P38A Elastic Trickery problems.

Hello Folks and greetings to all my neglected chums.

'Tis said you only hear from people when they want something. Well.................er yes.

So after About 18 months of silence, I return to the fold and offer my cringing apologies to all.

I hang my head for having been out of touch, but I am now on the point of hanging the rest of me. The P38 has strangely been behaving itself. Until today. Got it out of the motor house this afternoon. Engine racing a bit, but I was not too concerned as it has often done that in the past, but usually clears after a bit.

Then I switched off, only to find that most of the warning lights were still on, along with all sorts of warning messages appearing faintly in the window. The baclighting was never great.

Disconnected battery and of course every light went out. Left it for about 5 mins, re-connected battery and switched on. The normal array of pretty lights appeared. Started the engine and all of the warning lights reappeared, along with various messages, including "Electrical Fault". Whatever the electrical fault is, as far as I can tell, everything electrical does actually work, window, lights, starter, etc;

So, to put it as succinctly as possible, HELP ! All ideas or suggestions will be greatfully received.

I am sure you will continue to the problem for us to help.

J

marjon said:

I am sure you will continue to the problem for us to help.

J

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Yup, sorry about that !

The obvious first place to start with is, a fully charged good battery.
Then move on to any dampness around
J

They don't like it up 'em, Pike! ... The danp, that is. I'd try leaving it running for a bit with the heater on full and the windows open a crack.

Thank you both. I will certainly try what you have suggested and report

Wet carpets and /or underlay in the right hand side footwell causing condensation in the BECM is one possibility.

Datatek said:

Wet carpets and /or underlay in the right hand side footwell causing condensation in the BECM is one possibility.

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Thank you for the additional possibility. I will have a better look in daylight tomorrow. I have never tinkered with the BECM - is it sufficiently sealed to avoid damp getting inside it ? If Not I suppose I should expect the worst.

I should have l mentioned that the car is kept in a dry but ventilated garage.

Pression de Gonflage said:

Thank you for the additional possibility. I will have a better look in daylight tomorrow. I have never tinkered with the BECM - is it sufficiently sealed to avoid damp getting inside it ? If Not I suppose I should expect the worst.

I should have l mentioned that the car is kept in a dry but ventilated garage.

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The BECM is not sealed and does suffer with damp problems. Being inside does not stop leaking heater O rings causing wet carpet and BECM problems. If it has got damp inside, taking the lid off and drying it in a warm airing cupboard plus cleaning off any corrosion will revive it. The BECM is actually quite robust, the failures that do occur are often caused by external problems. It also gets blamed for many problems for which it is not responsible such as the fairly common fuse box failures.

A VERY GOOD MORNING TO ALL and particular thanks to Marjon, Grrrrr and Datatek.

Sorry for raising my voice, but it seemed appropriate because the problem seems to have gone away.

I did not do anything much last night but, I left the car outside overnight. The weather here is dry but very windy at present and if damp was the cause then I would like to think that the wind may have helped. I could not find any damp in the footwells or around the BECM, but who's to say that there was not some damp somewhere else ?

The car has not had a lot of use over recent weeks and no serious hard work, so it is being taken out for a gallop today. This often seems to clear the cobwebs, mine and the car's. This may clear the next ailment, that of over-fast idling (1200 to 1600) when it first wakes up. "I'll be back. Hasta la vista, Baby"

Good news, and with the lack of use it could be down to a low battery. Either way enjoy it cos

Pression de Gonflage said:

"It will be back. Hasta la vista, Baby"

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.

J

Good news. Make sure you have the aircon on (if fitted) as this will dry out the interior. In fact the aircon should always be on to protect the electronics from damp.
Lack of use is often a cause of problems.

Datatek said:

Good news. Make sure you have the aircon on (if fitted) as this will dry out the interior. In fact the aircon should always be on to protect the electronics from damp.
Lack of use is often a cause of problems.

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Good point.

Although I learned long ago about keeping the a/c always on, as it keeps it's "tubes" in good order and helps prevent windows misting up condensation in the winter, I had not considered the effect of condensation in hidden and important little places.

Thank you for that.

The aircon cuts off at outside temperatures below 4or 5 degrees,,id check earth points and alternator output ,because engines sometimes rev ..idle slightly higher when theres no alternator load on it ,and as wee all know low power causes all manner of faults when theres nout wrong

Thank you for the further contribution. I was not aware of the cut off point.. I will certainly look at earth points and the alternator output. The idle is more than slightly high - even up to about 1600 on occasions..

dubbleRR said:

The aircon cuts off at outside temperatures below 4or 5 degrees,,id check earth points and alternator output ,because engines sometimes rev ..idle slightly higher when theres no alternator load on it ,and as wee all know low power causes all manner of faults when theres nout wrong

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That's what the book states about the aircon, but once the engine has warmed up it seems to work at temperatures below 5C

Datatek said:

That's what the book states about the aircon, but once the engine has warmed up it seems to work at temperatures below 5C

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...but what is a mere book, compared to the multiple mega-processors (i. e. members) that make up the hypercomputer known as Landyzone ?

Diesel-powered or petrol? Check the battery voltage.

Probably best to sort the idle speed first. Could be a variety of things, but check the usual suspects like:

• IACV
• Clean Throttle Body
• Fix any air leaks (check inlet pipes, and LPG pipes between injectors & manifold.)

Might also be worth cleaning all the Engine ECU contacts, plus all the sensor & injector connectors.