We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum. This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

Engine management light

Hi,

The engine light on my peugeot 206 has been on pretty much constantly for the past 3 months. I've not had it checked out before now because of a lack of funds and the car didn't have any other problems (I've heard of people experiencing a juddering and loss of power when the light comes on - but I've had none of that). Over the past three months, the light has probably been off for about 2 minutes in total; a couple of times when I've started the engine, it hasn't been on, only for it to come back on as I've driven off down the road.

Anyway, I decided to get it looked at yesterday, and the light switched itself off. The mechanic drove it round for a bit to see if it would come on, and nothing. I picked the car up after work, drove it home (expecting it to come on about 30 seconds after driving off, as it normally does), and it stayed off all the way home. I'm guessing he couldn't read any fault codes with the light switched off, so the whole thing is still a mystery.

The light used to come on a lot less frequently than this; it started about 8 months ago, and it would come on very rarely and go off pretty much every time I turned the engine off and left it for a few hours. It's only in the past three months that it's been on 99% of the time. Do these things give any clues as to what the problem might be? That it used to be off most of the time, and now it's on most of the time? That the car drives perfectly fine otherwise? That it switches itself off for seemingly no reason? The main thing I'm worried about is that the MOT is due at the end of March and I've heard conflicting tales of whether the light alone causes a fail.

Any advice much appreciated.

Comments

  • If the light was on there will be a code stored in the ECU. there are hundreds of reasons for the light to come on so any speculation as to what caused it is futile. Get the code read.
  • ohreally
    ohreally Posts: 7,525 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    The main thing I'm worried about is that the MOT is due at the end of March and I've heard conflicting tales of whether the light alone causes a fail.


    Not for this lamp - air bags, abs, tyre pressure warning and stability control would attract a fail.
    Don’t be a can’t, be a can.
  • chrisw
    chrisw Posts: 3,648 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Any hole in the exhaust or exhaust leak? That was the cause on our 206.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 347.2K Banking & Borrowing
  • 251.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 451.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 239.5K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 615.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 175.1K Life & Family
  • 252.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16K Discuss & Feedback
  • 15.1K Coronavirus Support Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.