Engine auto-diagnosis

[Jodes]

Hello
I own a 1999 citroen xantia and I am having problems with the car suddenly cutting out.
I'll be driving along and suddenly I will have nothing meaning I can put my foot on the accelerator and nothing happens, sometimes she will serge but most times after a few seconds she will die but she will usually start up again or she will die again a minute later. This is randomly happening and it is getting scary as I have almost caused a few accidents The engine auto-diagnosis light has been coming on when this happens. I had a new fuel injection put on and it has been at the mechanics many times and they can't work out what it is. Has anyone had this problem and if so how was it resolved?

[RichardW]

Hi Jodes, welcome along!

What engine is in your Xantia?

[wheeler]

And what do you mean by you had a new fuel injection fitted??

[Jodes]

I'm not that good with cars.The engine is a 2.0i 16V. I don't know what part was replaced it was to do with the fuel injection all I know is the mechanic had to order it from France to Australia. Sorry guys I'm female my father in law usual takes it to the mechanics for me so I don't know much

[Hell Razor5543]

Don't let your gender stand in the way of learning about vehicle mechanics, should you want to. My Mum, in her teens, served an apprenticeship in vehicle mechanics, and is capable of keeping the engine (on her narrowboat) in good working order (and she is now in her mid seventies!).

The problem you can experience with some disreputable garages is that they may try to bamboozle you with techno-babble, thinking that (because you are a female) you be take what they say on trust (so they can then charge you an exorbitant fee for a simple repair). I seem to recall that this happened to the daughter of a forum member, and she (being highly knowledgeable on vehicles) was able to, in effect, shoot them down in flames.

There are a couple of problems (although there could be more) I can think of that could cause the problem you are experiencing (especially if it is a diesel car). There are microbes that live and thrive in diesel, and these can form a brown sludge that can clog the fuel pickup in the fuel tank. There is also a microfilter (on HDi engines) that can also get blocked. The microbe problem can be resolved by cleaning the fuel pickup, but (if it is the little filter) this will need to be replaced, and I cannot tell you where it is, as I have not had to replace it myself (although other forum members have had to).

[411514]

To be frank, based on the information you've supplied you're very unlikely to get any useful advice.

It really could be almost anything, and given that your mechanic hasn't been able to sort it, it presumably isn't an easy fix.

I'd give it a good service, and go around and check the integrity of the various wiring harnesses and plugs. But from what you say, you won't be able to do much more than that. So it's probably a case of either scrapping or sending it to a garage with a blank cheque.

[CitroJim]

One good check to do will be to look at all the instruments and warning lights on the dash and see if the gauges drop to zero, especially the tachometer, and if any warning lights come on, or the whole instrument panel goes dark..

I had this same issue on a Xantia of mine and when it happened both the tachometer dropped to zero and the engine management light came on...

The fault was in the double injection relay but took ages to find...

At least if the gauges and lights look abnormal when it happens you'll have narrowed it down to an electrical problem...

Diagnostics via a Lexia diagnostic machine may reveal stored faults that may offer some tangible clues but whatever you see may need some interpretation. You won't get a diagnosis on a plate...

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