Engine diagnostic/management warning light

pineapple

Hi the amber engine warning light came on (2004 Peugeot 206) and started beeping a mile down the road this morning. I took a chance and carried on to my destination 4 miles away. Was parked up a few minutes. On my return - no warning light. Both there and back the car was driving perfectly well.
Could it be that the car was simply damp at first after being parked up in atrocious conditions? Or is it about to blow up? :eek:
Assuming there is no more flashing, would a garage check reveal anything?
Cheers.

Browntoa

could have been damp sensor on the bottom of the engine

dried out now so its not indicating

garage check will only read the ecu which probably will not indicate anything precise

colino

Your kidding right? A dash warning light came up, then backed by a sounder and you carried on driving?
Was this all uphill to work and then downhill home so that the remaining oil in the sump occasionally touched the sensor?
Hopefully it is just French electrics playing up, by I don't have a crystal ball to tell me to ignore two warnings coming from my car.

pineapple

colino wrote: »

Was this all uphill to work and then downhill home so that the remaining oil in the sump occasionally touched the sensor?

It was mainly downhill on the outward journey and uphill on the return. I was dithering about what to do to be honest. I needed to pick up some urgent meds for the dog and to get to the village garage I would have had to travel as long in the opposite direction. If it had continued on the way back I would have parked up and called them.
I don't know if it helped but just in case it was simply cold and damp, on the way back I turned off the warm air in the car.
When I got back I googled it and it seems to be a precautionary rather than a 'stop now' warning??

FishHookPockets

Check all your fluid levels as lights tend to come on when damage is already being done.
If you have a smart phone and are technically minded look at the app 'Torque' and get the blue tooth on board diagnostics adapter to go with it from ebay. It cost me £10 and saves you money on newer cars as you can read off your own fault codes.

DigForVictory

I've a thingummy which plugs into a not quite but looks like SCART socket & tells me why the light is on. Saved me several grey hairs if not actual wad at the garage, but less girlie tax!
Gizmo like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BV-Jo-D900-Diagnostic-Scanner/dp/B005Z77B1O
(but mines's not as prettily packaged.)

Tucker

If the light has been on, the fault code will be stored in the ECU.

Only by reading the code will you learn what the issue was and it's wise to as it may come back.

Generally if the light comes on and stays solid it's picking up a fault and wise to have it looked at asap. If it comes on and is flashing it's an urgent warning. The car will probably go into limp mode to protect it from serious damage and it's wise to not drive it until you know what the issue is.

Iceweasel

DigForVictory wrote: »

I've a thingummy which plugs into a not quite but looks like SCART socket & tells me why the light is on. Saved me several grey hairs if not actual wad at the garage, but less girlie tax!
Gizmo like this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BV-Jo-D900-Diagnostic-Scanner/dp/B005Z77B1O
(but mines's not as prettily packaged.)

It's called a Code Reader which plugs into the OBD port.

On-Board-Diagnostics.

Not expensive and could save you a fortune.

Plenty on eBay (other suppliers are available)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p3984.m570.l1311.R3.TR4.TRC1.A0.XOBD+code+reader&_nkw=obd+2+code+reader&_sacat=0&_from=R40

Then you just look up what the code means:

http://www.troublecodes.net/OBD2/Pcodes/

Some garages charge £80 to do it for you.

But this is Money Saving Expert don't forget.

IMHO everyone should have one.
and a digital volt-meter.
and a tyre pressure gauge.

Rolandtheroadie

I bought something like this and use my phone to get the faults.


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Super-Mini-ELM327-v1-5-OBD2-OBDII-Bluetooth-Adapter-Auto-Scanner-Torque-Android-/261340019288?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item3cd9143a58


I'd think there should be a fault code stored, the above has worked for me and it's cheap as chips (assuming you've already got an android device I suppose).

pineapple

I phoned the village garage and they said it could have been some damp getting in affecting the sensor. They also advised to check everything was topped up.

scaredofdebt

On our Renault the warning light comes on yellow to indicate a possible problem, ie can drive but take it to a dealer to check soonish and it goes red to indicate DO NOT DRIVE!

Your manual should have more info.

In our case the problem was something to do with the tolerance of the bit that measures the exhaust gases, they fixed it for £100 odd by making it more tolerant but within a few miles the light came back on again.

We've now done 30k with the light still on 3 years later, last MOT recently passed with no issues.

Crap French electronics I reckon.