General urgent help needed asap

[rab10000]

hello

i got a 2001 diesel multipla. occasionally under normal driving i would get the engine ctrl fault and the engine would cut out but just recently its been happening 3 or 4 times to and fro from work ( only a 14 mile round trip ) and was wondering if there are any common faults with the multipla that i could rule out and try to fix the car

thanks

 

[TinyUK]

When it cuts out does it start again immediately?

 

[rab10000]

yeah engine cuts out with the warning light etc but as soon as u stop the car turn off ignition it will start no problem and drive indefinately till it happens again. any ideas what this may be?

i think it may be related to stereo as someone fitted a dif stereo and last few months its been playing up. keeps resetting to factory defaults with no saved stations but worked fine up till then

 

[JTDman]

Battery terminals or earth leads.

 

[rab10000]

hello

dont think itll be the battery terminals as i checked those a few weeks back were are the main earth points at?? cheers for the reply

 

[JTDman]

Id check all the relays then, and main engine fuses as sometimes they can partially blow causing intermitant problems.

 

[rab10000]

cheers. when i check the relays how do i know if theyre good or not? dont think u can see in them like a fuse can u? is it mainly the ones under the bonnet im looking at

 

[rab10000]

also although not related how easy is it to change the washer jet pump? think mine has blown as all fuses soom ok however the headlamp washers still work

 

[JTDman]

Just check all the contacts really or even open and give a little spray clean if your adventourus, sometimes if a car has had an engine change and they never took all the wiring off when removing they can stretch and damage the wiring loom ive seen this happen to a car mangoletsi did (alfa156) a mate of mine was tasked to fix it and all he did was grab various parts of the loom when the car was running and give it a bit of a tug until the engine cut out then checked through the offending section and repaired it.
Lots of things to check really but starting with the basics is prob best especially as your saying the radio keeps loosing its memory as thats an indication the power from the battery is being totally cut.

 

[Herts Hillhopper]

also although not related how easy is it to change the washer jet pump? think mine has blown as all fuses soom ok however the headlamp washers still work

Just in case you don't know, the headlight washers will only work if the headlights are turned on... then, if you wash the windscreen, the lights get a short blast too.

Pete

 

[rab10000]

cheers will go check my battery connections, my wide insists there was no problem till i had to change the battery a few weeks back and thats when this problem started.

also where is the washer pump located at and is it an easy change over?

 

[JTDman]

Battery terminals or earth leads.

I say again

 

[rab10000]

cheers. once i tighten battery connectionc etc is there anyway to check or is it a case of jus wait and see if it happens again

 

[JTDman]

If you have changed the battery to one of slightly different lugs then maybe its just simply loosing its connection every now and then, does it happen when you go over a bump? is it a second hand battery and what was wrong with the first one.

 

[rab10000]

cheers for the help

think ive sorted this problem the connector was put onto battery properly and just came off in my hand when i tried to shake it its def on tight now so hopefully thats mone problem sorted.

 

[rab10000]

hello

problem def not sorted. battery real tight however stereo keeps losing its memory and today drove for approx 4 hours non stop switche off car and put a tenner o diesel in, came back out and damn thing wouldnt start, assume battery was flat as it started from jump leads no probs however when i put key in sometimes there was no lights next time everything light up just wouldnt turn over the starter.

anyone had same probs?????

 

[SGThirkell]

hello

problem def not sorted. battery real tight however stereo keeps losing its memory and today drove for approx 4 hours non stop switche off car and put a tenner o diesel in, came back out and damn thing wouldnt start, assume battery was flat as it started from jump leads no probs however when i put key in sometimes there was no lights next time everything light up just wouldnt turn over the starter.

anyone had same probs?????

Right, I've read all this thread and this is what I've come up with.
You are losing the 12v from the battery, I know that sounds obvious but it's good to start at basics on a complicated problem as things can get confusing.
This will give you all the problems you've been saying about especially starting and stereo losing stations etc.
Now because it started after changing the battery, it's got to be to do with the battery or in the area of the battery.
So that means it could be a bad connection on the leads, not necessarily not tight but can be corrosion on the clamps so even when tight they're not making contact
or
bad earth connection, maybe you've disturbed an earthing point near the battery on changing the battery? So check around the nearby earthing points.
I'd personally look for corrosion on the clamps internal area. Give the clamps a good degrease and clean. Wire wool the inside faces and spray grease them up before refitting.
Let me know how it goes.

 

[widemouthfrog]

Just a thought, but it might also be worth checking that the battery itself is functioning correctly, especially if the problem seemed to start once you'd fitted it.

Just how you go about checking a battery, I'm not sure!

 

[rab10000]

hello

cheers for everyones reply

anyway went out in car trhis morning and it started fine. however 7 miles down the road i stopped car and car couldnt start ( flat battery ? ) when i turned car over all u get is the relay/solonoids clicking, works great off a jump start however 45 mile trip later and car still dont start with the key.

take it this means time for a replacement battery??