3200 engine light

[outrun]

Hey All

I just got the 3200 back from an auto electrician who was searching for the reason why the battery drains quite quickly even though it is a fairly new Bosch unit that is regularly kept on trickle charge. After several hours all he can find is the occasional spike but no standout issue. I will have to continue the search.

However, on the drive home the engine light came on which I have never had happen before. The car drives fine although there is a very slight fluctuation on idle.

I was thinking of disconnecting the battery to see if it resets.

Any other ideas?

Cheers

 

[Contigo]

Get a cable from ebay and the unidiag software mate, best £20 you will ever invest in. Ok they are not SD2 machines but they give you a rough idea of what the problem is.

CEL's can be caused by anything from Throttle Body, Pedal Pot, Knock Sensor, Pierburg Valve, Boost Sensor, Lambda's, Brake Pedal Switch.....

My money is on the DBW system unless your car has had a contactless upgrade?

 

[outrun]

OK, can you post a link to right device to buy please?

Ta

 

[Contigo]

What OBD port do you have Athol? Look under the steering wheel column and find the connector. It will either be a standard OBD-2 port with 9 pins or a 3 pin grey connector which was fitted to the earlier cars which is the older Fiat/Lancia fitment.

 

[davy83]

Yes check what connector you have, at year 2000 is about the crossover point where they started fitting ODBII ports. you may or may not have one. If its not a standard ODBII

see picture then you have more complicated problem to read the code. I made a point of buying one with an ODBII port as its almost impossible to keep it running without it.

 

[allandwf]

Thats what's fitted to mine, under steering column, was quite awkward to spot. I have a wee generic code reader that seems to read engine codes fine, and clears them. Only had need to use once, on throttle position, but worked fine. Welcome to use it if you dont get sorted.

 

[outrun]

I've spoken to Phil Kyle and the car is off to him at the end of the week. He reckons that it sounds as if the throttle potentiometer is dirty and that it can be cleaned. The car already has the contactless DBW upgrade. He thinks that the battery drain may be a door handle sensor and so is going to check that out too.

We'll see what he finds...

 

[Contigo]

Yes check what connector you have, at year 2000 is about the crossover point where they started fitting ODBII ports. you may or may not have one. If its not a standard ODBII

see picture then you have more complicated problem to read the code. I made a point of buying one with an ODBII port as its almost impossible to keep it running without it.

It's easy to just fit the cable (£4 off Ebay) to the standard OBDII connector and the software is exactly the same. You can still use the UniDiag software or handheld.

 

[RossWA]

Hi,
It is worth checking if your ECU is OBDI or OBDII as the are 3200GT's that have the OBDII connector, but OBDI ECU. The ECU is in the drivers footwell on the right hand side. Look EOBD if it is ODBII.

cheers

Ross

 

[bigbob]

I've spoken to Phil Kyle and the car is off to him at the end of the week. He reckons that it sounds as if the throttle potentiometer is dirty and that it can be cleaned. The car already has the contactless DBW upgrade. He thinks that the battery drain may be a door handle sensor and so is going to check that out too.

We'll see what he finds...

He really knows the 3200/4200/QP stable of cars.

 

[outrun]

Just an update for anyone with the same issue. The CEL was caused by the camshaft position sensor. As the old battery was struggling,the turnover was slow and sent the sensor out of kilter.

New battery, code cleared and she is back to rude health.

As they say,try the simple first. The old battery was the cause even though it was kept conditioned. I guess eventually they all fail.

 

[Contigo]

Yep any poor battery causes all sorts of problems with these cars!

 

[StuartW]

Yep any poor battery causes all sorts of problems with these cars!

Yes, as I have found out too this week.

A new Bosch S5 is now on board, and all's well with the world once more