1.6 vvt 'check injectors' fault, car goes slooooow

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snowy
Just Passed
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Joined: Fri Aug 10, 2007 7:59 pm
Location: Northern Ireland

1.6 vvt 'check injectors' fault, car goes slooooow

Postby snowy » Sun Oct 18, 2009 10:28 am

hi, ive just had to change the steering lock mechanism last week, and yesterday when driving about 10 minutes, the car went dead, i could only go at about 30 mph, and the check injectors warning came up. i pulled over, stopped and started the engine again and it ran fine after that... where should i start?
i think the temperature gauge may be faulty too, it shows the car is cold when running for a while.would this have an imapct.

my mechanic told me to trade it in, as it is another major electrical fault, and i have more ahead of me. but the thing has depreciated so much i cant afford to.
i owe 5 grand on it and i couldnt trade it in for 3.

davelowe
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Posts: 3136
Joined: Thu May 10, 2007 3:40 pm

Re: 1.6 vvt 'check injectors' fault, car goes slooooow

Postby davelowe » Sun Oct 18, 2009 2:49 pm

Don't panic - yet.

No doubt there is a link in the factory manuals section, but I shall quote from the handy if often vague and inaccurate Haynes:

1. Check the coolant level.
2. (Verbatim) "If the engine seems to be taking a long time to warm up (based on heater output), the thermostat could be stuck open. Don't necessarily believe the temperature gauge reading.....". "A lengthy warm up period might suggest that the thermostat is missing [or stuck open] - it may have been removed or inadvertently omitted by a previous owner or mechanic. Don't drive the car without a [functioning] thermostat - the engine management system's ECU will then stay in the warm-up mode longer that necessary, causing emissions and fuel economy to suffer."

The ECU might be thinking that the warm-up period is excessive after 10 minutes of driving and then go into some form of limp mode. When you restart the engine, it might be resetting itself - hence the symptoms.

The manual recommends starting the engine from cold (ie overnight), letting it idle, and placing your hand on the radiator top hose. It should stay cold for some time then rapidly get warm when the thermostat opens.

If it passes that test and all the other gauges work on the dashboard, there is more advice from the manual to test the thermostat sensor.

"If the gauge needle remains at the 'cold' end of the scale when the engine is hot, disconnect the sender wiring plug, and earth the relevant wire to the cylinder head. If the needle then deflects when the ignition is switched on, the sender unit is proved faulty, and should be renewed. If the needle still does not move, remove the instrument panel and check the continuity of the wire between the sender unit and the gauge, and the feed to the the gauge unit. If continuity is shown and the fault still exists, then the gauge is faulty, and the gauge unit should be renewed."

Also note that sensor resistance should be over 2k ohms when cool and 280 ohms when hot.
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