Zafira management light

[Sheppard000]

I have a zafira dti 09/2000

serviced by me every 10,000 miles

Car started fine tonight, drove about ten miles, stopped at traffic light, they turned green and started off as i got above 2000 rpm the engine management light came on and went into limp mode.

The exhaust is smelling awful and loads of smoke also it is misfiring

Could it be the egr value, the turbo sounds ok and no oil on my finger for the headgasket in the expension tank

any ideas?

[ELAN+2]

you need to get it plugged on to a diagnostic code reader of some description, or pay the dealer silly money for the same. If the management light is on, it will have a fault code stored in the memory, this will help diagnose the problem.

Mark

[Sheppard000]

Cheers mark

It has gone today, I will update later

[combemarshal]

If it's a Vauxhal then it's probably the Cam sensor, they make them form used toilet roll tubes!!!
(I doubt it is that, it just seems to go awol on all of them!)

[Sheppard000]

It showed on the diagnostic kit, three critical engine management faults

Wrong fuel

Electrical problem (all sensors working ok)

Timing chain, jumped

I think the wife has put the wrong fuel in, I cannot see how a timing chain can jump just going into second gear??

[ELAN+2]

Timing chain jumped? not posible, unless you have tensioner failure, me thinks you having your chain pulled. Wrong fuel? can only be Diesel in a petrol, or petrol in a diesel, octane rating will have bugger all effect with petrol as the closed loop set up will take care of that through fuel trim adjustments.If you ad petrol in that car in a reasonable quantity, you probably wouldnt get it off the garage fore court, let alone ten miles.

How old is it?/many miles? Have you got the fault code numbers? I have means to delve further!!

Mark

[Sheppard000]

It is the fuel pump, all in all, the engine has to come out and gearbox, so over a grand and then there maybe damage to the engine

[steve_d]

Putting petrol in your diesel could well have wrecked the pump as it is designed to be lubricated by the diesel fuel.
Quite why the engine has to come out I don't know but some of them are so packed in you can hardly get fingers in there let alone swing a spanner.

What did you want for Christmas? If the good lady put petrol in then you should be in browny point credit.

Steve

[Sheppard000]

Divorce hopefully (LOL)

[ELAN+2]

if its petrol contamination thats the problem, i may have a simple, cheap method that may be able to save big bills, its worked on a couple of mercs, and beemers. Your dealer wont entertain it but you can do it your self/instruct an independant garage in the procedure. Prob with common rail engines is that petrol(and water for that matter) vapourises under the extreme pump pressures, effectively becoming a compressible "spring" in the injector/pipes, the compressibility of this vapour prevents the opening of the injector pintle. Hence no go, also it wont bleed out under cranking rpms, the manufacturers solution is a new pump and injectors, or in the case of an A class a new engine

Exactly what is the problem on the car (if the pumps shagged, then fair enough, but I'm always suspicious of terminal diagnoses!!)

Mark

[L1OFF]

my brother had the same with his Diesel Zafira, they fixed it under warrenty the first time but it happened again and they claimed contaminated fuel. They don't have a water drain on the fuel filter either.

Alan