Should I be panicking-Engine warning light
Discussion
Just went out in my Exige. All seemed fine. After about a mile the car seemed to have a fuel problem and then the engine warning light in the centre came on. I stopped immediately. Restarted the car and drove it slowly back to my nearest garage (1.5 miles). Needless to say the light remained on. I've now left the car with them. They intend to run a diagnostic check in the afternoon. The handbook remained in the car so now I'm wondering what could be wrong. I'm not technically minded. All I can say is that it gave the impression of no fuel arriving causing a loss of power. No nasty noises. I read somewhere that the light can go off after 4 restarts. Anyway, I'm now sitting here thinking the worst.
kambites said:
No, you shouldn't. 90% chance it's a trivial sensor failure or a simple misfire due to a duff coil-pack/plug.
Agree with this - probably no need to panic. My Elise used to keep showing this and it was just a sensor problem, something needed cleaning out every 1,000 miles or so. Back on Track eventually managed to get rid of it for ever. Panic over. Diagnosed as a sensor failure (Lamda or something like that). Cars already out of 'limp mode'. Sensor should arrive sometime next week. Its taken a couple of hours to diagnose and apparently 2-3 hours to replace it. Probably end up with a bill of around £350 which is somewhat less than when I was in panic mode!
Considering where it's situated, are there better quality sensors to replace it with. My local garage thought it would be better if I could 'upgrade it' if possible. I should hasten to add he's not a Lotus specialist but extremely competent.
Its only when things go wrong that I wish I was back in the UK. There always seems to be a wider choice of specialists to choose from asides the Lotus network. Its a bit more sparse here in France
Considering where it's situated, are there better quality sensors to replace it with. My local garage thought it would be better if I could 'upgrade it' if possible. I should hasten to add he's not a Lotus specialist but extremely competent.
Its only when things go wrong that I wish I was back in the UK. There always seems to be a wider choice of specialists to choose from asides the Lotus network. Its a bit more sparse here in France
un1eash said:
It takes minutes to read the codes from the ECU and test the lambda sensors. I've had to replace both mine now on my k series engine and they took less then half an hour. It takes more time to remove the undertray than it does to fit a new sensor.
I would have liked them to have diagnosed it more quickly. Task seemed to be more complicated as they didn't have Lotus in their list of manufactures so had to work on the Toyota listings. As for the fitting, as stated, it seems more about removing and refitting the undertrays than the actual replacement itself.Either way, after my initial concerns I'm relatively happy with the outcome.
I still have a dilemna. I need my car for the coming weekend. A 450 mile round trip. For the moment the sensor has not been changed, but the dashboard light has gone off so currently the car is running 'normally' thats to say not in 'limp home' mode. My local garage can't repair the car before the weekend for various reasons(Parts supply etc etc°. He advises me to take it to a Lotus garage if I wanted it this week.
Therefore I have two options. A seventy mile trip to Paris which simply does not inspire me. Paris is terrible at the best of times, it just becomes worse if the car doesn't run properly. Otherwise a 200 mile trip to Lotus Verhiest (Ostend) in Belgium. In some respects this is better as my journey for this weekend is Brugge. Either way I have to drive a minimum of 70 miles in a car that will potentially go into Limp mode every so often.
Can I consider using my car for the trip not having repaired the sensor. I'm inclined to think not but I'm somewhat desperate. If the worst comes to the worst, am I able to reset the engine warning light during a trip, or will it just keep failing every five minutes.
Am I being naive in thinking that being an 'electrical problem' i.e. the sensor not working properly, then I'm not risking further problems.
My return journey from Brugge is with my eleven year old son, so I can't take any risks in that respect.
I'm already thinking I'll have to forego the car but it really isn't the moment.
Thoughts on the subject would be appreciated;)
Therefore I have two options. A seventy mile trip to Paris which simply does not inspire me. Paris is terrible at the best of times, it just becomes worse if the car doesn't run properly. Otherwise a 200 mile trip to Lotus Verhiest (Ostend) in Belgium. In some respects this is better as my journey for this weekend is Brugge. Either way I have to drive a minimum of 70 miles in a car that will potentially go into Limp mode every so often.
Can I consider using my car for the trip not having repaired the sensor. I'm inclined to think not but I'm somewhat desperate. If the worst comes to the worst, am I able to reset the engine warning light during a trip, or will it just keep failing every five minutes.
Am I being naive in thinking that being an 'electrical problem' i.e. the sensor not working properly, then I'm not risking further problems.
My return journey from Brugge is with my eleven year old son, so I can't take any risks in that respect.
I'm already thinking I'll have to forego the car but it really isn't the moment.
Thoughts on the subject would be appreciated;)
Edited by simpo555 on Monday 12th May 16:55
There is a small risk that you'll kill your catalytic converter if the pre-cat lambda sensor has gone and is causing the car to run very rich but I drove mine for weeks like that and it didn't do any harm.
I can't think how a sensor fault in a car like the Elise could cause serious mechanical damage; the worst that's likely to happen is you'll break down somewhere inconvenient.
I can't think how a sensor fault in a car like the Elise could cause serious mechanical damage; the worst that's likely to happen is you'll break down somewhere inconvenient.
At what moment is the light most likely to come on. Could I assume that the start up and warm up represent the most delicate time. The Ostend garage have offered to do the necessary, just need to be fairly certain about getting there. Don't really fancy driving for four hours all the time thinking that any minute now it's going to break down. Would be happier if I thought that once after 15 minutes, I would be more than likely to get there, driving comfortably within limits.
Took the car out this evening. Didn't miss a beat. On my last trip I had a very slight misfire which was either the cause or result of my sensor malfunction. I'm also wondering now if not having used the car for three weeks had an impact. Makes me even more curious. On tonights performance I'd be tempted to say all was back to normal and that perhaps I don't have to consider replacing the sensor after all. Hope I'm not tempting fate.
kambites said:
No, you shouldn't. 90% chance it's a trivial sensor failure or a simple misfire due to a duff coil-pack/plug.
Congrats to Kambites. Made it to the Lotus garage. Turned out to be a dodgy spark plug and the coil. Car back to running as it should and panic finally over. In addition the guys in Belgium were really great. Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff