General Ducato Air Mass Sensor

[Stigofthedump]

Hello everybody,

I'm new here and also the new owner of a 2017 Ducato diesel van in which I am turning into a campervan.

Firstly I never realised that the Ducato came with so many problems. i,e the scuttle problem where the water comes down the windscreen and soaks the engine. That one i've fixed with waterproof tape.
Secondly the heater system, which is looking like a new matrix though the garage thinks it is water pump related.

But thirdly and most baffling, the air flow sensor, so far it has been into the garage twice and a new one fitted, but it just keeps putting the light on dash and reducing to half power.

So before I put it into a commercial diesel garage and end up paying bucket loads of money to have a diagnostic check, I would rather put that money towards a new turbo as the garage is guessing that the turbo is the problem.

So to sum it up.

I brought the van 3 weeks ago and the bloke selling it to me said it just needs a new air flow sensor because the light was on. My fault for being so believing, though it's slightly possible he had no clue so I'm not blaming him.

So I purchased a new air flow senso one and had it fitted. Twice.
The code were all reset by the garage and the light never came on until 2 miles away from the garage after the work had been done.

The garage say it will not produce a fault diagnosis and will need to go on a commercial diagnosis machine, but they think it needs a new turbo.

Can anybody shine any light on the for me, in the meantime thanks for reading and nice to meet you all!

 

[Anthony489]

Hi

Sorry to hear of your struggles

The yellow "check engine" light on the dash illuminates to warn you that there is an engine fault and that the emissions may be higher than they should be (EU requirement). This could be triggered by a variety of different faults which will have stored codes. The restricted power is "limp home" mode, which will be triggered by any fault that is deemed serious enough that damage could occur if the engine was allowed to continue at full power.

I'm not sure why the previous owner thought it was due to the MAF sensor, unless they had read the fault codes and were seeing P0101 for example.

The garage you took it to will have read the fault codes before clearing them and should be able to tell you what they were. As you paid for them to do the work I would argue that you are entitled to this information.

Was the new MAF sensor a branded type like Bosch ?

What justification does the garage have for saying it needs a new turbo ?

I know it means spending money now, but in the long term it may save you money if you invest in the MultECUscan diagnosis Software/Hardware Cables and do your own diagnosis. This can do 99% of what the Fiat professional setup can do. The cost is not much more than 1 hours labour at a main dealer.

Just as a bit of background, the MAF has a grid of fine wires stretched across the air duct which are electrically heated. As the intake air whistles past, it tends to cool down the wires, so more electrical energy has to be put into them to keep their temperature constant. Measuring this electrical energy indirectly indicates the air flow. Problems include contamination of the wires by oil/carbon or bad connections in the wiring harness and connector. If the MAF signal to the ECU disappears completely, the ECU can probably still run the engine using default values but will throw a fault code and may go to restricted power mode.

 

[Stigofthedump]

Hi Anthony,

The new MAF sensor was a Bosch.
The garage say they couldn't get a code from it because they don't have the commercial diagnosis machine. They used there own one to reset the codes. I will ring them in the morning and try to get more information on this.
The garage are kind of guessing it's the turbo as it's connected to this apparantly, but I can't afford to go down a hit or miss route.

I will take your advice and invest in the MultECUscan diagnosis Software/Hardware Cables

Many thanks for your help!

 

[Communicator]

A remote possibility, which may have been eliminated when the MAF Sensor was changed, is mice in the air filter. The debris created by their activites can damage the sensor, and get into the turbo. Relatively easy, and inexpensive to eliminate as a possible cause.

 

[theoneandonly]

Motorhomes left for long periods are prime targets for Rodents, Air filters must be tasty or good nesting material. MAF sensors are not unknown for rodent attack
If you get Multiecuscan this may help to start. If not ask.

Tutorial to Measure specific Engine PIDs (Parameter ID) and Save data for analysis.

This was originally written to help one person with his Ducato totally new to MES to start saving data. it is not an exhaustive manual nor intended to be. Tutorial to Measure specific Engine PIDs (Parameter ID) and Save data for analysis. Open...

www.fiatforum.com

The MAF sensor also has a temperature sensor , it is possible to use this value as a sensor check, though air flow values may be incorrect.

 

[Stigofthedump]

Motorhomes left for long periods are prime targets for Rodents, Air filters must be tasty or good nesting material. MAF sensors are not unknown for rodent attack
If you get Multiecuscan this may help to start. If not ask.

Tutorial to Measure specific Engine PIDs (Parameter ID) and Save data for analysis.

This was originally written to help one person with his Ducato totally new to MES to start saving data. it is not an exhaustive manual nor intended to be. Tutorial to Measure specific Engine PIDs (Parameter ID) and Save data for analysis. Open...

www.fiatforum.com

The MAF sensor also has a temperature sensor , it is possible to use this value as a sensor check, though air flow values may be incorrect.

I've took the air filter out and had a look, all looks clean.
I thought Multiecuscan was a diagnosis tool until I looked online, it's already beyond me so I've written to them to tell them make and model and any instructions on how to actually use Multiecuscan, and whether it will produce fault codes for the garage to fix problem.
This is the first time in my life ever owning a van, and all cars in the past were easily fixed in the garage.

Another online company have sent me a quote for a reconditioned engine, already spent £300 at garage on this problem and it's not fixed, not sure it needs a recon engine though, it runs ok otherwise.

 

[Stigofthedump]

I've been on the phone this morning to the main Fiat dealership,

They said because it is high top they can't get it in there garage, but they gave me a number for another chap who might.

He sounded promising on the phone until he learnt it was high top and he couldn't get it in either, so I then rang 2 other garages that said the same.

The garage that did look at it originally said it needs a new turbo and water pump when I spoke to them a minute ago for a cost of 3.5k, so looks like I don't have many choices now.

What I have learnt from all this is and been told by garages is don't touch a Fiat with a bargepole!

Bit late now lol

 

[Anthony489]

Hi

A water pump wouldn't normally be done without changing the cambelt at the same time (due every 5 or 6 years). Maybe a £600 job all in.

An exchange reconditioned turbo should be less than £500, then of course labour on top. It's a bit inaccessible which will make the job longer.

Even so, £3.5 K sounds on the high side to me

Without wanting to sound patronising, shop around.