Wrong Fuel

[jerryb]

Hi, accidently put diesel in a petrol C1 and ran until the engine stopped.  All fixed and the car is running fine except that the emission control light refuses to go out.  The Citreon dealer said it might go with a good run but that didn't work, so they said it was the catalytic converter which they were happy to change for £1000.  Needless to say we were not happy and have not taken them up on this offer.  Since this has happened the car has had it's first MOT and sailed through even on emissions, so I'm a bit confused as to what this light accually means.  Any ideas?

[Johndouglas]

Well for starters get it connected to a code reader and see if there are any fault codes listed.   Maybe if they are deleted they won't come back.

[jerryb]

Is that something I can do or is it a garage job?

[Johndouglas]

You may know someone with a code reader but most garages use them. It's a quick job to plug one in.

[jerryb]

Are these what you mean    http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Any-car-OBD2-EOBD-CAN-Fault-Code-Reader-Scanner-diagnostic-scan-tool-UK-/181401703324?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item2a3c62539c

[Johndouglas]

Probably Yes - As a code reader it is a very simple version but if it does what it says on the tin - that it will read and erase engine codes, then it should do the trick. But when I was away on holiday with my C5, a local garage read my faults and turned them off, charging me only £20.

[jerryb]

local garage want £39.99 just to look so may chance £15, times is hard.

[jerryb]

OK, so got the reader and plugged it in, it said there was one error code and when I read it it said "P0420  $10 Generic.  Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold Bank 1"  I erased it and it stayed out for two days and then came back, bum.  Got any clues?

[Johndouglas]

I've read reports about the use of this stuff when that particular fault code has come up.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_1001810_langId_-1_categoryId_255221

It may be worth a try for a few days, then delete the code again and maybe it won't return. Shop around - ebay? - It can be found cheaper than at Halfords.

[qman3428]

Clear the code, put it on a motorway and thrash it. Catalytic converters need to get hot to work and it would appear yours has a coating of diesel on it. If you get it hot enough it may just burn it off.

[jerryb]

I live on the Isle of Wight so no motorways, tried belting it as fast as I could for half an hour but no difference. Bought the cataclean and awaiting delivery so fingers crossed.

[paul.h]

If you look on the eurocarparts website, a cat for example for a 2007 1.0 petrol C1 is £110 and not the £1000 you mentioned earlier.

 

If it is not the cat, it could also be the lambda sensor after the cat which is the sensor that is saying the cat is not working. If you had a code reader that gave live data you could see the sensor output - it should be giving a steady reading if the cat was working, but if it was switching up and down as the one on the cat inlet, then it shows the cat is not working and if the cleaning agent does not work, then it needs replacing.

[coastline taxis]

Take the cat of the car and jetwash it

[jerryb]

OK, loads of info thanks, I'll try the Cataclean first and see what happens.