1.9 JTD EGR valve issue...

[nogginthenog]

Hi, I am the lucky owner of a 2006 Multipla 1.9 JTD with 55k on the clock. the dash LCD is telling me I have an engine control fault even though it's running fine ( or as fine as a JTD ever does! ) . It's hard to ignore though because of the ear-splitting BEEP everytime I start the engine.

Local mechanic has run a diagnostic and tells me the EGR is stuck shut, but it's fine to drive the car like this. He quoted £135 for the part, and 2 hours labour to fit.

A bit of Googling tells me that plenty of people blank-off the EGR, as engines run better without them. If this is true ( ? ) can I do anything to stop the dash warning light, and especially the audio warning when I start? Would one of the TAFMET devices that I see on Ebay do this?

Though I used to be happy to get engines to bits when they were a bit less complicated, I'm out og touch with 'modern' metal, so please keep this in language that a simpleton like me can understand!

Thanks in advance...

[oakdale]

You could just take egr off and clean it or buy a blanking plate off ebay that has a hole in it.

The hole is to let some exhaust gas through which is supposed to stop (this worked for me on a Vectra with a similar engine) the engine fault light from coming on.

[nogginthenog]

thanks.

[Nigel_O]

The EGR is probably blocked with carbon/soot/oily deposits - they are generally filthy inside. With the EGR working as designed, all that muck carries on through to your inlet and coats that with oily gunk as well

To do it properly, there are three steps:

1) Have the engine Terracleaned (do a Google search - sounds like snake-oil but has an amazing effect, especially on diesels)

2) Have the EGR fully blanked off

3) Have the car re-mapped (which will be needed if only to stop the engine management light coming on because the EGR is blamed off)

The combination of those three will make the car run smoother, more efficiently, with more power / torque and better mpg

When I had my Alfa GT done, the car was noticeably quicker, noticeably smoother and it gave an extra 2-4mpg instantly - complete no-brainer

[nogginthenog]

Thanks Nigel - that's very informative.

[nogginthenog]

I had a reply from TAFMET, and they say their 'cheat' gizmo will do the job. Might give it a try.