Issue starting and emission control system warning light

[M10clm]

Odd one this morning, pushed the key I to to start and it just wouldn’t fire up, could hear it trying but not catching.

Anyway left it a few mins tried again and all seemed ok. Starts up, not lumpy, power seems fine. I now however have the emission control system warning light staying illuminated. I can’t read codes myself but will try and get this looked at soon. Was interested if anyone had had a similar issue previously or anything obvious I can check before getting it into my Indy?

[Bendelaurence]

Honestly mate, even if you’re not going to work on the car your self, basic diagnostics is a godsend. Doesn’t have to cost the earth. something like OBDeleven VAG pro is £50 well spent. At least if it’s messing about you can get an idea for what’s going on. Could be any of the many sensors associated with emissions.

[M10clm]

Thanks and good shout, I was just on Amazon browsing. The obd11 seems the best option any experience on these and any benefit / drawback of the different versions?

[Bendelaurence]

Hi mate. I’d go for free for what you want to do. You can always upgrade later if you need to code etc.

[Bendelaurence]

Also, I’m assuming you want to keep the cost down and just read codes now and again.

If you’re actually working on the car. Clutch calibration, diff pipe fill and bleed, more in depth diagnosis etc, VCDS is probably a better better. ODB11 does most of the same stuff, but I couldn’t get some of it to work

[M10clm]

Thanks for the reply. So i got hold of an OBDeleven which arrived today and shows the following faults.

P119A00 - fuel pressure sensor malfunction
P017400 and P017100 bank 2&1 system too lean

Trying to get booked into my indie but any ideas on possible issues and fixes?

[Bendelaurence]

I haven’t worked on those systems on this engine before so can’t say with any certainty. But if I was to guess, I’d say fuel pressure sensor has gone. Those high pressure rails but regulate somehow (probs using that sensor). So now it’s guessing, and underfueling.

Probs change the faulty sensor first.

[M10clm]

So it turns out the issue was split diaphragms in the PCV valves. Have had these replaced by my local specialist (Renn Automotive in Iver - great as always!) and car is back up and running.

The codes it seems were a bit of a red herring but thankfully Luke and team got to the bottom of it.

[Rusty Racer]

Good job, IIRC you can identify these by removing the oil filler cap when it’s at idle, a change in revs should be heard - does that sound right?

[M10clm]

So it seems my issue persists and frustratingly it is very intermittent and fault won’t show when back at my indie.

After the issues with starting I had a few problems with stalling or revs dropping at low speeds / approaching a junction. This accompanied with a hunting idle and fuel trims outside spec. I have had the PCV valves replaced and then had the low pressure fuel pump replaced as we noticed a slight drop on the low side while testing.

The car has run fine for a week or so after picking up from my indie before the fault returns. Though this is often cleared by the time I get it recovered to the indie. Codes would indicate it is running lean though struggling to get to the route cause of the issue.

Interested if anyone has come across something similar or may have any ideas. Car is standard other than eventuri intake system.

[M10clm]

Quick update it seems that faulty injectors were the cause of my troubles. Injectors replaced, carbon clean and a new fuel pressure sensor and all seems well again.

Not a cheap fix but it feels like new car day getting the car back after an extended period in the garage.