Went limp....

Author
Discussion

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
Mondeo Tdci 130PS, 170,000 miles



Did 35 miles this morning, headed home, lost any real oooomph, as if turbo wasnt kicking in, no smoke of any colour, could get upto 60mph - eventually... flashing coil/glowplug light but no EML light

parked up, 10 minutes later the fault was gone/no flashing light. oooomph back

i recently recoupled the pxy EGR, the EML went off after 20 miles.

any guesses, the fuel filter is a bit overdue for a change

ARH

1,222 posts

246 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
the fuel filter.

My x-type jag has the same engine and the fuel filter caused it to not start at all, changed it fro a proper ford one and it has been faultless since.

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
ill do the filter, clean the MAF and defeat the EGR and see how it goes

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
what brand of filter does Ford rebrand and sell at a huge markup?

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
went out at about 12 to get a fuel filter, clogged it and it went limp again, switched off and back on and it cleared the fault, ive done 40 miles since and its fine....


spooky

Locknut

653 posts

144 months

Thursday 2nd May 2013
quotequote all
Sounds like something is causing it to go into "limp home" mode and it clears when the engine is switched off and on again.

One possibility is that your turbo has variable vanes and they are sticking (carbon build-up), this is causing over-boost at certain times which causes the ECU to switch to "limp home".

PaulKemp

979 posts

152 months

Friday 3rd May 2013
quotequote all
Change fuel filter if problem persists gat codes read
Probably P0251 which is
Cam sensor, fuel pump or injectors
I replaced cam sensor £40
No change
Gave to garage to test, they did an injector leak off test which revealed excessive leak of from all 4 injectors
You may be lucky and only replace 1 or 2.
£135 per injector + fitting + coding to ECU + VAT £790
Ouch

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Friday 3rd May 2013
quotequote all
did 45 miles this morning and couldnt provoke the fault


Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Sunday 5th May 2013
quotequote all
started car yesterday and it went straight to coil flashing+limp without even moving/no revving, drove a mile 2nd attempt at on/off and it cancels the fault and its fine for 100 miles, then under throttle at 60mph it goes again, neutral-on/off-start and its fine

so the fault occurs both at tickover and under throttle...

i think it the EGR, maybe cos it hasnt had to work for 6 months...

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Sunday 5th May 2013
quotequote all
PaulKemp said:
Change fuel filter if problem persists gat codes read
Probably P0251 which is
Cam sensor, fuel pump or injectors
I replaced cam sensor £40
do error codes occur when theres no EML on?

BTW i did my cam sensor 3 years ago for £19

Mikey G

4,784 posts

247 months

Sunday 5th May 2013
quotequote all
Flashing glow plug means there is an error in the ECU that needs to be sorted.
Plug it in rather than faffing about trying to find the problem.
Also worth noting the electronic turbo actuators are a problem on these motors.

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Monday 6th May 2013
quotequote all
the flashing coil light comes and goes, the EML isnt on

ive replaced the filter, cleaned the MAF and EGR, still comes on then off if i stop/start the engine

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Monday 6th May 2013
quotequote all
Locknut said:
Sounds like something is causing it to go into "limp home" mode and it clears when the engine is switched off and on again.

One possibility is that your turbo has variable vanes and they are sticking (carbon build-up), this is causing over-boost at certain times which causes the ECU to switch to "limp home".
it has come on when starting 1st thing with no throttle

Mikey G

4,784 posts

247 months

Monday 6th May 2013
quotequote all
Doesnt matter, even if no EML has lit, flashing glowplug light on a diesel means it has a problem. Get the codes read or you will be running round in circles...

PaulKemp

979 posts

152 months

Tuesday 7th May 2013
quotequote all
Drain some fuel out of the fuel filter
If there are particles in it, could be fuel pump bearing, if this is the case, new fuel pump and injectors, if no particles get a leak off test done

My problem started with glow if light flashing and no power
Then after second restart if I again provoked glow plug light EMF light would also come on
Turn off for a while and all reset
I decided to get it tested properly when I was passing an artic and the engine cut out completely, I had to turn ignition off/on to reset on they've then could not use more than 2k revs to pass the lorry
Brown trousers moment

My money is on injectors

neiljohnson

11,298 posts

214 months

Tuesday 7th May 2013
quotequote all
As others have said get the codes read until you do this you won't know where to start!
Could be one of the parts already mentioned or even the glow plugs causing the issue.

nsa

1,686 posts

235 months

Tuesday 7th May 2013
quotequote all
I spoke to a garage recently who said they had to pull and clear out all the fuel lines to rectify a similar problem.

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Tuesday 7th May 2013
quotequote all
Ordering a Ford Super-F cable+box+software as we speak

started up today, coil light flashing, drove 3 miles, stopped/restarted and coil light went off

EML was on - EGR is blanked off - I then drove 65 miles urban with no flashing coild light, the odd thing is the EML went OFF after 40 miles for 10 miles....then returned

its like the X files

car driving well, 50mpg, no smoke...

Upatdawn

Original Poster:

2,187 posts

155 months

Wednesday 8th May 2013
quotequote all
been observing the actuator arm...

if i start the engine and the arm goes bolt upright theres no coil light

if it goes up and settles back 1/2" the coil light comes on..

sticky actuator?

Mikey G

4,784 posts

247 months

Wednesday 8th May 2013
quotequote all
Possible the vanes in the turbo are sticking, unbolt the actuator and try moving the arm on the turbo. The actuator itself could also be the problem, while unbolted see if you get the same symptoms. Do not try to move the actuator arm itself as it contains a plastic worm drive and can break if forced.

But the reason the arm goes the one way is due to limp mode, it closes the vanes off and stops the turbo from boosting.