What an idiot?

[Pete-B]

:

Morning all,

 

We've got a nearly new Autosleeper on a Peugeot chassis. I keep the van in a storage unit when not in use and some people have had a bit of winter mouse damage there,

 

We all know their favourite meal is a bit of air filter so I always take mine out and put a flat piece of aluminium over the hole. The other day I stupidly and accidentally started the engine without the filter in and have now got a engine management light come on :-(

 

I contacted a local Peugeot dealer who said they would clear it but it would cost about £60, wow, seems a bit over the top or am I out of touch?

 

Does anyone know of another way to clear this light?

[colin]

I don't know about the light, but would definitely do the 'mesh mod' as it's fit and forget.

[Keithl]

Pete,

 

Try your local garage, it should only be a basic OBD code and hopefully not require a full blown dealer diagnostic machine to reset. You may even get away with a cheap handheld OBD reader if it can connect to your Boxer. I use an Autel handheld scanner for my Sprinter that cost about £150 but it has paid for itself times over for all the cars I have used it on.

 

Keith.

[mikefitz]

It may clear by itself after several starts.

 

Mike

[PJM]

My son bought a reader from amazon for £13 that read and cleared a fault on his vauxhall insignia. Got to be worth a try but make sure it can be used on diesels.

[pepe63xnotuse]

Question from a luddite..

Does the use of a "reader" show up an as entry on subsequent "readings"...?

If (IF?) it does, (and it can/will also show a "non-conforming" bit of kit?), if the error doesn't clear on its own, as the van is "nearly new" I'd probably just suck it up and pay the 60 quid... :-S

[_Chris]

Keithl - 2020-12-09 10:30 AM

 

Pete,

 

I use an Autel handheld scanner for my Sprinter that cost about £150 but it has paid for itself times over for all the cars I have used it on.

 

Keith.

I was thinking of buying a scanner for use on my 2004 Focus as I've had to pay a local auto-electrician to read the fault codes several times recently. Which model of the Autel do you have Keith & will it work on most makes of car/van?

 

I've heard that the cheap scanners are a bit limited.

 

Not sure if my 2000 Boxer even has an OBD slot?

[Keithl]

_Chris - 2020-12-09 11:45 AM

I was thinking of buying a scanner for use on my 2004 Focus as I've had to pay a local auto-electrician to read the fault codes several times recently. Which model of the Autel do you have Keith & will it work on most makes of car/van?

 

I've heard that the cheap scanners are a bit limited.

 

Not sure if my 2000 Boxer even has an OBD slot?

Chris,

 

I have an Autel MD802 All Systems (not the basic 4 system) but believe this has been replaced by the MD808 PRO. I have used it on numerous cars with good results. Applicability can be viewed on the Autel website here

 

https://www.autel.com/vehicle-coverage/coverage1

 

and select 'MD808 Pro' 'Search' then scroll down to 'EU Ford' etc.

 

Another popular option is the Autel AP200 BlueTooth dongle to use with a smartphone but I have never tried one.

 

My 2004 Sprinter does not have an OBD socket but does have an MB specific 14 pin connector so maybe your 2000 Boxer has something similar, I'm not familiar with the Boxer.

 

Keith.

[Derek Uzzell]

As a result of my fiddling about with my Ducato I ended up with a whole host of dashboard warning lights.

 

These warning lights extinguished of their own accord when the vehicle was driven except for the generic failure amber-triangle light (example attached below) that was cleared when the vehicle went in for its annual service/MOT at a local Fiat Professional agency. No charge was made for doing this.

 

As mikefitz says above, it might be worth starting the Boxer several times, If the light still doesn’t go out, driving the vehicle for (say) 20 miles might be worth trying.

[Deneb]

Pete-B - 2020-12-09 10:00 AM

 

Does anyone know of another way to clear this light?

As long as you've reinstated the filter and intake pipe to its normal condition, the fault light should self clear after a couple of drive cycles, or possibly several ignition on/off events.

 

Otherwise, for reading and clearing engine related fault codes, a simple generic OBD reader will be fully capable. I carry one in my car, which cost less than £10 from Amazon.

 

If you need the ability to read/clear/diagnose fault codes for all the vehicle systems, plus possibly programming service, oil change and other system resets, actuation tests and tracking live data, you would need more professional (i.e. expensive) kit, but the engine management system has to conform to the EOBD (European) generic standard, hence a simple OBD fault reader will be fine.

[_Chris]

Thanks Keith

[weldted]

On some minor faults if the problem does not re appear after a certain number of starts the light will go out I think its six. It may involve driving the van rather than just starting and stopping it.

[Pete-B]

Thanks for all the good advice, as suggested, I'll run it a few times and see what happens.

[AliB]

It shhould clear it self in time.

Or force a reset:

To reset the ECU just disconnect the negative terminal of the battery for 30mins. Then connect and idle for few minutes and then go for a long spin as if you've stolen the car!! This is to ensure your ECU gets the maximum reading cause it has been reset and now it has to store back all the values it lost.

If all the above and previous posts fail then come to Yorkshire. I have MultiECUScan on my laptop which will sort it.

[Pete-B]

AliB - 2020-12-09 4:33 PM

 

It shhould clear it self in time.

Or force a reset:

To reset the ECU just disconnect the negative terminal of the battery for 30mins. Then connect and idle for few minutes and then go for a long spin as if you've stolen the car!! This is to ensure your ECU gets the maximum reading cause it has been reset and now it has to store back all the values it lost.

If all the above and previous posts fail then come to Yorkshire. I have MultiECUScan on my laptop which will sort it.

Thanks for that mate,

 

Yorky to Yorky

[mikefitz]

AliB - 2020-12-09 4:33 PM

 

To reset the ECU just disconnect the negative terminal of the battery for 30mins. Then connect and idle for few minutes and then go for a long spin as if you've stolen the car!! This is to ensure your ECU gets the maximum reading cause it has been reset and now it has to store back all the values it lost.

.

This seems poor advice to reset an engine fault. Whilst disconnecting the battery may reset the body computer, I dont think it will effect the engine ECU settings, they are stored in memory. Unless the engine battery is disconnected/reconnected following the manufactures procedure, there is a 50/50 chance of damaging the air bag computer.

'Driving like you stole it' advice is pure rubbish.

 

Mike

[Deneb]

mikefitz - 2020-12-09 10:38 PM

 

This seems poor advice to reset an engine fault. Whilst disconnecting the battery may reset the body computer, I dont think it will effect the engine ECU settings, they are stored in memory. Unless the engine battery is disconnected/reconnected following the manufactures procedure, there is a 50/50 chance of damaging the air bag computer.

'Driving like you stole it' advice is pure rubbish.

 

Mike

100 per cent agree. There should be a "like" button on this forum!

[Derek Uzzell]

From what I’ve seen of motorhome forums that follow the Facebook ‘kiddies corner’ ethos, the Like button is used indiscriminately even when advice being offered is of questionable accuracy and/or value, or even when it’s obvious (or should be) that the advice is downright wrong and potential damaging.

[Deneb]

Derek Uzzell - 2020-12-10 8:44 AM

 

From what I’ve seen of motorhome forums that follow the Facebook ‘kiddies corner’ ethos, the Like button is used indiscriminately even when advice being offered is of questionable accuracy and/or value, or even when it’s obvious (or should be) that the advice is downright wrong and potential damaging.

I didn't think that through, did I :'(

[AliB]

Deneb - 2020-12-10 7:20 AM

 

mikefitz - 2020-12-09 10:38 PM

 

This seems poor advice to reset an engine fault. Whilst disconnecting the battery may reset the body computer, I dont think it will effect the engine ECU settings, they are stored in memory. Unless the engine battery is disconnected/reconnected following the manufactures procedure, there is a 50/50 chance of damaging the air bag computer.

'Driving like you stole it' advice is pure rubbish.

 

Mike

100 per cent agree. There should be a "like" button on this forum!

Well that adivise was given to me by Northern Commercials ( a Fiat Dealer) when my vehicle would not start and showed an engine management warning light.. It didn't work and they had to recover the vehicle to their place. It turned out to be a corroded connection on the ECU.

 

I have read the Fiat elearn manual on battery disconnect/removal. This basically states, make sure ignition is OFF, disconnect -ve lead, disconnect + lead. What could be simpler.

I was always taught to disconnect the -ve lead before attempting any electrical work on a vehicle.

[Derek Uzzell]

You haven’t said how old the elearn version you’ve referred to is.

 

This early-2020 forum thread related to the locking of a 2014 Ducato (presumably an ‘X250’ rather than an ‘X290')

 

https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Remote-key-not-working-on-Fiat-Ducato/48680/

 

The thread’s April postings relate to starter-battery disconnection and read as follows

 

.............................................................................

 

(Derek Uzzell)

 

Depending on the age/model of the Ducato a degree of care should be exercised when disconnecting the starter-battery. The Owner Handbook for my 2015 Ducato advises

 

IMPORTANT After turning the ignition key to STOP and having closed the driver side door, wait at least one minute before disconnecting the electrical supply from the battery. When reconnecting the electrical supply to the battery, make sure that the ignition key is in the STOP position and the driver side door is closed.

 

(If the negative earth-strap of the under-floor battery of a 2006-onwards Ducato X250/X290 is to be disconnected, it might be a good idea to disconnect the positive (live) connector as well and check the electrolyte-level in all six of the battery’s cells.)

 

.............................................................................

 

(Deneb)

 

Resetting the body computer by disconnecting the vehicle battery for several seconds can fix many strange glitches in systems controlled by that ECU and is always worth a try in the first instance if something isn't working correctly.

 

It is important to follow the correct procedure as outlined by Derek though, which ensures that all of the ECUs connected through the network bus are allowed to go into sleep mode in an orderly fashion before disconnecting power. Failing to ensure that the driver's door is shut and not waiting the required time subsequent to that before disconnecting the battery can cause corruption of ECU memory in much the same way as pulling the plug out of a computer without shutting it down first. This, and a flat or very low battery are common causes of issues such as the SRS ECU failure that is quite common on motorhomes, but apparently less so on commercial vans.

 

.............................................................................

 

(mikefirtz)

 

Disconnecting the starter battery without following the procedure may cause problems as suggested, however its not quite as straight forward following the handbook as Derek suggests.

Firstly either cab door initiates the system switch on and shutdown so both doors need to be closed. If the ignition has not been on for some time then the 'wait at least one minute ' is valid. My measurements on a euro6 PVC showed the current taken by the system lasted for , on average, 1 minute 35 seconds after both cab door were closed.

Things do change if the ignition has just been switched off. Under these conditions it takes over 6 minutes for the system current to drop.

So waiting ten minuets or so with all doors closed,

( sliding door and rear doors also wake up the electrics) would seem safer if the ignition has been active.

 

Motor homes do seem to have more failures of the air bag computer than commercial vans and I suspect that interaction between the engine and leisure battery may be a factor, it would thus seem advisable to disable any solar and disconnect the leisure battery negative before working on the engine battery.

 

.............................................................................

 

 

[Deneb]

And in addition to Derek's comments, re the assumption that you should "drive it like you stole it" to relearn ECU settings:

 

"Each time the engine is switched off using the key, the control unit remains supplied by the main relay for several second, allowing the processor to transfer data from the (volatile type) main memory to a non-volatile memory, so that it is available for subsequent starting.

 

The data relates to:

 

Various engine settings

Settings of some related components

Fault memory

 

The procedure lasts several seconds, after which the control unit sends a command to the relay, which disconnects it from the battery.

 

Attention! Risk of damage to engine control unit

 

It is very important that this procedure is not interrupted, for example by switching the engine off using the battery disconnector, or by disconnecting the battery within 10 seconds of the engine having been switched off. Repeated interruption could damage the control unit."

 

So there is generally no need to relearn engine related functions, apart from specifically resetting certain parameters through diagnostic software if specific components have been replaced.