Loss of power in 1.5Dci

[atsang]

Hi guys,

i have a '04 1.5dci megane, over the past few days i have had a lack in power in the car up til the point around 3000rpm or more. I have also experienced 'injector fault' on the dash breifly before disappearing but took no attention. Although this hasn't occured in the past month or more. Over the past 2 weeks in this extreme weather it took 4 or 5 times for the car to attempt to start itself before it actually started. Oil change has just came up today and was wondering wat the cause of this drop in power would be? Injectors? Oil needing changed? New Plugs? or even Turbo?

[davelowe]

Hi guys,

i have a '04 1.5dci megane, over the past few days i have had a lack in power in the car up til the point around 3000rpm or more. I have also experienced 'injector fault' on the dash breifly before disappearing but took no attention. Although this hasn't occured in the past month or more. Over the past 2 weeks in this extreme weather it took 4 or 5 times for the car to attempt to start itself before it actually started. Oil change has just came up today and was wondering wat the cause of this drop in power would be? Injectors? Oil needing changed? New Plugs? or even Turbo?

I would service the car as follows:

1) Check the resistance of the glowplugs using a multimeter - they should read around 0.6 ohms from the tip to ground. Replace any that are dead (10mm deep socket - use plenty of penetrating spray and do not apply excess force).
1a) Check the condition of the battery - if it's the original unit, try charging it. It should measure 12.40V minimum from cold (first thing in the morning). This is not a guarantee that it isn't working as new - the peak current output will be reduced if it is old.
1b) Ensure the battery terminals are tight.
1c) Measure the voltage with the engine running. It should be between 13.8 - 14.2V. Switch on all the electrical systems (rear demister, lights, etc) and ensure the regulator voltage is still within the stated range.
2) Remove and clean the EGR valve. There are guides on here about how to do this.
3) Remove and clean the crankcase breather pipework. It might be sludged up with wax.
4) Drop the oil and fill up with Mobil 1 0w40. Change air filter, oil filter, and fuel filter.

Injector fault is not the correct terminology but 'Check injection' or similar covers a multitude of sins.

For what it's worth, I'd guess that the symptoms you describe are because of, either a duff battery or glowplugs, combined with a poor oil change intervals that is causing oil starvation to the turbo. Personally, I wouldn't drive the car until I had changed the oil. Turbo failure is very VERY expensive and dangerous should it occur.

There should be stored fault codes on the ECU. You can read them with an ELM327 interface £30 ebay and a laptop. A garage will charge you this to read the codes, so it makes sense to buy one instead.

[atsang]

ok many thanks, as the battery goes im not sure how thats looking, batteries themselves should b fine i have 3 for an in car entertainment system but no change to the alternator. ill check all these and hope for the best. as for the 'injector fault' it may of been 'injector problem' and the STOP light lit up in red also.

Thanks again for the advice!!!

[LeeUK]

really no need to waste your money on mobil1

get cheap 10-40 and change it every 6000 or so
ive done it on every car ive had and never had a problem
change the air and oil filters with the oil and you shouldnt have any issues

[AlexB]

If the STOP light is lit, then don't drive the car! Get the OBD fault codes read.

Cold weather faults are usually batteries and oil related. With a massive entertainment system you car, probably, spends much time on idle. This necessitates changing oil more frequently.

ok many thanks, as the battery goes im not sure how thats looking, batteries themselves should b fine i have 3 for an in car entertainment system but no change to the alternator. ill check all these and hope for the best. as for the 'injector fault' it may of been 'injector problem' and the STOP light lit up in red also.

Thanks again for the advice!!!

[atsang]

yea was told about the advised more regular oil change when runnin on idle for the sound system but the STOP light only lite up briefly when the injector light came on, then it went off... its weird but ive ordered a diagnostic cable so well see wat it says when she comes! :S

[atsang]

finally got the diagnostic cable and program here are the following codes that popped up

P0180 Fuel Temp Sensor A Circuit Malfunction
P0670 Glow plug Module control circuit
P0110 Intake air temp circuit malfunction

ive reset all the codes and i was thinkin of checking it again in a few days time to see what comes up again...

any other ideas guys?