2011 3lt auto power failure possibly bad fuel????

[Scout]

we had a breakdown yesterday after returning from a 3k mile trip in france, where the van never missed a beat, we came up the a2 and fueled up with the cheap Esso deasil. after about 10 miles after fueling up the engin power dropped and it seems like fuel starvation, then it got better so we carried on then 60 miles later it was hunting for fuel again, the power dropped right off , I pulled off onto the slip road and never made the roundabout, the revs dropped , engin management light came on , the little bonnet light came on and then nothing. , the light for the immobiliser "lock out " came on and of course it would not turn over, after being towed by the police to a place of safety , the breakdown guy came, I explained we had be in a lot of rain of the last few weeks and floods of water had come off of the roof, he said probably bad fuel, possibly water in the fuel filter or maybe something to do with the oil filter showing low oil when it wasn't,he checked out the air filter and he did all the diagnostic checks cleared the faults down and it seemed ok, so 120 miles later its still ok....time for fait to look I think..

any comments please

 

[Guigsy]

Does the 3 litre suffer from throttle body issues? My 2.3 from 2007 has had the TB replaced. Water got into the electronics (although water can also get to the butterfly servo) and caused the issues you described.

One of the tests to see if the throttle body is good is when you switch off, after a few seconds you should hear a click from under the bonnet (loud enough to hear when the bonnet is closed) which is the TB butterfly snapping closed.

Something else that causes similar issues is the Exhaust Gas Re-circulation control solenoid. From what I understand, unlike most other engines that suffer from EGR issues from getting clogged up, with Iveco engines, the control solenoid goes on the fritz and allows full exhaust recirc all the time, meaning you have no power and rough idle.

 

[Scout]

Does the 3 litre suffer from throttle body issues? My 2.3 from 2007 has had the TB replaced. Water got into the electronics (although water can also get to the butterfly servo) and caused the issues you described.

One of the tests to see if the throttle body is good is when you switch off, after a few seconds you should hear a click from under the bonnet (loud enough to hear when the bonnet is closed) which is the TB butterfly snapping closed.

Something else that causes similar issues is the Exhaust Gas Re-circulation control solenoid. From what I understand, unlike most other engines that suffer from EGR issues from getting clogged up, with Iveco engines, the control solenoid goes on the fritz and allows full exhaust recirc all the time, meaning you have no power and rough idle.

I'll try that tomorrow, mechanics is not really my strong piont, which is why I needed a few clues to stop being ripped off

 

[makems]

Does the 3 litre suffer from throttle body issues? My 2.3 from 2007 has had the TB replaced. Water got into the electronics (although water can also get to the butterfly servo) and caused the issues you described.

One of the tests to see if the throttle body is good is when you switch off, after a few seconds you should hear a click from under the bonnet (loud enough to hear when the bonnet is closed) which is the TB butterfly snapping closed.

Something else that causes similar issues is the Exhaust Gas Re-circulation control solenoid. From what I understand, unlike most other engines that suffer from EGR issues from getting clogged up, with Iveco engines, the control solenoid goes on the fritz and allows full exhaust recirc all the time, meaning you have no power and rough idle.

We broke down in Morocco a few tears ago after driving through horrendous rain and deep water.
Water had got into the electronics of the throttle body and caused failure.
Replacement throttle body fixed the issue and never had another problem.

 

[HandyAndy]

doesn't sound that much like dodgy fuel if all the recovery guy did was reset the ECU..
If he drained /changed the fuel filter at the time though, that's a different matter, that would point to contamination

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[TheBig1]

It also sounds a bit like misfueling. Was the cheap fuel definitely diesel?

 

[mike mcglynn]

Most storage tanks for diesel oil have a water drain off valve except the ones buried underground like in the filling stations ,I don’t know what they do in those situations does anybody know .

 

[HandyAndy]

First thing I do when a customer says I've just filled up is ask for the receipt and see if they actually filled up with what they think they filled up with

 

[Geoff185]

We had similar with daughters A6 some years ago, they filled up on way down to us in France . Had issues with engine check light coming on then loss of power. Checked fuel cap and had water dripping off ,so poor fuel. Changed fuel filter and put cleaner in fuel ,tanked up with premium fuel. Still had issues but could get home, took off Egr and was full of soot. Had to replace as electronic Egr as had stripped teeth on the drive gear through trying to open and hitting build up in chamber. I think poor fuel, change filters and if drain tap on filter housing open that and see what comes out

 

[Scout]

it was deasil , it was my first thought I must adimit , I did check the receipt .... Ive booked it in for diagnostics next Tuesday , to day I cleared out the rain scuttle as there was debris in it and tested it with a water can, water pored through the middle seal (which seems none existent) and down over the middle front area of the engin bay......….....
it seems to be looking more like water problems than dodgy fuel now....we will have to see whats what next week

one thing I did note as well was the exhaust was much more sooty than normal

edit: forgot to say, I ran it this morning and it seems fine? Im a bit reluctant to take it out for a run till its been to the garage because if it fails again before its seen to the recovery people might not cover it

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[Deneb]

If the mechanic cleared the fault codes and it's been OK since, not much point taking it to Fiat. They'll plug it in, find no faults recorded and give it back to you after fleecing you for a diagnostic check.

Not sure if a 2011 van has a water in the fuel filter warning facility. Later vans do. What does your handbook say?

You can either bite the bullet and drain the diesel tank, or wait and see if the fault returns.

 

[Scout]

If the mechanic cleared the fault codes and it's been OK since, not much point taking it to Fiat. They'll plug it in, find no faults recorded and give it back to you after fleecing you for a diagnostic check.

Not sure if a 2011 van has a water in the fuel filter warning facility. Later vans do. What does your handbook say?

You can either bite the bullet and drain the diesel tank, or wait and see if the fault returns.

the only problem with waiting is, If I dont atempt to get it sorted, and break down again, the recovery people wont recover me or will charge me, if its the same scenario they will have to clear the faults to get it going or can they just clear the immobiliser fault code?

can you disable the immobiliser in any way

 

[Deneb]

Sorry, missed the code lamp reference. I thought you were blaming dodgy fuel. You can't (easily) disable the code system. What I said is still relevant though. If you go to a garage with a van that's currently behaving normally, no current symptoms, fault codes already cleared and no MIL lamp, they're just going to tell you to come back if it happens again.

I suppose if you have to call breakdown out again you could at least them that you went to a garage after the first problem and they couldn't find anything. But then you could just tell them that anyway if push came to shove!

The one thing I would suggest which may or may not be relevant but is worth doing anyway is to replace the engine earth strap. They corrode over time leading to high resistance which can result in all sorts of electrical gremlins. It's a fairly common issue.

 

[Scout]

I was told by the recovery guy is was probably dodgy fuel, but the more I look into it it seems to be looking like a throttle body issue.

I was clearing out the rain water scuttle yesterday (which was blocked partly by debris) when I tested it with a can of water , it flowed out of the middle, where the seal is and all over the front of the engine.