Hello! Well then, this is a new one on me. I did a Oil Change today, checked and cleaned all spark plugs, fixed a leak in the washer bottle and wiped the muck off the top of the Throtle Body butterfly. Now after re starting the car I have the dreaded CEL lit.

What could have caused this? I used exactly the same oil I had in before, all the plugs are the same but clean and I didnb't do a deep clean of the TB so am unsure. I took the car around the block, and itr drives fine, but the light is lit. Could I have split a pipe somewhere or something?

I have tried a Hard Reset and Battery Disconnection but without results.

I need the car to be in a driveable state as I live 18 Miles from where I work and have no other way of getting there. Thanks Guys for your help-Stu.

 

Disconnecting the battery does not reset OBDII codes. Need to get the code readout from a local auto parts store. That will tell you what you broke.

 

OK-Forget what I have said! I got in the car this morning and no CEL. I drove to work calmly and no CEL. On the way home I had a moment of "Trousers on Fire" driving and no CEL. I think I may have worked out what could've caused the CEL to appear:
1) Whilst I was inside and left the bonnet up we had a breif rain shower, perhaps some rain got into the TB or another part and has since dried out.
2) Our cat was spotted exploring the engine bay whilst I was again not there, perhaps he knocked a switch with his foot or something, and has since sorted itself.

Either way-Happy Days. I suppose I could say false alarm!

 

Stu-
May I suggest yhat next time, read the codes. It beats the he** out of guessing.

 

I accidentially left my hood open one night, (ONLY night it rained in Months), I got the CEL the next morning, and it lasted until I opened the Coil Pack covers and dried it all out. Then all was good. Just enough moisture got in there to cause a short on Cyl 8. My guess for you would have been moisture somewhere. Glad it sorted itself out.

BTW: I read my codes to find Cyl 8 Missfire, then followed the problem till I found it.

 

Whats a whilst?

 

whilst = while
It's a British term

 

Cadillac, you fell for that?? I work on these british cars all day, i know, oh wait, i know you where really explaining for the rest of the forum
smart one you are

 

After submitting my message I also thought you did a pun when you asked what was that lol
There was a tag somewhere on the engine bay it was like Do not touch the spark plugs whilst the engine is running .
That was my 1st meeting with that word lol

 

Now Stu, we ought to have a more detailed explanation of this one.

Is it a big cat, what colour, how old, etc etc? lol

Glad that the problem seems to have cured itself.

 

Big Ginger Cat, Slightly bigger than Paris Hilton's dog and is a 3 year old Male. His name is Buttons and belongs to my Mum. He likes to explore things, like when the builders laid new concrete for the extension and he Paw Printed it!

As far as code reading goes, its not really the done thing in Britain, as the reading equipment is quite specialist and expensive to have done. Most times we can trace faults the old way or "see how it develops" LOL

Oh and the Whilst issue! I had a similar problem trying to work out what a Dead pedal was when I was reading a Muscle car magazine once. 3 years later I finally got the answer!! LOL

Thanks for all your help fellas, it is always appriciated!!

 

Dead pedal? You talkin the footrest.....lol

 

So stu you ever figured what the CEL was? just curious.

 

6+ years ago....

 

Hahahaa...proper Queen's English mate ;o)=)

 

Hahahaaa.....glad you got it sorted ;o))
What you need to do is give it an 'Italian Tune-up'.....take it out to the motorway/freeway and drive it like you stole it.....that'll clean the crap out and truly dry out everything ;o))

 

I think it was touching the TB was your problem. If you wipe it, you move it. And the later electrically powered CC (not vaume) TB does not like to be touched by hand on the butterfly valve.

Remove the plug of it and then plug it back in again. Not kidding, that has worked wonders on some X308s I have serviced...

 

Well the car the question related to is long dead, but the engine lives on. This question is from my very early days with these cars, reading my own writing makes me cringe at the naiveity. The engine was breathed on later in its life and is currently in storage, perhaps it will make a comeback if I decide 3.2 doesn't cut the mustard.

 

Ah, just seen it... Wow, that is a dead dusty thread!