Technical red engine management light is on

[davegneza]

hello there. i have just got a punto mk2 1999 hgt. it is a 1.8. it has been chipped and has an induction kit on it plus some special exhaust with four tail pipes. anyway i have just got the car and it drives fine. a lumpy when it first starts. anyway th thing is that the red engine light stays on at all times. can anyone help with trying to resolve this?

many thanks.. my msn is [email protected] if anyone wants to talk on there as it is quicker.. manythanks

 

[Fugly]

The MIL (Malfunction Indicator Light) is to tell you there is a fault and it could fail a Regulatory emissions test (not the MOT one). It could be something very simple but without plugging in a scan tool to check the codes in the ECU you will not know.

Does it still have the cat fitted if you have changed the exhaust.

 

[davegneza]

it still has the cat and funny enough it just failed the mot on the emissions....

 

[Punto.Power]

Could be a lambda sensor thats faulty..

 

[davegneza]

[****. so i will have to change that then for the mot. as it failed on emissions

 

[Punto.Power]

To be honest mate, i would take it to a garage and get it put on the diagnostics it will save you money with replacing things that might not needed replaced, about your emissions to get a good reading your spark plugs would need to be in good condition, also healthy lambda sensor and cat..

 

[mountainmachine]

Yup get a diag done on it. Or find a friend with a OBD reader. Where are you?

 

[skyflyergc]

This sounded crazy, but it worked...

After the red light came on on my Punto 55 the engine seemed to run fine stillm, but at MoT it failed on emissions.

Garage said £40+ for a diagnostic and then the possibility of ECU replacement and/or cat convertere - both £hundreds.

As car is ancient and of little value I was going toscrap it then a bloke in the opb said, well, if youre going to do that, why not try this first: put the ECU in the oven on a low heat for a couple of hours, as they get damp.moisture in them and if you dry it out it might work again"

I did it, and lo and behold when refitted, no more light!

I replaced the lambda sensor as well with a generic one bought for £14 and the car hasnow passed emissions with flying colours.

OK - not receommended if you have a valuable car, but of you are in the £500-£800 secondhand car range, its worth a punt - Oh!
:yum: