Rosssco Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Just driving back from lunch there, and noticed the orange engine light has come on Now I’m just back from a trip covering 400 miles over 3 days, and the car never missed a beat. However, what under the car might cause this light to come on if damaged? I drove into and reversed out of a steep drive way, and I definitely gave something/s on the underside a good scrape (going by the scores on the tarmac afterwards!!) I guess I need to get it into a garage and have a look at the underside to see if I have damaged anything… Other than that, any other common problems that may cause this, and anything I can check myself? The car is a 53-reg, UK GT, 57k miles… Many Thanks!! Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jerry3167 Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Common faults include 02 sensors, air leaks in plenum, MAF sensor failure, you need to look under the car to see if any damage to exhaust area. Zmanalex will be along.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 I had a problem when I changed ECUs, if its a steady light you are ok, that means there is a problem, if its flashing then dont drive it. Sounds like you may have damaged the exhaust or the cats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris`I Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Possibly something to do with the O2 sensors on the cats? When you scraped, it will have been the Y-pipe which is connected to the cats, could have dislodged the sensors or wiring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Thanks fro the replies Its a steady engine light yeah, and I haven't noticed any ill effects (as yet) and no loss of performance (although of course I went into 'Nun mode' as soon as I saw the light) or strange noises... I was thinking it might be exhaust related, possibly a Lambda sensor or such like... Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Common faults include 02 sensors, air leaks in plenum, MAF sensor failure, you need to look under the car to see if any damage to exhaust area.Zmanalex will be along.. Common???? Now now Jerry!!! Non of the above are common, they only happen really when you mod the car and are not common on an unmodded car!! Dont want to scare new or prospective owners!! OP, o2 Sensor may be where the problem is due to the clank and you have dislodged one of the sensors... Have you got hiflow cats? Also blinking light dosnt always mean a problem, its a warning, solid light is worse adnd shouldnt be driven... Where in the UK are you? If may be that someone in your area has an ODB reader and can pull up a code. There is a way to get the engine light to blink at you to tell you what the code is but that is a real pain in the hole to get it too read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Common faults include 02 sensors, air leaks in plenum, MAF sensor failure, you need to look under the car to see if any damage to exhaust area.Zmanalex will be along.. Common???? Now now Jerry!!! Non of the above are common, they only happen really when you mod the car and are not common on an unmodded car!! Dont want to scare new or prospective owners!! OP, o2 Sensor may be where the problem is due to the clank and you have dislodged one of the sensors... Have you got hiflow cats? Also blinking light dosnt always mean a problem, its a warning, solid light is worse adnd shouldnt be driven... Where in the UK are you? If may be that someone in your area has an ODB reader and can pull up a code. There is a way to get the engine light to blink at you to tell you what the code is but that is a real pain in the hole to get it too read! Thanks for the info. Slightly confused now as to whether its safe to drive or not with a steady engine light. I only go a few miles to / from work, and don't have any high speed sections, so think I'll just take it easy until I have something conclusive... My car is completely standard engine-wise, so it can't be modification related. I'm in the center of Aberdeen, so maybe someone local may have a code reader... I know with some cars you can bridge 2 of the pins in the diagnostic port, and it will flash an error code. Unsure if the Z has the same function. I'll book it into a garage in anycase to find out.. Thanks, Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Yeh CEL's can be an issue unless you know the problem!! Mine only came up due to my cats but I knew that was it... If there had have been another problem I wouldnt have known I guess!! You can try and get under the car and see if the O2 sensors have been knocked. They are roughly under the gear stick and on the sides of the cats, they look like spark plugs with a cable sticking out... They do sit quite high so are pretty hard to hit but it has been known esp if you knocked your cats! There is a way of pumping the accelerator pedal with the engine off to give you a code that is made up of blinking lights... (dont know why they used lights when there are 2 little LCD screens that could give you a 4 number code!! Guess it keeps the dealers in diagnostic fees!!) There is a how too somewhere on here about how to get the code and also a list of what the codes mean. If you try and earch for "error codes" that may throw up something... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Common faults include 02 sensors, air leaks in plenum, MAF sensor failure, you need to look under the car to see if any damage to exhaust area.Zmanalex will be along.. Common???? Now now Jerry!!! Non of the above are common, they only happen really when you mod the car and are not common on an unmodded car!! Dont want to scare new or prospective owners!! OP, o2 Sensor may be where the problem is due to the clank and you have dislodged one of the sensors... Have you got hiflow cats? Also blinking light dosnt always mean a problem, its a warning, solid light is worse adnd shouldnt be driven... Where in the UK are you? If may be that someone in your area has an ODB reader and can pull up a code. There is a way to get the engine light to blink at you to tell you what the code is but that is a real pain in the hole to get it too read! i always thought it was the other way round, light comes on = warning if it turns to flashing = pull the heck over and stop. i know you know these cars really well so have i had it the wrong way round, its just all the times i hear of a light coming on its been for minimal issues, never really heard of the light flashing at anyone, which is kinda why i thought it was that way round Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Just driving back from lunch there, and noticed the orange engine light has come on Now I’m just back from a trip covering 400 miles over 3 days, and the car never missed a beat. However, what under the car might cause this light to come on if damaged? I drove into and reversed out of a steep drive way, and I definitely gave something/s on the underside a good scrape (going by the scores on the tarmac afterwards!!) I guess I need to get it into a garage and have a look at the underside to see if I have damaged anything… Other than that, any other common problems that may cause this, and anything I can check myself? The car is a 53-reg, UK GT, 57k miles… Many Thanks!! Ross Ross, Best to get the car on a ramp and have a look at what bottomed out. The o2 sensors which screw into the cats are recessed and fairly high up so I doubt if you will have damaged them. The o2 sensor has a 12" cable attached which plugs into a block connector under the gearbox. This is where I would be looking. If there is nothing obvious, I would still unplug them and check and clean the connections. Failing that, you would be best dropping into Nissan and ask them to check for any current and archived fault codes on your car. Once you have a note of the codes ask the technician to delete all codes and to reset the ECU. Your light will now be out. Post the codes up here and lets have a look at them. If the engine check light has been thrown because of a cat issue then I have a cheap fix for you. Cheers, Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Alex, Thanks for the advice. I put the car into a garage this morning (A.W Autotech in Aberdeen) to check out. The guy said they can sometimes read fault codes from Nissans, but would try and let me know. I also advised him to look under the car for any obvious damage. Will report back. Regarding the CEL light illunination, according to the manual, constantly on advises that there is a fault which should be diagnosed, but advises no restrictions on driving. A flashing light advises you to limit speed to 43mph, and avoid excessive engine loading etc. otherwiese damage could occur. and obviously get it checked out. Note that neither fault condition advises you not to drive the car... Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Thanks for that Ross, I thought that was right but the car isnt here at the moment so I couldnt check the handbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Alex, Thanks for the advice. I put the car into a garage this morning (A.W Autotech in Aberdeen) to check out. The guy said they can sometimes read fault codes from Nissans, but would try and let me know. I also advised him to look under the car for any obvious damage. Will report back. Regarding the CEL light illunination, according to the manual, constantly on advises that there is a fault which should be diagnosed, but advises no restrictions on driving. A flashing light advises you to limit speed to 43mph, and avoid excessive engine loading etc. otherwiese damage could occur. and obviously get it checked out. Note that neither fault condition advises you not to drive the car... Ross My bad! Didnt have the book to check, thanks for posting up Rosssco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Heard back from the garage there. They were able to fully access the fault codes and identified the N/S front O2 sensor as not working correctly. Also advised that the O/S front is looking dodgy and should be replaced... He did say he has put in a fuel cleaner, and the light has gone off (self-cleaning apparently..???), but advised that it may come back on if the sensor is truly capute! So not a drastic problem, but can anybody advise where is best to purchase a replacement sensor or any other solutions..? Thanks Again, Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Heard back from the garage there. They were able to fully access the fault codes and identified the N/S front O2 sensor as not working correctly. Also advised that the O/S front is looking dodgy and should be replaced... He did say he has put in a fuel cleaner, and the light has gone off (self-cleaning apparently..???), but advised that it may come back on if the sensor is truly capute! So not a drastic problem, but can anybody advise where is best to purchase a replacement sensor or any other solutions..? Thanks Again, Ross Is it the front sensors on the manifolds or the rear sensors after the cats ? If it is the rear sensors then you will not require to replace the sensors as I have a cheap fix for that as I posted previously. What were the fault codes ? Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Heard back from the garage there. They were able to fully access the fault codes and identified the N/S front O2 sensor as not working correctly. Also advised that the O/S front is looking dodgy and should be replaced... He did say he has put in a fuel cleaner, and the light has gone off (self-cleaning apparently..???), but advised that it may come back on if the sensor is truly capute! So not a drastic problem, but can anybody advise where is best to purchase a replacement sensor or any other solutions..? Thanks Again, Ross Is it the front sensors on the manifolds or the rear sensors after the cats ? If it is the rear sensors then you will not require to replace the sensors as I have a cheap fix for that as I posted previously. What were the fault codes ? Alex. Alex, I was told it was the front sensors, so maybe not so cheap a fix... It appears that it wasn't damage caused by bottoming out, but general wear and tear... (maybe scraping the underside of the car pushed it over the edge!) I haven't picked the car up yet, possibly this afternoon, but I'll definately post up fault codes if I can get them... Thanks again for your advice. Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Heard back from the garage there. They were able to fully access the fault codes and identified the N/S front O2 sensor as not working correctly. Also advised that the O/S front is looking dodgy and should be replaced... He did say he has put in a fuel cleaner, and the light has gone off (self-cleaning apparently..???), but advised that it may come back on if the sensor is truly capute! So not a drastic problem, but can anybody advise where is best to purchase a replacement sensor or any other solutions..? Thanks Again, Ross Is it the front sensors on the manifolds or the rear sensors after the cats ? If it is the rear sensors then you will not require to replace the sensors as I have a cheap fix for that as I posted previously. What were the fault codes ? Alex. Alex, I was told it was the front sensors, so maybe not so cheap a fix... It appears that it wasn't damage caused by bottoming out, but general wear and tear... (maybe scraping the underside of the car pushed it over the edge!) I haven't picked the car up yet, possibly this afternoon, but I'll definately post up fault codes if I can get them... Thanks again for your advice. Ross I doubt very much if the front sensors are faulty but if they are then I do have spares if you need them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosssco Posted June 17, 2009 Author Share Posted June 17, 2009 Right, so they basically checked over the connection etc. (unknown if they took out the sensors themselves and checked, don't think so), reset the ECU, clearing any fault codes, and added fuel cleaner. Engine light is now off, and the car seems to be driving as it should, although it was anyway. Fault code is P1167 Thanks, Ross Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 P0167 O2 Sensor Heater Circuit Malfunction (Bank 2 Sensor 3) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 P1167 Heated O2 Sensor 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 P1167 Heated O2 Sensor 2 Oops, my turn Mark, new glasses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3FIDDYZ Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 P1167 Heated O2 Sensor 2 Oops, my turn Mark, new glasses Lol..... I did notice you had just been spending money at the opticians!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinmac Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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