Engine Malfunction (Amber)

Hi everyone. I’m aware there have been a lot of threads concerning the Engine Malfunction (Amber) light on the dashboards display, and having read through many I made a list of what to check, especially as I recently suffered the same problem.

The preceding circumstances were… I was towing a caravan so the accelerator pedal was down more often than it’s used to, which meant fuel consumption was greater in consequence and the engine was driven harder than it has ever been.

Suddenly, there was a loss of power; the warning light was on with black smoke pouring from the exhaust. I was able to tell this as it was highlighted by my white caravan behind.

I also noticed the event was accompanied by a ‘shooshing’ kind of sound, almost like an air-hose was blowing its head off. The sound faded as each time the light went out. I realised there was a connection. And even though I stopped to checkout everything under the bonnet, I found nothing amiss.

Once arriving home, I worked on the prewritten list of checks. I did the easiest to do first, and would you Adam-&-Eve it… there was a split in the Intercooler Elbow hose. It was as simple as that. A new hose and it should, hopefully, be good to go. I’ll bind the split hose with a good tape to keep it going until a new hose arrives. I hope this might be of some use to others.

PopRivet said:

Hi everyone. I’m aware there have been a lot of threads concerning the Engine Malfunction (Amber) light on the dashboards display, and having read through many I made a list of what to check, especially as I recently suffered the same problem.

The preceding circumstances were… I was towing a caravan so the accelerator pedal was down more often than it’s used to, which meant fuel consumption was greater in consequence and the engine was driven harder than it has ever been.

Suddenly, there was a loss of power; the warning light was on with black smoke pouring from the exhaust. I was able to tell this as it was highlighted by my white caravan behind.

I also noticed the event was accompanied by a ‘shooshing’ kind of sound, almost like an air-hose was blowing its head off. The sound faded as each time the light went out. I realised there was a connection. And even though I stopped to checkout everything under the bonnet, I found nothing amiss.

Once arriving home, I worked on the prewritten list of checks. I did the easiest to do first, and would you Adam-&-Eve it… there was a split in the Intercooler Elbow hose. It was as simple as that. A new hose and it should, hopefully, be good to go. I’ll bind the split hose with a good tape to keep it going until a new hose arrives. I hope this might be of some use to others.

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You could also post your check list

Black smoke with loss of power and the MIL is often the elbow hose. My current TD4 did it on the test drive. The seller dropped the price because of the fault. But I already knew what the cause was. It's quite a distinctive fault to have happen. The boost comes in, up to a level. Then as the split in the elbow opens up, the boost drops off, black smoke erupts from the exhaust and the MIL comes on. It's most commonly the elbow pipe too.

Nodge68 said:

Black smoke with loss of power and the MIL is often the elbow hose. My current TD4 did it on the test drive. The seller dropped the price because of the fault. But I already knew what the cause was. It's quite a distinctive fault to have happen. The boost comes in, up to a level. Then as the split in the elbow opens up, the boost drops off, black smoke erupts from the exhaust and the MIL comes on. It's most commonly the elbow pipe too.

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Must remember that if I ever test drive a TD4, take a Stanley blade with me

GrumpyGel said:

Must remember that if I ever test drive a TD4, take a Stanley blade with me

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By the time your L-series dies we'll all be flying about like the Jetsons

Check list.....
1. Check for air leaks, whether by flange, loose clips or a split hose.
2. Check for Fault Code using Diagnostic Software, if possible. If yes, the rest of the checks may not be required.
3. Check the fuel supply, ie. Fuel Filter, fuel pipes or fuel pump (in that order). It seems there are two pumps and some say if a pump fails it is easy to recognise by other failures, so that part could be ruled out as a last resort.
4. Check the movement of the Boost Control Mechanism.
5. Check the movement of the Turbo vanes while observing for oil leakage at the seals.
If I've missed anything out it's because I'm still learning the mechanics of this beast and I bow to experience.

In addition to the above, a common question that seems to arise whenever any kind of a fault happens, is what is the vehicle's mileage & has it been serviced.
This, in many cases, has an answer that the object in question has never been touched. The fuel filter is typical, it seems.
Since buying my Freelander I have taken nothing for granted and have constnatly monitored its performance while also replacing items that may never have been previously disturbed, when they should have been.
Air & oil filters... , in fact anything the man-in-the-street would never think about checking following a 'supposed' service.

I'm off to the UK soon, with a whole host of parts waiting to bring back to Spain with me. Including everything needed to refurbish my VCU with loads of other bits.
What customs might make of it I wait with baited breath.
There was a time while in the RAF, driving an Alfa Romeo, I returned from Sicily with a whole host of stuff, including a carburator, front-nearside wing, engineering-vice, plugs, leads and a whole lot more. My bag weighed a tonne! They were as cheap-as-chips over there. The customs guy fell about laughing as he'd never seen anything like it, telling me to simply go through with tears of laughter in his eyes. My crew had taken bets on what might happen. Crazy days - but good-uns.