Engine management/warning light

[Benthejockey]

14 plate Mitsubishi L200 just clocked up 105k miles and had a full service in the last 6 weeks. Left it running whilst I checked the sheep, drove 1/2 a mile down the road and noticed the engine light had come on. No loss of power and it wasn't flashing. Any ideas what's upset it? Any ideas how to fix it?

[bluesj]

A guess would be the egr valve the other normal one is low fuel pressure caused by clogged fuel filter but that comes with limp home.

If its the egr valve my first port of call would be do nothing for a bit the light could well go out after a few run cycles. 

[Benthejockey]

22 minutes ago, bluesj said:

A guess would be the egr valve the other normal one is low fuel pressure caused by clogged fuel filter but that comes with limp home.

If its the egr valve my first port of call would be do nothing for a bit the light could well go out after a few run cycles. 

I hope so! 

[Taileron]

Or DPF.

[Dave at kelton]

Had this with mine and went into limp mode due to clogged fuel filter. As not in limp guessing it’s not the fuel filter

[Old farrier]

13 minutes ago, Taileron said:

Or DPF.

Thinking there fitted to the series 5 not bens one 

[Dave-G]

Fairly modern diesels are not made to idle for long periods.

Turn it off rather than leave idling - and don't potter around in them either, they need to be worked fairly hard to avoid clogging up the system..

[Benthejockey]

15 minutes ago, Dave-G said:

Fairly modern diesels are not made to idle for long periods.

Turn it off rather than leave idling - and don't potter around in them either, they need to be worked fairly hard to avoid clogging up the system..

Mine does do a lot of idling!

[Dave-G]

3 minutes ago, Benthejockey said:

Mine does do a lot of idling!

You might want to give it an occasional real good workout then - but still turn it of when not actually driving it.

 

[Benthejockey]

I'll drive it to work tomorrow and see if it goes off. The baby will only sleep in the car so it spends an hour a day ticking over on the drive at lunch time whilst she has a sleep.

[B725]

Buy a cheap OBD reader for around £15 then you will know why then clear it. Aldi have been selling them.

[kenholland]

I always put a drop red x diesel cleaner in on every top up , e g r valves can be a bit of a pain in the a// if you only do short stop and start journeys , I had this trouble with a ford tranny I had once , you could ask the dealerships , good luck.

[Dave-G]

1 hour ago, Benthejockey said:

I'll drive it to work tomorrow and see if it goes off. The baby will only sleep in the car so it spends an hour a day ticking over on the drive at lunch time whilst she has a sleep.

Might be worth recording the sound in the car with it idling then play it in a quiet room of the house. Maybe try a vibrator somewhere on the cot too - if you happen to know anyone who has one. 

Edited January 3, 2020 by Dave-G

[Old Boggy]

12 hours ago, Dave-G said:

Might be worth recording the sound in the car with it idling then play it in a quiet room of the house. Maybe try a vibrator somewhere on the cot too - if you happen to know anyone who has one. 

I'm sure that Fat Sarah would have a sufficiently sized vibrator. Probably diesel driven. Ask Ditchman 

[Westward]

21 hours ago, Old farrier said:

Thinking there fitted to the series 5 not bens one 

A 14 plate diesel will have a DPF and replacement DPFs are eye watering money so it's important to burn the DPF soot build up down to ash with a good fast run to heat it right up.  Modern diesels don't like constant short journeys so give it a good blast at least once a month.

The advice above to get a cheap code scanner is very wise. They can identify the error code and reset the light, but if it proves to be the EGR don't hang around hoping it'll go away. A choked EGR can take out the turbo which again is a very costly repair. It's easy enough to clean the EGR and the rest of the engine with a can BG-244K engine cleaner. Probably do wonders for the performance and fuel consumption too.

[Old farrier]

2 hours ago, Westward said:

A 14 plate diesel will have a DPF and replacement DPFs are eye watering money so it's important to burn the DPF soot build up down to ash with a good fast run to heat it right up.  Modern diesels don't like constant short journeys so give it a good blast at least once a month.

The advice above to get a cheap code scanner is very wise. They can identify the error code and reset the light, but if it proves to be the EGR don't hang around hoping it'll go away. A choked EGR can take out the turbo which again is a very costly repair. It's easy enough to clean the EGR and the rest of the engine with a can BG-244K engine cleaner. Probably do wonders for the performance and fuel consumption too.

So define  a good blast or a good run 

please 

Edited January 4, 2020 by Old farrier

[wymberley]

If it should be the DPF and it does go out after a blast through, then unless you change your driving habits you can be assured that it will come on again... and again....until it won't go out. This, if you're lucky, will require a professional regeneration and the cost of which is in three figures the first of which is not 1 and by now, probably not 2 either.

[Old farrier]

16 minutes ago, wymberley said:

If it should be the DPF and it does go out after a blast through, then unless you change your driving habits you can be assured that it will come on again... and again....until it won't go out. This, if you're lucky, will require a professional regeneration and the cost of which is in three figures the first of which is not 1 and by now, probably not 2 either.

Please define a blast through if you would be so kind 

 

[wymberley]

30 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Please define a blast through if you would be so kind 

 

For all practical purposes this is the same as your "good blast" above and in engineering terms is one stage up from "blow through".

EDIT: PS

OF, I'm sorry, I thought you too were joking but I've just twigged that your request is actually the second time of asking. I believe that your " So definite a good blast or a good run" should be "define" - perhaps?

To put things into perspective, Ginger Cat has it nailed, but if a regeneration becomes necessary then the final part of that process is an engine oil and filter change - not because you're getting ripped off but because the process has in effect boiled the oil. You pays your money and takes your choice.

[GingerCat]

Keep it about 2.5k revs for about 20 miles. So 4th gear at 60 or thereabouts. The idling on the drive will be killing it. 

[Old farrier]

39 minutes ago, GingerCat said:

Keep it about 2.5k revs for about 20 miles. So 4th gear at 60 or thereabouts. The idling on the drive will be killing it. 

Thank you for the reply 👍😊

 

42 minutes ago, wymberley said:

For all practical purposes this is the same as your "good blast" above and in engineering terms is one stage up from "blow through".

EDIT: PS

OF, I'm sorry, I thought you too were joking but I've just twigged that your request is actually the second time of asking. I believe that your " So definite a good blast or a good run" should be "define" - perhaps?

To put things into perspective, Ginger Cat has it nailed, but if a regeneration becomes necessary then the final part of that process is an engine oil and filter change - not because you're getting ripped off but because the process has in effect boiled the oil. You pays your money and takes your choice.

Thank you 

proberably a unsuitable vehicle then as I doubt I could do 5 miles without going into a 30 mph speed limit in my area 

[wymberley]

10 minutes ago, Old farrier said:

Thank you for the reply 👍😊

 

Thank you 

proberably a unsuitable vehicle then as I doubt I could do 5 miles without going into a 30 mph speed limit in my area 

Yep, although even 5 miles is a tad excessive. See the Honda/Toyota thread which is why the X Trail finally had to go. The damned arthritis means I need to use the 4x4 even more so I would just be compounding the problem. The only downside is that having to nip up the M5 on a frequency basis I got to vist UK GR without 'er indoors knowing.

[Benthejockey]

Old Farrier probably not unsuitable for what you want. My truck has done a lot of sitting around with the engine ticking over because my gremlin won't sleep unless she's in the car and the engines on. The moment i switch it off she wakes up! Managed to leave it at home today and take the wife's car so it'll be Monday before I can do 60 in 4th. I need it to do another 20k ideally before I get rid of it because I can't afford to replace it! And I'm quite fond of this little truck. 

[wymberley]

18 minutes ago, Benthejockey said:

Old Farrier probably not unsuitable for what you want. My truck has done a lot of sitting around with the engine ticking over because my gremlin won't sleep unless she's in the car and the engines on. The moment i switch it off she wakes up! Managed to leave it at home today and take the wife's car so it'll be Monday before I can do 60 in 4th. I need it to do another 20k ideally before I get rid of it because I can't afford to replace it! And I'm quite fond of this little truck. 

The saving grace is that if you've been doing what you do for some time and that this is the first time the light has come on, it's quite possible that the problem is not with the DPF.

[Taileron]

2 hours ago, Old farrier said:

 

 

proberably a unsuitable vehicle then as I doubt I could do 5 miles without going into a 30 mph speed limit in my area 

Most diesels with a DPF will have an active and passive regeneration. When they are in a reg gen when idling,  the revs will lift and you will get a burning smell as the soot is cooked off. A good friend is a Tech who works for Audi and they have a lot of DPF issues which require ultrasonic cleaning. He recommends a full tank of V Diesel or equivalent every 4, the thought process behind this is that it has a higher caloric value and higher burn temp, this in turn helps remove soot particles. I did this on my previous diesel and never had a DPF issue with 110k miles.