MIL light and rough running

[carl_w]

Well, I've driven all of 200 miles in my Cerb before hitting problems.

Went to pick up the wife from the station this afternoon. About halfway there the MIL light came on continuously with the buzzer. Then got stuck in traffic and noticed that if I revved the engine the MIL light would go out, i.e. it was only on at low revs.

After a couple of minutes the MIL light went out and the problem didn't re-occur, but the engine seems to be running rougher now. Oil pressure looks good.

Maybe this would be related to the fact that it was bloody cold this morning?

[dai capp]

Don't know which engine you have, but I have had this happen on my first Tuscan a couple of times, firstly when there had been very heavy downpour (the water runs off straight off into the plugs) and secondly when I'd left it out over night on a cold night.

The Tuscan Speed Six engine, IIRC, has no ECU control over cold idle and so essentially runs rough until the engine reaches a suitable temperature that the ECU can work from. This can sometimes mean stalling, rough running in fact any symptom of that nature.

Of course if you have a V8 this is probably a waste of time...

Cheers

DC

[satman]

My understanding of the MIL light/buzzer, is that it is a form of engine diagnosic's working through the ECU, and checks things such as the fuel injection and emission system. The owners handbook says considerable damage can result if driven with the light on. I think that your cerb has a possible fuelling problem, which may well have been a direct result of the cold weather this morning, and the fact you have driven it with the light on may be the cause of it running rough now. Did you allow the car to warm up before setting off this morning, i seldom leave my drive before allowing the car to run for at least 4-5 minutes warm up time. Might be best to get an expert to look it over sooner rather than later IMO, maybe if Joolz reads this, he can confirm if im somewhere close to the answer??

:awaitstobecorrected:

[dai capp]

Just to confirm from the Tuscan forum apparently you should hold 1500 RPM for 30 seconds...

If you search under cold start on the Tuscan forum you will find this info...

Of course the MIL light can mean something serious so you may want to get it checked out by a dealer

DC

[carl_w]

Just to confirm, I drove it this afternoon when it wasn't so cold, not this morning when it was bloody freezing. But judging by the amount of condensation on the inside of the windscreen I thought some other stuff might have got wet too.

The light's not on now. I'll drive around a bit tomorrow and see if it happens again.

[arcbeer]

I wouldn't mess around with the MIL light coming on. Get it to a dealer and get it checked. Better to fix a slight problem now than a major problem later.

[satman]

Carl, i see your in Bishops Stortford...did you purchase your car at Castle in Stanstead, it might be worth giving Darren a call and see if they can give a quick check tomorrow?

[davetherave1970]

Carl

My Cerbie was booked into Castle's on Tuesday but I had to cancel this afternoon so they now have a time slot to take a look.

David

[carl_w]

Unfortunately they don't have anyone in to look at it tomorrow

I actually bought it from Offord's.

[kojak69]

I agree with arcbeer.
I'd take it to a dealer and connect it up to a laptop. That way, if there is a problem, it'll show up. I wouldn't risk it.

[satman]

Carl...you could try giving CDL a call, i think they are in Grays Essex. Sorry I dont have their phone number, but im sure someone on here should know it.

[carl_w]

Hmm. Seems to be running as smooth as a baby's bum now (well, as smooth as an AJP8 gets) and no MIL light. I think I maybe just confused the ECU when I nearly stalled it yesterday. Starting to think that the "rough running" might have been that it wasn't warmed up properly (it's only 1.5 miles to the station).

I'll keep an eye on things and get a TVR dealer to connect the laptop up when I can.

[K1 CERB]

Austec have replaced my 'Pots' and now my MIL light never comes on (it used to @ 5700 RPM )
Look to get it serviced.

K1 CERB

[suffolkfox]

Get it to someone with a laptop and the software for peace of mind, as some of the faults that generate MIL light faults are recorded so you may be able to see what caused it. If it's a Lambda sensor fault you could have got water in the connectors, in which case a bit of electrical grease will stop it happening again (don't you love wet weather with plastic cars and cr4p electrical connectors).