diagram was the clutch pedal switch.

In explanation of the above, if you have the dual contact brake pedal switch, and the contacts stick in the pedal pressed position, it will signal to the ECU that you are braking, and reduce or cut the engine output. Likewise, a stuck clutch switch will signal to the ECU that you have the clutch pedal pressed, and again reduce the engine output. These switches may be worth checking. The brake pedal switch connects 12V +ve to the ECU, while the clutch pedal switch connects to earth. It may help to note that the dual contact brake pedal switch is black and wite, while the single contact switch is all white.

I hope that you can glean somthing helpful, from either the above, or the attached section from eLearn.

PS I have also attached the 2.0 JTD ECU ddescription, but I think that the quality of the diagrams will have suffered.
 

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Thanks Com,
The clutch switch is missing. The brake switch is an interesting idea but the engine won’t rev above 1700 sitting still. Seems unlikely the brake circuit would at fault. Put possibly.

Where does one get a plug to use the multiecuscan software? My American obd2 plug won’t engage with the fiat plug.

Thank you for the direction. Really appreciate it. It’s a bad time for the van to be down. My wife’s father just got diagnosed with terminal cancer so we have to go back to Holland more often than we had planned.

Jeremy
 
Soooo fo Anyone following along. I took the van to a shop near me in Occhiobello and we scanned for codes. No codes came up and the tech said let’s take it for a drive…. We did and NOTHING HAPPENED. we decided that there is probably a blockage in the fuel filter. So. Today is fuel filter, air filter and oil service. Hopefully this doesn’t happen when we are hauling a trailer to the Netherlands tomorrow.
Wish me luck.

Jeremy
 
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Soooo fo Anyone following along. I took the van to a shop near me in Occhiobello and we scanned for codes. No codes came up and the tech said let’s take it for a drive…. We did and NOTHING HAPPENED. we decided that there is probably a blockage in the fuel filter. So. Today is fuel filter, air filter and oil service. Hopefully this doesn’t happen when we are hauling a trailer to the Netherlands tomorrow.
Wish me luck.

Jeremy
Good luck.

Exhaust gas recirculation valve sticking open can cause very very low power(not sure about the wont rev under no load symptom)

Mass air flow sensor under reading air flow will cause under fuelling again causing low power(again not sure if would cause wont rev under no load)

Both of the above may not set a fault code.

Re MAF if symptoms return unplug maf sensor see if any improvement. With maf unplugged the ecu should use fall back values , it will set a fault code but you will know its because maf was unplugged.
 
Hi StHawk

Another possibility is that your engine is being starved of intake air. This could be caused by a blockage somewhere in the intake air piping. There have even been reports in the past of mice getting into the air filter, and then being sucked further in towards the engine ! Not too difficult to remove hose ends for a visual inspection, just in case.
 
Update: The van worked great hauling a trailer all the way to Amsterdam. After sinterkaas we headed back with a full van but no trailer. Everything was great until I had to shut the van off at the Switzerland/Italy border. Major loss of power and no place to really peal off. So i limped it into Como and called ANWB for assistance. They got me a tow to a shop. We rode in the van on the back of the truck. That was an E ticket ride….. anyway. At the shop I explained to the mechanic what had been going on and we pulled codes. The. We looked under the hood and after about 10 minutes of scratching our heads we discovered that this butterfly valve isn’t opening… we have forced it open… there’s no resistance so force isn’t quite the word. But it got us back on the road and home
Can some one help me ID this. It’s like a throttle body but seems to operate under vacuum… I’m wondering if I should replace the vacuum solenoid as well… thoughts ?
Thanks Jeremy
 

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Hi StHawk

I am not very familiar with your model of van. But the item in the photos looks just like a throttle body, and it seems to have a vacuum unit on the side to operate it. The throttle body was added to diesels as part of the EGR system. It should only fully close when the engine is switched off. When you are cruising, it will be partly closed to encourage exhaust gas recirculation. When you demand full power it should open fully.

I suspect that the flap is sticking shut, either due to the oily deposits, or the vacuum unit is faulty, or the hoses to the vacuum unit are faulty (missing, loose, split). With the flap stuck shut , the engine will be starved of air.
 
Hi,

Thanks for coming back and telling us what was going on for you.

vw call it "anti shudder valve" lots of info via web on what its meant to do.

For me jamming it open is a great fix and I wouldn't replace it unless it causes engine fault light to come on.

Wishing you safe onward journeys.

Best wishes

Jack
 
Hi,

Thanks for coming back and telling us what was going on for you.

vw call it "anti shudder valve" lots of info via web on what its meant to do.

For me jamming it open is a great fix and I wouldn't replace it unless it causes engine fault light to come on.

Wishing you safe onward journeys.

Best wishes

JackThanks for
Jack- thanks for helping ID this piece. I’d been scratching my head trying to figure out what it was supposed to do. As an old school 5 cyl turbo Audi mechanic, I could make no sense of it….
So. Yes I wedged it open. And wrapped a zip tie around the plastic piece that holds the pivot so it will keep tension and not inadvertently close. We got to the Netherlands with ease. And will head back to Italy on the 1st. To start the new year in our house.
Hope everyone is having a pleasant time at the close of this year!

Jeremy
 
Jack- thanks for helping ID this piece. I’d been scratching my head trying to figure out what it was supposed to do. As an old school 5 cyl turbo Audi mechanic, I could make no sense of it….
So. Yes I wedged it open. And wrapped a zip tie around the plastic piece that holds the pivot so it will keep tension and not inadvertently close. We got to the Netherlands with ease. And will head back to Italy on the 1st. To start the new year in our house.
Hope everyone is having a pleasant time at the close of this year!

Jeremy
Hi Jeremy,
Great news your travels continuing well with your fix.
Wishing you and your significant people fanatic times in Italy(-:

Regarding anti shudder valve, I do not know specifically for your engine but.... on the diesels I have seen; the valve is normally held open by a spring , at engine shut off the electric vacuum valve applies vacuum to the vacuum actuator for a second or two( closing the anti shudder valve for a second or two but allowing it to reopen fully afterwards)

I understand more modern diesel engines call the valve a throttle body and it is controlled more finely under certain engine conditions in order to promote exhaust gas recycling and so reduce emmisions.

Hopefully this info will be helpful if you ever wish to look into your vans system further.

Very Best wishes

Jack
 
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