Fault Code & Other Weirdness - Advice Needed Please!

[2retro]

I've been having a few annoying issues with my car over the last week and since it's not yet sorted itself out I wanted to post on here to see if anyone could offer any insight and/advice on what exactly is going on and what the solution is.

I've read lots online already but that's only really muddied the waters rather than clarifying anything so hopefully a fellow RCZ owner can point me in the right direction. :thumbup:

OK, so the story begins...

RCZ 1.6 Sport / Petrol

Last week during the bad weather I had to drive home from work in the snow. It's not far but a pretty arduous task in those conditions so it took about an hour and there was lots of stopping and starting as I crawled home in gridlocked traffic on slippy roads.

When I eventually made it back the car inexplicably stalled as I was pulling onto my drive. It fired up again OK but there was a faint petrol smell in the cabin and a dreaded and totally vague engine warning light blinked up on the dash 'Engine Fault - Repair Needed'.

This was not a good sign...

So after a few tries at turning the engine off and on again it didn't go away so I went inside to warm up and decide what me next move should be.

However...

Came back outside an hour later and started the car again after it had cooled down. No 'Engine Fault - Repair Needed' warning, no nothing - started fine and ran fine. Checked diagnostic log on dash - no faults on it. OK! :thumbup:

I was relieved but I did think it was kinda weird so I bought a bluetooth ODB reader a few days later and connected it to the car to check the fault log on the ECU. It came up with 'Error P0172 - Powertrain System too Rich (Bank 1)'.

Did some more online research about this. Got more confused... :crazy:

Snow had gone by then so took it out to test and it drove absolutely perfectly. As good as ever, no loss of power, no nothing - a joy to drive.

But there was some black sooty deposits on the exhaust after and also some white smoke(?) that I could see through the rear view mirror. But the RCZ does make a lot of smoke or vapour when cold and has always had at least some black soot on exhaust after driving so that wasn't really anything out of the ordinary.

What is out of the ordinary is when I start it from cold now it automatically revs to 2000rpm for 1 or 2 seconds before dropping to it's standard tickover speed of 850rpm. And there's no wobble on 850rpm either - it's steady as a rock.

I got some RedEx as I thought that might help if something is clogged up in the fuel pump/injectors somewhere but after putting that in the tank the car is now in limp mode today!

I think (hope) limp mode will go away once the RedEx has circulated round the system as I had a similar issue previously when I had an airlock in the fuel pipe somewhere. I am planning to take the car out for a good blast at the weekend if possible to clear out it's pipes after months of cold starts and short journeys which will hopefully help.

So that's where I'm at. Congratulations if you made it this far! :dance:

Any help and assistance from the combined knowledge of the world's RCZ owners gratefully accepted - thanks! :thumbup:

 

[Nemi]

Few days ago i started my RCZ and got 'Engine Fault - Repair Needed' :thumbdown: I took it to the closest car service, they read error codes (don't remember exact codes now) and said something about unburnt fuel or something like that and cleared those codes :eusa-think: Proper diagnostic was not available at that time so i hope nothing serious with my engine. Maybe it is time to change ignition coils.

I am planning to take the car out for a good blast at the weekend if possible to clear out it's pipes after months of cold starts and short journeys which will hopefully help.

Same here :crazy: I mostly do short trips and keep my car outside in up to -20C degrees temperature. I feel bad for my car when i start it in the morning.

 

[DKZ5745]

From the symptoms, my first thought would have been a coil. I don’t know about the redex causing issues, I have added half a bottle to every fill up since I got the car & it does seem to thrive on it. In extreme cold weather, mine sometimes seems to rev a bit high on start up for a few seconds, then returns to normal. I assumed this was an auto choke type thing.

Hope it’s one of those things that just goes away by itself. :eusa-think:

 

[2retro]

I hope it goes away on it's own too...

I would have expected at least a constant engine warning light or something alerting to an issue though? :eusa-think:

 

[renegade79]

High pressure fuel pump??

 

[2retro]

High pressure fuel pump??

No idea. It's one possibility but, again, surely a warning light and screen alert should present if there was a problem with it?

 

[Sanity]

It could be a leak in a hose somewhere also.
I once got similar error code about fuel mixture and it was a hose that wasnt attached properly.
If you are lucky its nothing big

Anyway those Z's are getting older so from my own Peugeot experiences over that last 25 years faults will soon be more common present :lol:

 

[renegade79]

What’s your next move? Trip to the dealer...

 

[2retro]

What’s your next move? Trip to the dealer...

It's looking increasingly likely... :|

 

[Guppy]

Error P0172 - Powertrain System too Rich (Bank 1)

Does the above message state that the fault is intermitent on the OSD ?

As far as I'm aware, an intermitent fault dose not stay in the fault log, it is only present when the engine warning light is on, so the issue above may not be connected?

Have you tried connecting the reader when the engine warning light is on?

 

[Nemi]

What’s your next move? Trip to the dealer...

It's looking increasingly likely... :|

Today i got "check engine" error again so i'm definitely taking my RCZ to the dealer :thumbdown: The problem is that i'm about 150 km away from the closest dealer... I'm not sure if i can drive that distance in current condition :eusa-think: I haven't tried to drive my car yet but i feel slight vibrations when it is idling.

By the way, i just checked error code and it was

P0087 Fuel Rail/System Pressure - Too Low

 

[Guppy]

What’s your next move? Trip to the dealer...

It's looking increasingly likely... :|

Today i got "check engine" error again so i'm definitely taking my RCZ to the dealer :thumbdown: The problem is that i'm about 150 km away from the closest dealer... I'm not sure if i can drive that distance in current condition :eusa-think: I haven't tried to drive my car yet but i feel slight vibrations when it is idling.

By the way, i just checked error code and it was

P0087 Fuel Rail/System Pressure - Too Low

I have the same problem (code P0087).... best case senirio new fuel filter £30, worst case sinario new high pressure fuel pump £1400 fitting included.

 

[neilgsxr69]

You can buy a fuel pump for around £400 and it looks relatively easy to install so I would say you could easily half your £1400 :eusa-think:

 

[Guppy]

Without being drawn into a debate :thumbup:

If anyone needing a new HP fuel pump can obtain one for £400 and has the confidence to fit it themselves... then happy days!, however anyone preferring to have the work carried out and guaranteed by a Peugeot dealership can expect to pay just short of £1400 in the UK, hence… worst case scenario.

Fortunately, any such faults on my own car are covered by the dealers’ warrantee.

 

[neilgsxr69]

Without being drawn into a debate :thumbup:

If anyone needing a new HP fuel pump can obtain one for £400 and has the confidence to fit it themselves... then happy days!, however anyone preferring to have the work carried out and guaranteed by a Peugeot dealership can expect to pay just short of £1400 in the UK, hence… worst case scenario.

Fortunately, any such faults on my own car are covered by the dealers’ warrantee.

Depends which dealer you get your quote from just look at the difference in quotes from forum members on timing kit replacements.
And for fuel pumps
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2210360161

 

[2retro]

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions or advice. Here is an update:

I took the car out for a run today and it stayed in limp mode for about 30 minutes but after that (and with no warning or indication whatsoever) power was miraculously restored and it was business as usual. The car acted, sounded and drove as good as ever - as if there was never a problem in fact! :dance:

So I gave it a good boot down some A roads to clear out the cobwebs before returning home. :auto-car:

Checked exhaust and only minimal sooty deposits as usual. Hooked up the OBD reader and it came up with some more 'faults'. it had found (see below).

The thing is though, without the reader telling you these faults are there there's no way you would ever know. You could test drive the car for the first time and you would be like "I looks and drives perfectly! There's no engine light on or any faults on the ECU".

So I think I'll just see what happens now because as far as I know these 'faults' could have been there since I got the car! I wouldn't know as I only got the reader last week. :eusa-think:

I mean what is a 'pending' fault anyway? Either it is one or it isn't one, surely?

If anyone has a OBD reader and spare time maybe you could have a go and see if you get any weird 'faults' too? I would be interesting to see if it's just me...

Seems OK again now anyway so watch this space and I'll update if anything changes! :thumbup:

 

[Plecodoras]

Without being drawn into a debate :thumbup:

If anyone needing a new HP fuel pump can obtain one for £400 and has the confidence to fit it themselves... then happy days!, however anyone preferring to have the work carried out and guaranteed by a Peugeot dealership can expect to pay just short of £1400 in the UK, hence… worst case scenario.

Fortunately, any such faults on my own car are covered by the dealers’ warrantee.

Depends which dealer you get your quote from just look at the difference in quotes from forum members on timing kit replacements.
And for fuel pumps
https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 2210360161

That one is no good for the R series but is considerably cheaper than first thought. Good Find. :thumbup:

As for fitting, I remember braking down a long time back in a berlingo van, when the AA guy came out he said " gonna have to tow you back it's the fuel pump" me thinking that should be easy he told me that with todays modern high pressure pumps, if it's not fitted correctly the pump is that powerful the jet could go through your hand. Consequently they are not allowed to do a roadside repair on pumps.

So, I won't be touching mine if it goes wrong !

 

[Plecodoras]

Thanks to everyone who offered suggestions or advice. Here is an update:

I took the car out for a run today and it stayed in limp mode for about 30 minutes but after that (and with no warning or indication whatsoever) power was miraculously restored and it was business as usual. The car acted, sounded and drove as good as ever - as if there was never a problem in fact! :dance:

So I gave it a good boot down some A roads to clear out the cobwebs before returning home. :auto-car:

Checked exhaust and only minimal sooty deposits as usual. Hooked up the OBD reader and it came up with some more 'faults'. it had found (see below).

The thing is though, without the reader telling you these faults are there there's no way you would ever know. You could test drive the car for the first time and you would be like "I looks and drives perfectly! There's no engine light on or any faults on the ECU".

So I think I'll just see what happens now because as far as I know these 'faults' could have been there since I got the car! I wouldn't know as I only got the reader last week. :eusa-think:

I mean what is a 'pending' fault anyway? Either it is one or it isn't one, surely?

If anyone has a OBD reader and spare time maybe you could have a go and see if you get any weird 'faults' too? I would be interesting to see if it's just me...

Seems OK again now anyway so watch this space and I'll update if anything changes! :thumbup:

There's a few error codes there and at least one conflicts another - to lean - to rich.
It's strange I have a OBD LINK MX WIFI diagnostic reader, which I readily connected to my old GT and the 307cc's before it. But It didn't cross my mind to connect it to the R, now I'm wondering should I or shouldn't I cos all seems OK and if I see an error code that's it.
But I'm going to say good shout 2retro because my cars still under manufacturers warranty and if it's showing a fault then surely it's down to them to fix it isn't it?

 

[DKZ5745]

Hmm, I’m thinking maybe I need an OBD Reader now while mine is covered under the extended warranty.

Btw that hp pump on eBay says it isn’t compatible with mine either, so that’s 2 of the 4 variants it’s not compatible with :eusa-think:

 

[tianorth]

Re: Fault Code & Other Weirdness - Advice Needed Please!

It sounds to me like the RCZ doesn't like slow speeds as it starts to get clogged up.

Initially you said you were in gridlock moving slowly etc then when you got to your drive, asking for extra fuel, with things getting clogged, it just stalled.

Didn't read all of the above but it went into limp mode to save putting extra fuel in, not to be completely burnt off, but the fueling it did receive burnt off and possibly unclogged the system restoring normal power levels.

Hope this sounds logical.

As these cars are run by computers they only understand yes or no.
Not the I'm going to be running at higher speeds to unclog quicker I know what I'm doing!
What the car sees is the driver is an idiot and I the computer knows better.

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