Multispace long running misfire issue - please help!

[jonholling]

Hi there.

I have a Berlingo Multispace 1.6 Petrol 2009 plate, 45,500 miles.

Last December, I experienced what felt like a mis-fire. Whenever you revved the car above 2000revs in any gear, the car would start shaking and was struggling for power. I took the car to a Citroen Dealer but there was no fault showing on the Diagnostic computer so they sent me away.

It ran fine until May of this year when the mis-fire occured again and the orange Engine Management light came on. The car went into what I believe is called "limp mode" with hardly any power. Took it to another Citroen Dealer who said the computer was showing a misfire but they were unsure as to what was causing it. They cleared the error and I did another 600 miles with no major issues.

Then another misfire and engine management light. The same dealer had the vehicle for 2 days and put the error down to a spark plug, which they changed. The vehicle still has the same problem. So they then fitted a new ignition coil and this still has not fixed the problem.

At the moment the car runs fine until you attempt to go over 50mph - the moment you accelerate at this speed, it starts shaking and goes again.

Any ideas what the problem could be??? The Citroen dealer appear to be clueless and I'm losing my patience.

Many thanks for any possible suggestions in advance.

Jon.

[tucker]

I am not a mechanic, but I have a few experiences of mis-fires on mine. BUT mine have been caused by my LPG system. My problem was caused by the LPG injectors failing, so I guess there's a possibility of a petrol injector being faulty.

Do you have any idea what error codes were stored on the ECU when the engine light came on?

Coil pack and plugs are always a likely cause, but these appear to have been ruled out although I would hope they would replace all 4 plugs at the sametime and not just one.

Ideally the plugs should have been changed again with the introduction of the new coil pack, in my view.

You really need the codes to narrow it down to one or two likely causes. Have you got access to a code reader or know anyone who has a hand held one? Where are you based?

[jonholling]

Hi there.

Many Thanks for your reply and advice!

I don't know what the error codes were - all I was told was the only error showing was a mis-fire but they don't know what caused it. The only error that was shown was a spark plug which they changed. The coil pack didn't show up as faulty but they changed it anyway as it was the only other thing they thought it could be.

I don't have access to a code reader and the last time the engine management light came on was earlier today and they cleared it off to allow me to able to drive the car with 'full power' until it can go in again to be sorted.

Am I right in thinking that if it was an obvious part ie. a failing petrol injector then would the dealer not have spotted this on the 2 occasions they have had it in? The fact they seem clueless leads me to think it might be more than just 1 faulty part? I could be totally wrong, what are your thoughts?

The other thing - the error occurs when accelerating above 50mph - does this help narrow it down?

I'm based in Manchester.

Many thanks again,
Jon.

[tucker]

Don't get me wrong, I am no expert here, just a DIYer who's had a few mis-fire issues myself.

When I looked into it on my car, the actual cause is not always obvious and it's a case of reading the codes and then eliminating the possible causes. As I recall, It's normally down to either: lack of spark (looks to have been eliminted with new plugs and coil), fueling problem, vacuum leak or compression (blown head gasket - so unlikey I would expect on such a young car).

Hence I wondered if there was a blocked or faulty petrol injector. Your mis-fire is occuring under load, so it's only when the engine is under stress by the sound of it.

It would not surprise me that they can't immediately find the fault as they probably target the ignition side 99 times out of 100.

The codes will tell you which cylinder or cylinders are mis-firing or if it's a random mis-fire. Mine used to always misfire on number 4 as that injector was problematic.

I am in Ramsbottom and I have a code reader. I can't say for sure it will work on your car, but you are free to plug it in and give it a go if you are local.

[jonholling]

Hi again - thanks again for your advice! It is much appreciated (from someone who knows very little.)

I will mention the fuel injection / cylinder issue when I take it back in (on Tuesday I now know.) As you say, any ignition issue seems to have been ruled out so it must be something to do with the engine or fuel?

If it is a Cylinder issue - am I right to be concerned that this first occured last December and I have been driving it ever since? could I have damaged the engine? (I was driving it as normal on the advice of the dealer because they kept telling me they couldn't find any faults!)

Thanks for the offer of using your code reader - it's much appreciated but I'll probably wait now until I take it back on Tuesday. I'm trying to use the car as little as possible until this is sorted.

1 more question if you don't mind - if the error codes were showing a misfire on a cylinder then would the dealer not have spotted this when they hooked it up to their diagnostic machine? They told me that it wasn't showing any errors at all. That's the bit that's puzzling me more than anything.

Thanks again for your help and advice!

Jon.

[tucker]

If the EML comes on, there has to be a stored code for it in my experience. Unless the ECU is bust?

My next door neighbour had his EML come on. He took it to a garage and their diagnostic didn't pick any code up. They cleared it and sent him on his way. 100 yards later it came back on.

When he got home, I plugged in my hand held £30 one and it picked up a code for a faulty lambda sensor. Why the dealers reader probably costing £1000's didn't read it I have no idea. I do sometimes wonder how much effort main dealers want to really put into diagnosing a problem that's not easily apparent.

If the car has been driving normal most of the time, its an intermittent fault. It goes into safe mode to protect the engine from damage.

Mine was mis-firing on cold mornings for over 12 months. I had to pull up and restart the car to get it out of safe mode. It's done no damage and runs 100% normal now.

I guess yours is being checked under warranty?