C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

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charentejohn
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C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by charentejohn »

Hi
Been a while but a problem just cropped up so looking for advice please.
I have a C3 2006 1.4i petrol which has just developed a fault, engine mangement light on, no power as just limped home 2 miles.
My wife's car and she said it managed to get into 4th on the flat but struggled on slopes.
Exhaust smells all wrong so maybe a management problem, sensors etc ?

Any ideas on possible causes, my local garage (2 man band) can do a diagnostic at home but not until monday as one of them is on holiday at the moment.
My best guess is fuel pump or egr ? Always good to know posisble causes prior to the bad news being delivered.
Engine was running fine right up until it wasnt, short trip then failed on the return journey.
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
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Re: C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by xantia_v6 »

Is the fault still there on a restart?
charentejohn
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Re: C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by charentejohn »

Yep, very persistent. I will try again in the morning to see if cooling down helps.
The car is a sensodrive so I don't want to disconnect the battery for a while to clear the computer, unless that seems a good idea ?
Disconnecting should not cause a problem, car has done about 70k miles if that is relevant.
I think these cars tend to remember faults, unlike my old Xantia that could be encouraged to forget , for a while anyway.
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
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Re: C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by wheeler »

Is it the 1.4 8v or 16v engine ?
The most common problems on these engines for loss of power/misfire are failed coil packs or injector no 1 failing due to water ingress (only applies to 8v engine). No EGR fitted to either of these engines.
charentejohn
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Re: C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by charentejohn »

Thanks for the egr heads up, many months messing with my old HDI Xantia makes it my 'go to' fault :)
I searched a bit and could be a throttle sensor ? but the coil pack sounds a good candidate.
Good (hopefuly not bad) news is that the engine has not gone bang, just in limp home mode, so probably a sensor causing distress.
The exhaust did smell strange but that is probably limp mode. I tried starting from cold but same result, running very rough from cold which may imply coil pack, when original problem ocurred it just would not rev up.
Garage back monday so hopefully a diagnostic wil tell all, I will post the results.
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
charentejohn
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Re: C3 1.4i power loss and engine warning.

Post by charentejohn »

Just fixed by the garage yesterday and all is well.
Problem was, as suggested, the ignition coil pack that sits on top of the plugs. Luckily an easy fix and no Lexia work to reset anything once changed.
To help anyone diagnose a similar problem this is what this looked like.
Engine management light on, limp home mode, rough running engine, exhaust smells wrong (hard to describe but not right).
Engine will run but runs rough, seems mine was on 2 cylinders they reckon.
So if this seems like your problem, exhaust smell is a clue, then maybe this is it.
The car was driven, mostly in 1st, for about a mile and when the new part was fitted still rough running and clouds of blue smoke. Just the rubbish from the non working cylinders burning off, a run around the block and all smooth now.

Just realised now I have 2 of these cars so could have just tried the one from the working car to see if it fixed it. D-oh....
You must be the change you want to see in the world - Mahatma Gandhi
Xantia HDI 90SX C3 2005 and C3 2006 both 1.4i sensodrives
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