Fiat engine problems

[aspinallagooglemail]

I have a 2002 Auto Trail Tracker with a 2.0 jtd engine.

lately the engine appears to shut down for a few seconds while driving and sometimes it races when on tickover.

The engine management light also comes on but not every time.

It has been left at my local garage who can find nothing wrong and nothing on the engine management computer.

 

Has anyone experienced similar symptoms or knows of someone who has had them or had them repaired.

 

hoping for some info as it is driving me crazy.

 

 

 

[michele]

Not the same but my Volvo has just had a update plugged into the computer for the very same thing ..well about two months ago .

 

Its at it again the otehr day i lost my power steering it gave me a fright .

Its so bloody annoying I will have to go back and no doubt another charge .

Hope you get it sorted .

 

[Guest Tracker]

Racing on tickover can be caused by air in the fuel system - or at least it could in the old days pre electronics!

Are all the fuel lines secure and weep free - although air getting in somewhere might not show as a leak?

It may even be possible that fuel flow variations might fool the engine management into shutting down temporarily?

I can't remember - too long ago sorry since I last had this problem with a van!

[hallii]

Sounds like one of the sensors to me, if the engine management light came on that event should be recorded and readable with the right equipment.

 

Maybe time for a trip to a Fiat repair shop?

 

Geoff

[bob b]

My attractive American devorcee next door neighbour had a problem with her Ford KA a few months ago. The engine was 'racing' at times for no apparent reason....as if the throttle was sticky. After exhausting the usual fixes, I deconnected the battery for 5 minutes, re-connected and the problem was cured. Presumebly it reset the on board computer.

Try that...you've got nothing to lose.

[Derek Uzzell]

Probably your best bet for on-line advice would be to ask about the problems on the Fiat Forum

 

http://www.fiatforum.com/

 

As your motorhome is 7 years old and was OK until recently, then plainly something has gone wrong with it. If the power interruptions and racing on tickover are due to dirty electrical connections, defective sensors, a failing ECU, a fuel-system fault, etc. then a software revision (as imposed on Michele's Volvo) won't cure it.

 

Not sure whether transitory 'events' like yours would be stored in a 2002 vehicle's electronic memory and subsequently be extractable even by a Fiat agent's diagnostic equipment. If you can't get the motor to stop/race while your motorhome is at the garage and connected to a diagnostic machine (and vehicles are seldom that co-operative), I suspect there will be no lingering trace of the fault once it's cleared itself.

 

As bob advises, you could try disconnecting the battery for a while. This action tends to reset the engine management system to default settings and the vehicle may drive peculiarly for a while afterwards until the motor and management system realign themselves. If your Tracker's cab audio system is keycode-protected, you'd (probably) need to reprogram the system after reconnecting the battery.

[onecal]

Hi ,

Try the EGR valve. This 9 times out of 10 causes this fault.

Regards,

Brendan

[aspinallagooglemail]

Thanks all, for your info

 

I have disconnected the battery for 1 hour and bled the fuel up to the fuel filter.

The EGR valve was the first thing that the garage looked at to no avail.

I have also checked out all the electrical connections on the engine management sytem that I can.

 

After a couple of short runs the engine has behaved itself !

 

Hopefully it will continue to do so.

 

Thanks again for your help, I will let you know if things change. :-D

[onecal]

Hi

You need to check all connections to the EGR valve. When it was put back they may just have made a better connections. If it goes down again re check EGR connections. Was there any gunk in the EGR valve?

Regards,

Brendan