Valver broken down

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tomwyllys
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Valver broken down

Post by tomwyllys »

Hi all,

Some of you may know 'DUG' the grey valver... I've been the proud owner since December covering around 6,000 trouble free miles. Until yesterday...

The car was driving fine (city driving) and then the orange light beneath the rev counter came on, the car was still running fine so I kept going. About 10 mins later at the traffic lights the car conked out whilst idling, I managed to get it started and nursed it to my destination (which was luckily only half mile away). The car is hard to start and will not idle, but once you hit 3000rpm or above the engine runs absolutely fine. The orange light is no longer on so I'm guessing that could have just been a coincedence? Suspected it might be a dodgy rotor arm but all looks ok under dizzy cap.

Any advice on what the problem might be would be greatly appreciated.

Tom
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Kitch »

The orange light is the ABS lamp (if it's down in the bottom right?) Would have no effect on the engine's running.

Could be a TPS unit. It's something you can test if you can work a multimeter. Could also be coolant sensor, or a couple of other things. Cap/arm/plugs/leads etc are all unlikely if it runs fine above 3000rpm. It's more likely to be the TPS or coolant sensor as by 3000rpm it stops taking inputs from them and only works from the air flow meter (which it could also be).

Also worth checking all the rubber hoses and bellows aren't holed and are still secure. Air leaks can cause all manner of problems.

I used to own the car, I sold it to Alex :) Had one of the sweetest engines I've ever had in a 16v.
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Jaba
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Jaba »

Does this car have a K light ? Thats the orange warning light under the rev counter LHS ? The ABS light is on the RHS.
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Kitch »

Jaba wrote:Does this car have a K light ? Thats the orange warning light under the rev counter LHS ? The ABS light is on the RHS.
No that car won't have a K-light.
One third of a three-spoke BX columnist team for the Citroenian magazine.

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tomwyllys
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by tomwyllys »

Thanks for the replies chaps. Appreciated. Will look into things mentioned and report back
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by tomwyllys »

As promised, reporting back on the cause of this....

I couldn't get to the bottom of the problem myself so had to take it to the garage in the end. Even they were pretty stumped, but turned out the timing belt had slipped a couple of teeth - luckily the engine internals survived unscathed! The garage aren't 100% sure of the root cause, but they said the water pump was not turning freely (even though it appeared to be quite new) and one of the tensioners was loose? Not sure if this has ever happened to any of you guys?

Anyway, one fairly hefty bill later and DUG is back on the road! Can't wait to be driving him again after two months off the road!
Last edited by tomwyllys on Fri Oct 09, 2015 8:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Kitch »

Good to know it's fixed. I did the cambelt on DUG before I sold it to Alex and I'm a bit stumped as I usually go to the correct torque on the tensioners, and then give them another grunt for good measure. If the tensioners slip, it can throw the timing out even without having the belt actually jump a tooth, as the position of the tensioners dictates the cam timing. Water pump was new, but a long time ago. Hasn't done many miles since it was fitted, which is why I only did the belt itself. I did have the cambelt jump on a Saxo once, due to a faulty tensioner that came loose, but again the tensioners on that car weren't very old as Jon Wood did them all. In fact, I only did the belt as it was due by age - it had only done a couple of thousand miles and looked mint!

Sorry to hear you've had trouble though! I hope it wasn't something I did!
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by tomwyllys »

No worries mate, not holding anyone accountable!! It's an old car and I expect things to go wrong from time to time! Good info, thanks, perhaps the belt did jump any teeth at all then, hence valves etc being ok.
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Kitch »

I'm glad the engine's ok, as it was hands down the sweetest 16v engine I've ever driven!
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Toddman »

Good to hear it is all okay but a bit baffled why the ABS lamp would come on, my first thought was K light and if memory serves the early ML 1.3's had a K light and knock sensor without the cat
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by RobC »

Yes K-lights are definitely on the early M1.3s. Roughly mid H Plate and on.
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by tomwyllys »

Perhaps just a coincidence?!!
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Kitch »

ABS lamp probably came on as the engine stopped. It would have gone off again after a while, but I suspect the attention was more drawn to the fact the engine had stopped!
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Re: Valver broken down

Post by Toddman »

Kitch wrote:ABS lamp probably came on as the engine stopped. It would have gone off again after a while, but I suspect the attention was more drawn to the fact the engine had stopped!
yeah sounds good to me, I have nave rliked the damned ABS light LOL!
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