Any car mechanics out there? ............

northern_star

Apologies if this is in the wrong place (mod feel free to move). I am in a panic. I've just been out in my car and noticed an orange light on the dashboard - staying on when the engines running. My handbook is at home so I called to Charlie Browns and their guy gave me the sharp intake of breath routine (ohhhh dear, dear etc) and told me it's the 'engine management light' and "we don't do that sort of thing" (what sort of thing, pray?). He said not to drive off for 15 mins (panic setting in now) and to go straight home and check the handbook.

I have done and it says (quote)

'If it [the light] illuminates with the engine running, it indicates a malfunction. Have this checked by a Ford Dealer as soon as possible.'

How vague is that?

What kind of malfunction could it be? Can I drive the car (how else do I get it to the dealer)? Is it likely to be mind-blowingly expensive (panic is really setting in now!!!!!!).

As you can see, I know very little about cars .

As the service dept of the dealership isn't open today, neither are any of the local garges, I don't know where to turn for advice and I can see me working myself into a proper state over this by tomorrow.

BTW The car is a 02 plate Fiesta with 12000k on the clock.

lee634

There could be a number of things wrong with the car,
some only minor but the engine management system (computer) has picked up a fault and lights to tell you so,
Unfortunatley there is no way of knowing, the best bet would be to take to a ford Garage ASAP they will plug in their computer into your system and see whats what ,

Best bet don't drive it and speak to the garage in the morning

jobbingmusician

No need to feel inadequate for not knowing what's wrong.

All this light tells you is that there's a fault in the computer! - the garage are the only people who can diagnose the fault (and then it will be their computer which does this, not a human)

We'll all keep our fingers crossed that it's something nice and cheap!

Nile

Hello northern_star

I'll move this thread over to the 'Motoring & Public Transport' board, where it should get more views and responses.

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]!!!!!![/EMAIL].

Regards

Nile

Quinny_2

'Don't panic Mr.Manwaring.'

You can still drive the car,but what you will need to do,is get it to the dealer,or someone who uses similar diagnostic equipment,but charges you half the price.Look in your local yellow pages under auto electricians, (Or ask someone who knows one.) and ask them if they have the aforementioned equipment.Failing that,then you'll have no choice but to go to the Fraud motor company.

However,sometimes the cost is not that much different,and only you can decide.

It may be that the fault is something as simple as the seat belt pre-tensioner,or air bag warning system,but you can't find out until you have had the code read.

And then you can decide what to do.

Hope this helps.

Ken.

Quinny_2

Try the 5th question down the page.I think it may help you:

http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13489-2117680,00.html

Ken.

northern_star

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. I think I have a clearer picture now - can I run this past you all to see if my understanding is right?

a) The engine management light indicates that the cars computer has detected a problem, which could be any one of a number of things.

b) I need to ring Ford dealers and auto-electricians (ask if they have the correct equipment for reading Ford codes) and to get a quote for doing just that (identifying the fault).

Does anyone have an idea how much this 'diagnosis' usually costs? A ball park figure would be helpful.

ps What happened before onboard computers? did the thing just break down?

chrisw

It may even be a temporary 'blip' rather than a fault. I had a Peugeot which did it now and again, no fault was ever found. Eventually I just used to disconnect the battery for 10 mins to reset it and it was fine again for the next 6 months or so.

Quinny_2

On some cars,the only problem with disconnecting the battery,is,unless you have the code for the radio,you may end up with a problem.On some Peugeots,the radio beeps every few minutes if the correct code isn't inputted,which can be slightly annoying.Also,your not curing the fault,merely delaying the underlying cause.

NS.Before you ring Fraud,ring auto electricians first.Those that have the equipment to test your car,may well have it in their ad in the YP.

When I had my last Vauxhall,a Vectra diesel,it cost about £30+vat,to have the code read,by Vauxhall,then I was capable of doing the job myself,and saved a packet.This was about 2 years ago.Also bear in mind,that a dealer may say that the fault is ABC,and in fact it might be a case of just re-setting the ecu,and charging you for something that doesn't exist!!!!

My way of thinking would be to have an auto electrician look at it first,then if he finds something that can be done by him,ask what it will cost.Then armed with the fault code,ask Fraud what they will charge.

Do keep us posted.

Ken.

northern_star

Just an early morning update - I've rung 2 auto electricians (1 mobile, 1 garage) and the dealership I bought the car from. Their charges for the diagnostic are;

garage = £40 =VAT = £47

mobile = £50 inc VAT

Dealer = £65 +VAT = £76.50 (I think i'll take your lead here Qinny and call them Fraud from now on!)

I've opted for the mobile service as they can get to me today plus I don't have to use the car then until it's been diagnosed.

I am feeling somewhat anxious as I know very little about cars (other than how to drive them - and even that's questionable in some people's opinion...)
and you hear such scare stories about people being ripped off.

I'm so grateful for the advice you guys have offered and I plan to let them tell me what's wrong and quote me for the repair and then shop around again - unless it's something simple and cheap (I'm not that lucky) in which case i'll let them get on with it to save the hassle.

Wish me luck, i'll keep you updated.

Thanks again.

Quinny_2

Good news.

Let's hope the problem gets sorted,and you can then have anxious free motoring.

Ken.