Cant find the problem need help! £2k down already

[Welshie]

Hi all. New to this so ill try my best to explain in as good a detail as possible.

I have a 59 plate 1.4hdi citroen nemo. My clutch recently snapped and ive had it repaired. Whilst fixing the clutch the mechanic noticed a lot of oil on the engine and after a good inspection believed it was a crack in the rocker cover as he couldnt find anything. He was correct and ive had that fixed...now come the fun bit. On a road test the van went into limp mode. Wouldnt let him go over 3000 rpm and the engine cut out on him and the EML came on. Quick diagnostic said MAF sensor. Bought new MAF sensor same but still had the same problem. He tested the wires and 6 wires in the loom were broke so he replaced them. Engine worked fine EML went off. Took it on a road test and bang same thing happened but it didnt cut out this time. Another diagnostic and it came up with MAF again and boost sensor short to battery. Cant remember the codes sorry. The mechanic now suspects the ECU is broken due to being smothered in oil (from broken rocker cover. Now fixed)

Took it to an auto electrician who tested the ECU and said 3 components had been fried. He replaced the components but it didnt work so he bought a second hand ecu. Boom! engine runs, no fault codes, no EML, revs all the way to red line all is good. I take the van home and whilst accelerating onto a dual carriage way it went into limp mode!! It did reset it self when i turned the ignition off. Anyway it went Back to the garage and back on a diagnostic. This time he does a love feed whilst i drove the van and noticed that the accelerater pedal remained "closed" when i put my foot on it and my clutch pedal said "open" with the gears ingaged or in neutral and to top it off if i used my brake pedal it showed an abs fault on the diagnostic. So hes now changed the DNI module? Forgive me if i got that wrong its the small computer thingy thats in the dashboard that communicates with the ECU. take it on a road test and everything is back to normal. So i give it a bit of gas and push it past 3000 rpm no issues. When its in 4th gear @3000 rpm it goes back into limp mode with the EML coming on and giving a fault code relating to maf sensor again. Ive had 2 new sensors put on and its still showing maf. He reset the code and road tested it again. Same problem only this time it said egr. He tested the egr and it definitely worked. Reset the EML took it on road test and again straight into limp mode under heavy load or hard acceleration. Hes now stuck at hat todo and after spending £2300+ on the stupid bloody van i really need all the help i can get.

Sorry if this doesn't make sense or if im missing bits of info. Please comment back and I'll do my best to explain it as you ask me. Thanks

[falling-out-with-my-car]

I'm no specialist but it sounds like the BSI reset is not being done by the garage every time he disconnects the Battery to work on it
and it could be throwing up all kinds of issues because the ecu has not been drained of power properly and recharged properly
on reconnecting the battery again. I'm sure that someone will be along in a Mo with the correct BSI procedure for your vehicle.
to try.

regards.
Nigel.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

welshie,

here is the Citroen C5 BSI reset procedure, I am told that it is same for all of the vehicles (pretty much)
BSI Reset / Battery Disconnect / Reconnect Procedure
it might help the ecu stop throwing up faults. if no good come back and let us know.

regards.
Nigel.

[Welshie]

Thanks for that. I have failed to mention that whether the van is in limp.mode or not has an EML OR not it fluctuates badly at 2000 rpm when in reverse. I can have it in neutral at 300rpm providing its not in limp mode and with the clutch depressed put it into reverse and it will drop instantly to 2000 rpm and fluctuate it does this at a standstill with clutch down and when moving. My drive is on a hill so i have to give it loads of revs to stop it stalling when i reverse. Its never done this before...... actually ive never had any of these problems before the clutch replacement. When i bought the van it had a fault code stored which was MAF but i just left it as it didnt effect the performance of the van whereas now it will instantly go into limp mode if i try to floor it

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Like I said welshie, if the ecu is throwing up all manner of issues for no particular reason try the BSI reset first.

The ecu manages the ignition timing on petrol's and fuel mixture on diesels it manages a lot of other electrical warning systems in the car to.

if the circuits have not been discharged properly before working on the vehicle and the BSI procedure has not been followed to the letter
anomalies can occur pretty much anywhere on the vehicle.

I'm not saying its a fix but its worth trying to see if it settles down and the errors & erratic behaviour of the engine stops.

Just out of interest without mentioning the name of the garage were they Citroen specialists/independents or a non specialist garage?

it is quite common for other garages to not really know what they are dealing with when they disconnect the battery to work on a clutch.


regards.
Nigel.

[Stickyfinger]

Most "Mechanics" know this already, versions of it are recommended for all cars these days.....if they are not doing so it is a basic error and their skills need questioning

[wheeler]

. you will need approximately 1 hour 30 mins to do this: https://www.bentasker.co.uk/documentati ... -bsi-reset.

An hour & a half to do a BSI reset
A BSI reset is about 15 minutes for a complete novice.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

wheeler sorry that's what I read elsewhere or maybe it was replacing the C5 side light bulbs

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Most "Mechanics" know this already, versions of it are recommended for all cars these days.....if they are not doing so it is a basic error and their skills need questioning

I understand that but phones keep ringing and people turn up with silly requests like can you pump my flat tyre up and distractions always occur
ever had you clutch changed and found a spanner left under the bonnet by the garage?

I was in a certain independents garage one summers day and a very pretty young lady appeared at the door it seemed to be down tools for a chat at the time
There wasn't anything they couldn't do to help.

[HDI]

When the clutch was changed were any cables trapped or cut without being noticed?

[falling-out-with-my-car]

Are all the fluids topped up Chuck's anomalies into the mix apparently.

[falling-out-with-my-car]

That's a good point about possible broken cables their is a top dead centre sensor in the gearbox I think. You could also clean the wire that goes to no3 injector unplug it and clean the contacts and plug it back in again you should find the connector on the left side of the enging facing the engine bay standing at the front facing the windscreen

[ekjdm14]

Earth cable making a bad/intermittent connection perhaps? Most clutch jobs require disturbing the main earth & PSA's heavy cabling isn't exactly known for it's integrity/durability.

[Welshie]

Hi all thanks for the replies, my van is still in the garage being looked at so haven't been able to check your suggestion's as the garage closed for Christmas. Yes when the clutch was changed a wire got caught which prevented it from startING but I believe the mechanic found this and sorted it out as it starts up now and he did mention a trapped wire. Soon as I hear from the garage I'll post another update. Thank you all for the suggestions. Happy new year

[Welshie]

Hello. Just spoke to the garage and my van is dead! He can't get it to fire up. It turns over but won't start. He has had it back for 3 weeks and can't find what's wrong. He has checked everything that has been said and done a bsi reset 3 times. He's now going to gt a 3rd ecu and try this instead as he thinks the immobiliser has come on and won't go off....looks like it going down the scrappy!!