Engine Emmission Warning Light

[deck1ng]

Our 61 Exclusive C3 is being a pain, every 300 miles or so the engine warning light illuminates.  It has done this 5 times in the past 8 weeks, twice whilst in France on holiday   It goes back to the Citroen dealer every time and we are told (annoyingly) we plugged it into the computer and nothing showed up.

Our argument is, if nothing was wrong, why would it light up?

Anyone, any ideas????

Regards Deck1ng

[paul.h]

Welcome to the forum.

If the warning light has come on I would think there should be a fault code recorded, even though the cause is no longer there. The dealer (or anyone with a fault code reader) should be able to see these and tell you what they are and have an indication what is happening.

 

Which engine is it and if a diesel I could not imagine it is related to the exhaust filter blocking since you have done a long trip (France) ? Does it happen in any particular driving style or just at random and does the car still drive normally when the warning is on ? What mileage has the car done and is the servicing up to date - air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs ?

 

On a different topic - what do you think of the car, we have a 2003 1.4 sx petrol C3 which is due for replacement and a new C3 is a possibilty ?

[deck1ng]

It is the 1.6, 90. diesel version.  It can happen in any circumstance.  After the first time, we drove from North Yorkshire to Dover A19, A1, M11, M25. M2.  The second time on rural roads in France.  We where asked if fuel consumption was up or performance down, no to both  There is no effect to the ride or drive when it is illuminated.  Mileage is just over 14k.  Service is up to date.

We have asked the question about codes, but only told there is no problem, except, each time it comes on, do we look at it and say "no problem" or do we spend £71, to have it hooked upto a machine,

 

Apart from the above, we like the car very much.  loads of space, a comfy ride, loads of gadgets and cheap to run.  Only gripe is a major service at £199 every 12.5K

 

Regards Deck1ng

[paul.h]

Something to consider is the source of the diesel, some supermarket ones have been reported to give problems. So could be worth trying Shell or BP for a couple of fills but these tend to cost more. For £71 you can buy your own code reader and have some change. If you do get one, one that shows live data is useful for such as checking the engine temperature.

 

It is not worth cutting back on the oil changes when the warranty expires since the 1.6 hdi has a previous reputation for turbo failure if neglected. When you look at what you get in a service it is not much - oil/filter change, maybe a cabin filter change and a few checks. Then every 2 or 4 years an air and diesel filter change and the brake fluid change which cost extra. Plus any brake cleaning is extra.

[deck1ng]

Thanks for the input, the garage in France suggested buying better fuel, so we have used Total, ever since (as recommended by Citroen) . Made no difference.

 We are a low mileage family, so to do 12.5K does take us 18 months or more.  So we opt for an annual service mid July time and the full service as required. (only had one so far)  The last service we even had the fuel and brake lines flushed £30.00 as recommended.

 

Any suggestions where I might buy a code reader, and where would I plug it into.  Never having had one before, how do I know what the codes mean?

[paul.h]

People on here have various code readers and some Chinese copies of the Citroen Lexia which goes on a lap top, but you could have a look on the Gendan website. There is a list of codes on here under the Petrol, LPG etc section. Also you can ask on here and internet searches are useful.

 

On many Citroens the OEBD 16 pin port is in the glovebox under a small pull off panel, on some it is in the central armrest compartment under maybe a cover. If you get one, plug it in/remove it, with the ignitoin key out but it then needs to be turned to the dash lit position and for live data with the engine running.

[deck1ng]

Thank a lot, I will have a look, what we are afraid of, its okay having the reader as it will come up with a number no doubt. But the inclination will be to turn the engine warning lamp off. We need to trust the warning lamps and right now this is not happening with our motor. We still have 12 months on warranty, but as they just keep saying nothing is wrong it goes back,and will continue going back until they solve the problem or the warranty runs out, that's when the reader will come into its own I hope.

 

Thanks again Deck1ng

[coastline taxis]

When you management light comes on you should notice a difference in the way the car drives as it should be in limp mode. If your not feeling any difference at all then i think your problem is one of the sensors itself acting up. If the dealer is using lexia diagnostic hell probally go straight to engine management and then show codes ask him to look in stored codes or do a global scan of the car which should give you a print out of every ecu and system in the vehicle and sored and pending codes

[deck1ng]

Car drives equally well with light on or off. There is no limp mode activated. I will ask about stored faults next time. Right now we are quite excited, we have got to 407 miles since last episode.

If I was to purchase the code reader that plugs into my laptop, would I be able to read off stored codes?

Thanks for your input.

[paul.h]

The fault codes should stay there until somebody deletes them, which may have been done at the dealer.