Tintop Trouble

[peter_m7uk]

My daily driver (2000 VW Polo 1.4) threw a wobbler tonight! I got in at 9pm and cranked it. Took a few seconds (instead of the usual instantaneous) to fire, then my dashboard was like a Christmas tree! I had an ABS warning, Check Engine light, Low Oil Pressure and the rev counter was sat at zero while the engine ran! Also, the engine was running rough and was in limp-home mode. Everything was fine up to that point - I passed an MOT last Thursday, drove 700 miles over the weekend, to work and back yesterday, no worries.

 

I tried keying off and re-starting it a few times, but always the same. I disconnected the battery for a few minutes to reset everything (worked in the past), but still no joy. So I got the train home!

 

So what do we reckon? As it seems like such a generalised fault, I thought maybe the battery? It's the original, nearly 10 years old now, but I would have thought cranking would be slow with a dying battery - It didn't sound too bad when I tried it, so you would have thought there'd be reasonable juice in there. Any advice on how long a battery should last? I suppose it is a bit cold and damp tonight, so would show up any problems. I reckon it must be that or the alternator.

 

Cheers,

Pete

[fry61]

Our Jeep had same simptons; battery was cranking engine but not enough voltage after starting so on-board computer said shut down. Cost a piggy-back ride to town & a new battery,good as gold afterwards.

[peter_m7uk]

Our Jeep had same simptons; battery was cranking engine but not enough voltage after starting so on-board computer said shut down. Cost a piggy-back ride to town & a new battery,good as gold afterwards.

 

Thanks for the reply, Bob. Unfortunately, I changed the battery, but still having issues. The fault code reader shows no signal from the engine speed sensor! Gonna have to get stuck in and have a look. Haynes manuals says "very difficult to access"

 

Pete

[Guest chris brown]

check your alternator I had very similar problem on a lexus a few weeks ago. Most warning lights and engine running between 1000 and 1500 RPM just like a pinto does when the air idle control valve plays up. That turned out to be a U/S alternator.

[peter_m7uk]

Forgot to mention, I still have an oil pressure warning lamp on! This is more worrying than the engine speed sensor, but I thought it would just go away if I changed the battery and sorted things out. I cleared all the fault codes I could, but the speed sensor one looks genuine and the oil pressure one can't be cleared. The engine has only done 86000 miles, there are no significant oil leaks and the level hasn't dropped. Also, the engine doesn't run smoky or sound bad, so I don't believe the oil pressure fault is genuine. How can I prove it one way or the other?

 

Pete