fud3 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Our Swift had to have the EGR valve replaced in the engine in March luckily just before the warranty ran out on the motor home, as I understand that the cost can be somewhere between £80 and £200. We had noticed that the engine kept loosing power, especially when at junctions turning across traffic, a bit of a worry. We have just noticed that the van has started doing the same occasionally, Fiat want to charge me £95 to put it on the diagnostic machine to see if it is the part that has failed again, but as it is out of warranty we would be liable to pay for the repair and the cost of having the diagnostic test done, we may if we speak to Fiat Customer Care get something towards the cost as it is a part that has just be replaced. I have got an alternative price for a diagnostic test. Has anyone else had this problem, if so what have you done, I understand that the EGR valve is not fully necessary but to disconnect means that the engine management light will be on and that it could fail any emission test, so not wanting to do this. Could their be any other reasons why it looses power. It should not be fuel related as the tank is not allowed to run to empty and it is still only 2 and half years old and done less than 10,000 miles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dikyenfo Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 The valve is fitted to prevent gases from the sump during breathing being transmitted to the atmosphere. This messy arrangement causes no end of problems but you are stuck with living withit. However if your engine is not blowing back with ring or other probs. then you are maybe going on short runs with cold oil.[check thermostat] Try getting the oil really hot[make sure oil level right and oil clean-looking. Then give it some welly in 3rd up to governor cut-in and hold it there for some distance. This can be repeated if necessary but it cleans out the exhaust as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Hello, This is a bit of a sore point at the moment! We have has several failures and a lot of controversy surrounds this problem. The 2.3 and 3.0 engines seem to be affected by two separate issues. The first is a broken butterfly valve in the the EGR unit, the second is a wiring problem in the loom below the nearside headlamp. The dealers have been told to look at the wiring forst in any warranty claim, and repair that then wait and see if it happens again then replace the EGR assembly; hopefully at the customer's expense when it is just a few days out of warranty. Yes. I am bitter. The good news is that the broken valve job does sort the problem and the replacement parts are more sturdy so that should be the end of it, the bad news is that yours probably needs the wiring repair and will almost certainly be at your expense if your warranty is up. Expect £100 or so for the repair. The van is built well, just designed by idiots and marketed by a firm that takes no responsibility for their ineptitude. This is just my opinion but try me.... I have evidence! Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 dikyenfo - 2010-07-28 11:11 AM The valve is fitted to prevent gases from the sump during breathing being transmitted to the atmosphere. This messy arrangement causes no end of problems but you are stuck with living withit. However if your engine is not blowing back with ring or other probs. then you are maybe going on short runs with cold oil.[check thermostat] Try getting the oil really hot[make sure oil level right and oil clean-looking. Then give it some welly in 3rd up to governor cut-in and hold it there for some distance. This can be repeated if necessary but it cleans out the exhaust as well. Sorry but this is totally wrong, the EGR valve has nothing whatsoever to do with sump fumes! EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation valve and its purpose is to recirculate some exhaust gas into the inlet manifold to reburn it and clean up emissions. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fud3 Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 With regard to engine oil temperature the cutting out tends to be when the engine has run so i'm not sure on that one, i thought that the EGR recirculated exhaust fumes back into the engine. Nick comments are more interesting as he seams to have had the problem, and for the valve to go again suggests to me that it is either a faulty batch of valves that are about or another issue, and an electrical issue sounds right. Would the diagnostics pick up electrical fault in the wiring, I intend having independent garage look at it now not Fiat as it is outside of warranty anyway, but do not want to be left with cost of new valve and rewiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Obviously I am with Dave in that the posting from 'DodgyInfo' is completely wrong. In my experience and using the only other diagnostic kit that really gets into the Fiat Ducato other than Fiat's own kit I am very much afraid that there will be little to see. The best that anyone other than Fiat will see is an 'unknown error'. If you want to try someone other than a Fiat agent, insist beforehand that if they cannot identify the fault you will not expect to pay for them plugging in to your vehicle. If you take it to your Fiat agent tell them that if they diagnose a fault and repair it, you will expect a refund if you encounter exactly the same symptoms within a few weeks. They are supposed to be the experts and are charging the high rates that raise your expectations. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spospe Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 To clarify: EGR = Exhaust Gas Recirculation The aim is to reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the exhaust. The method is to recirculate a measured quantity of exhaust gas back into the inlet manifold so that the temperature of combustion is reduced by up to 200 degrees centigrade as a result of the inert exhaust gas replacing excess oxygen (especially at idle speeds). NOx formation is temperature dependant, lower temperature equals less NOx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Moore Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 I had EGR problems with my Astra a while ago. I was told by the Vauxhall agent not to use supermarket fuel as the lack of additives causes problems with the valve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roger20 Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Malcolm raises a very interesting point. I have always thought that supermarket fuel wasn't as good as branded, especially in France. There was an excellent report in the June issue of MMM (Interchange) about supermarket fuels which convinced me that this was the case - its a case of you get what you pay for. It would be interesting to know whether others feel the same way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hi Roger Although all fuel sold must meet the specific British Standards, all of the major Fuel companies produce specific additive, on which they spend a lot of money researching & developing in conjunction with vehicle engine manufacturers'. These additives, whether giving better lubrication, temperature range (i.e. winter diesel) reduced consumption, amongst others, which are generally not available to the independent market resellers. So, Yes there is a difference. The Additives are normally injected at the Tanker Loading Lances, where the "majors" have their own specific additions tanks. The supermarkets will collect fuels from the same Refinery or Distribution Depot, but will have specific loading lances for their Tankers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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