intermittent EM light

Good morning all,
I'm having a bit of trouble with the Freelander- the engine management light came on Saturday whilst on the M6. I was doing about 75 and it struggled to maintain speed, and eventually sat at about 55-60 mph. I pulled off at the next junction and was at lights, and it wasn't happy- very bumpy in neutral. After about half an hour, the EM light went off and it drove fine for the rest of the day.
It came on again on Sunday, with similar symptoms. I haven't driven it since, but when I turn the ignition it struggles to turn over, and when it does it's very 'bumpy'.
With the EM light going on/ off and driving fine in between, I'm thinking electrical? I've plugged it in to a code reader (albeit a cheap one from eBay) and it's not reading any codes. Very interested in LR's and want to learn how to fix them myself, any advice to isolate the problem would be greatly appreciated.

how many miles on the clock now ??
( your profile sais 55 td4 )
has the fuel filter been changed ever ?
and the low pressure fuel pump .. has that been changed ever ?

is the fuel rail pressor sensor plug / socket pins a good tight fit ..
and are the connectors free of dirt and corrosion ??
( rain water ingress to that point is common ..
( use 'contralube' on the connection to keep it free of corrosion

turbo vacuum solenoid filter .. is it clean ?
is it changed yearly ?
is the turbo solenoid working as it should ?
( it's the solenoid that routes vacuum to the turbo vanes operating mechanism ..

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TD4 specific :

rover ron's tuning website :
http://tuning-diesels.com

td4 engine faults :
http://tuning-diesels.com/75Zt/R75faults.htm

about the 'maf' sensor :
http://tuning-diesels.com/75Zt/R75maf.htm

freelander td4 mpg :
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/mpg-my-td4-results-181789.html

about the td4 engine ( bmw m47r ) :
http://www.rover-club.net/graphics/manuals/16/m47r_diesel.pdf
( does not include info. re. the variable vane type turbo
( and there might be a fee to download the pdf these day .. it used to be a freebee

regarding the Air Intake Temperature sensor :
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/black-smoke-224520.html


about common rail fuel systems ( as on the 'td4' m47r engine ) :
http://www.yildiz.edu.tr/~oisin/Dersler/Dersnotlari/0653611/dinjection.pdf

Good morning,
Thank you for the advice.

There's about 112k on the clock- bought from the auctions a few months ago without any documentation, so not too sure about history.
I've already checked the plug- got a toothbrush in both ends and gave them a scrub..

Not too sure if anything has been changed- should I just start with the simplest/ cheapest and work my way through, or is there one that's more likely to go than others?

When I rev in neutral it's quite slow to reach high revs, but when it drops back to idling the EM light goes off, until It hits idling then flicks back on..

Thank you for your help.

Jon.

Intermittent faults are a nightmare. Code readers will only pick up a fault when the fault is occuring. A cheap code reader will only read basic codes. Code readers only find certain faults, not all.
Is this linked to weather ? as said, it could be water ingress.
Maybe disconnect maf sensor to see how it runs.
This could be the reason FL was sold at auction

That's what I initially thought- I'd bought a duff- but I've put a couple of thousand miles on it without issue, and when I bought it, the IC hoses were split (making it seem like it really was on its last legs but turned out to be a fairly simple job) and rear tailgate window wasn't working- again, not too difficult of a job.
Hopefully this one will be the same?!

Nothing linked to weather as far as I'm aware, fairly overcast all the time in Manchester but we've been lucky and not had much rain!

Will disconnect MAF sensor when I get in- what would this suggest if it did/ didn't run okay with it disconnected?

Jon21990 said:

That's what I initially thought- I'd bought a duff- but I've put a couple of thousand miles on it without issue, and when I bought it, the IC hoses were split (making it seem like it really was on its last legs but turned out to be a fairly simple job) and rear tailgate window wasn't working- again, not too difficult of a job.
Hopefully this one will be the same?!

Nothing linked to weather as far as I'm aware, fairly overcast all the time in Manchester but we've been lucky and not had much rain!

Will disconnect MAF sensor when I get in- what would this suggest if it did/ didn't run okay with it disconnected?

Click to expand...

Fuel pump. My hippo did the exact same thing at 100k after it had been bought from a dealer.

Worth getting a full service/fuel filter at the same time too.

Want to check all blockable pipes and the fuel pump and clean or replace em all.

There's about 112k on the clock-

Click to expand...

low pressure fuel pump has often had it's day by 100k
( it's an electric 12v pump .. the motor's brushes usually wear out
( it's not repairable .. best replaced with same as original bosch
( cheaper pumps usually wear out faster

fuel filter .. if it's not been changed by now .. it's way beyond it's change-by-date

those 'tuning-diesels' links posted above will have some mileage reports
regarding various items ..
if crap fuel has been used all the time .. injector(s) could be ready to fail by now

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some links ..

( the following are not LR specific )

re: turbochargers ..

turbochargers .. oil circulation / crankcase breathers / air filters ..
http://www.approvedturbo.com/articles/ATC-Oil-Leak-Troubleshooting.pdf

Turbocharger Maintenance 101

why idling-down a turbo is important :
Why you must practice the "Idling Rule" with Turbo-Charged Cars - Team-BHP

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A poor quality filter could be a hidden enemy in your engine | Diesel Injectors UK

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about:

injector internals
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-ZC1FaNDh0&list=PLDBD6F6115A398C07

How Bosch Piezoelectric Diesel Injector Works
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftchx1TDNJo&list=SPB3A65A2FFF22770A

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one additive that combats water-in-diesel ( and diesel bug ) be 'diesel rhino' :

Diesel Rhino

http://www.dieselrhino.co.uk/DR_Prod_Desc.pdf

http://www.dieselrhino.co.uk/Diesel_Rhino_CHIP.pdf

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about: 'diesel bug' ( bacteria )

info ..
The Diesel Bug

re. diesel bug .. be the slime/jelly-like substance in this sedimenter ..
http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1881953-post2.html

diesel bug and injectors ..
http://www.uniteddiesel.co.uk/tips_docs/Problems with fuel.pdf

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' Extralube ZX1 Micro Oil Metal Treatment is a friction eliminator '

What is Extralube ZX1

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' Contralube770 was originally designed for the automotive industry.
The auto industry are constantly battling with vibration corrosion and water ingress problems in their connectors/circuitry.

http://contralube.com/vehicle-electrics/

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btw: if you've the standard egr valve fitted .. could be worth checking it's working properly
.. am not sure of a faulty/sticking egr valve symptoms ..
best to remove it anyway and install an egr-delete unit ..