Potentially very stupid roofbox question
Discussion
Just back from our holidays - very nice, thanks, got lucky with the weather, etc, etc. However, for the first time in my life, I had a roofbox on the car. When we left, my delightful fiancee was driving the car, while I followed her in a van. Within a mile or two of getting onto the motorway, she was on the hard shoulder, with the engine management light on and a Depollution System fault warning. Hating the car as I do, I told her just to crack on.
When we dropped the van off at the warehouse, I took over the car driving, since I'm a gentleman, and scared of her driving. All the warning lights and beeps were still there, and the b
d thing was in limp mode. Hating the car as I do, I just cracked on - slowly.
The next day, still with the roofbox on, the thing was fine, until we got on to the A303, and up to about 70-75mph. The pattern repeated all week. Here's the potentially stupid question:
Can a roofbox cause so much drag that it will confuse a Peugeot 407 to the extent that it thinks it's going to die?
When we dropped the van off at the warehouse, I took over the car driving, since I'm a gentleman, and scared of her driving. All the warning lights and beeps were still there, and the b
d thing was in limp mode. Hating the car as I do, I just cracked on - slowly.The next day, still with the roofbox on, the thing was fine, until we got on to the A303, and up to about 70-75mph. The pattern repeated all week. Here's the potentially stupid question:
Can a roofbox cause so much drag that it will confuse a Peugeot 407 to the extent that it thinks it's going to die?
It was serviced a couple of days prior, the codes read, and the tyre pressure warning system deleted. There was no indication then of any DPF problem. It only happened at motorway speeds, and once the car was left for more than a couple of hours, it was fine, until it hit about 70-75 again.
As for taking the roofbox off to see what would happen then, it had my holiday pants in it and they don't go more than a metre away from me unless they're under lock and key. There was also food for the dog and my fiancee, and they both get hungry every couple of hours. It would have ruined the holiday.
The roofbox is off now, and I've got to go to the yard, 35 miles away. I'll see what it does today.
I had a half-baked theory that the drag caused by the roofbox at that sort of speed might have convinced the engine management system that there was some problem, and it was having to use a lot more fuel than would have been normal for the same speed.
As for taking the roofbox off to see what would happen then, it had my holiday pants in it and they don't go more than a metre away from me unless they're under lock and key. There was also food for the dog and my fiancee, and they both get hungry every couple of hours. It would have ruined the holiday.
The roofbox is off now, and I've got to go to the yard, 35 miles away. I'll see what it does today.
I had a half-baked theory that the drag caused by the roofbox at that sort of speed might have convinced the engine management system that there was some problem, and it was having to use a lot more fuel than would have been normal for the same speed.
It's generally just me and the dog. This time, there was me, the dog, the mrs and 2 children, with all their associated crap for a week. I'd thought the MOT was going to be hideously expensive, and I could get rid of the car, but it only needed an ABS sensor and a ball joint,so I have to keep the hateful thing.
s2sol said:
Just back from our holidays - very nice, thanks, got lucky with the weather, etc, etc. However, for the first time in my life, I had a roofbox on the car. When we left, my delightful fiancee was driving the car, while I followed her in a van. Within a mile or two of getting onto the motorway, she was on the hard shoulder, with the engine management light on and a Depollution System fault warning. Hating the car as I do, I told her just to crack on.
When we dropped the van off at the warehouse, I took over the car driving, since I'm a gentleman, and scared of her driving. All the warning lights and beeps were still there, and the bd thing was in limp mode. Hating the car as I do, I just cracked on - slowly.
The next day, still with the roofbox on, the thing was fine, until we got on to the A303, and up to about 70-75mph. The pattern repeated all week. Here's the potentially stupid question:
Can a roofbox cause so much drag that it will confuse a Peugeot 407 to the extent that it thinks it's going to die?
That is the problem right there When we dropped the van off at the warehouse, I took over the car driving, since I'm a gentleman, and scared of her driving. All the warning lights and beeps were still there, and the b
d thing was in limp mode. Hating the car as I do, I just cracked on - slowly.The next day, still with the roofbox on, the thing was fine, until we got on to the A303, and up to about 70-75mph. The pattern repeated all week. Here's the potentially stupid question:
Can a roofbox cause so much drag that it will confuse a Peugeot 407 to the extent that it thinks it's going to die?
In all seriousness try a couple of test runs, same road same speeds, with and without the roof box. If it only happens with the box on then that is the problem.
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