Berlingo 1.9 D Van - losing Power White Smoke after annual test performed

[Berlingo64]

Hi There,

Hope you will bear with me. I am an older lady (but 18 til I die!) not especially motor minded but do understand a bit about them.

Yesterday took 2004 Citroen Berlingo 1.9 diesel van for DOE test. It failed on the following all of which I am happy with I know what I am doing but in case anyone has any ideas on item 1 then happy to hear your expertise.

Airbag light not working at ignition.

Front o/s rear wishbone bush worn

o/s outer CV boot leaking

However, I drove away from the centre and after a few hundred yards, the van lost power and started to billow white smoke. It then picked up and was OK for the 30km drive home until near home it did the same thing lost power and billowed smoke. I assumed it could have been after the emissions test and smoke test which the van passed easily.

Today I thought I would chance driving it to my local garage for a chat to fix the issues via the local garage where I put half a tank of diesel in. The same thing happened twice (loss of power/white smoke). Again it picked up and ran as sweetly as ever. I am now concerned there may be some significant damage to the vehicle and cannot quite figure it out.

I do not really believe in coincidence when it comes to mechanical things so here are some additional facts.

The evening before the test, I put approx half a litre of oil into the vehicle as it was low (almost at min). It then was on the maximum after the top up. There were no issues on the drive to the test centre 30kms, the issue began after the test.

Is it possible that even though I only put a small amount of oil in and the dipstick showed max, I actually overfilled the oil? Would this cause loss of power and white smoke?

Could the revving etc during the DOE test have damaged the vehicle?

Could I have picked up some bad diesel?

I realise there is not much to go on but wondering should I contact the test centre or if this is known to occur after the emissions test or is it the oil top up or just an unlucky series of events that has broken the van [Image: frown.png] 

Thanks so much for listening - cannot get anything done until after the bank holiday now so rather stuck.

[brodfather11]

check the engine oil level when its cold. Too much oil can cause a lot of problems.

It may be a coincidence or dirty fuel, but a dirty fuel filter/water in fuel can cause  fuel starvation/misfires with white smoke. I would get that changed if it has not been changed for a while.

The leaking cv  boot is probably the clip holding the boot onto the cv joint has rusted away ,(Did on my berlingo )

Needs new bushes in the front suspension.

[ron]

check the engine oil level when its cold. Too much oil can cause a lot of problems.

It may be a coincidence or dirty fuel, but a dirty fuel filter/water in fuel can cause  fuel starvation/misfires with white smoke. I would get that changed if it has not been changed for a while.

The leaking cv  boot is probably the clip holding the boot onto the cv joint has rusted away ,(Did on my berlingo )

Needs new bushes in the front suspension.

Good,practical advice there.Do the simple things 1st.

[Berlingo64]

check the engine oil level when its cold. Too much oil can cause a lot of problems.

It may be a coincidence or dirty fuel, but a dirty fuel filter/water in fuel can cause  fuel starvation/misfires with white smoke. I would get that changed if it has not been changed for a while.

The leaking cv  boot is probably the clip holding the boot onto the cv joint has rusted away ,(Did on my berlingo )

Needs new bushes in the front suspension.

Thank you for the advice, I phoned the test centre who basically said I had signed a disclaimer so tough, but that the oil levels are checked during the test and if they are too low or too high they do not perform the test. My oil check (cold engine) today showed the oil level a little under the maximum. Car started fine was fine for a couple of km then chugged a bit, pinked a bit, billowed a bit then was OK. Mechanic said get the little stuff done (cv boot and bush) and retest to get the cert (sensible idea) and then address the situation.  Van ran grand in 4th, 5th gear, and I drove a 10Km round trip with only two  chug,pink,billow incidents seems to happen in low gears. It loses power for a moment or two then accelerates away like a rocket. No warning lights, no obvious smell from the smoke so hoping it is as simple as fuel filter which I will have them look at when it is in the garage next week. Thanks once again. This little van is my life line. I live middle of nowhere on my own so it is kind of stressful especially as not much to spend on big repairs. Hopefully there is a simple solution - Thanks again.

[geoff]

Fuel filter is a must to get a baseline, when the filter is removed tip in some fuel / injector cleaner to the filter housing at say a 50 / 50 ratio and when starting let it idle for 5 mins so the injectors get a more concerted clean out then once done put some in the tank.

Wishbone bush - if one has wear then the other plus the bottom joint won't be far behind so I'd advise replacing the wishbone as an assembly as it has to come off either way.

Air bag - is it not coming on with ignition or is it staying on ?

[Berlingo64]

Fuel filter is a must to get a baseline, when the filter is removed tip in some fuel / injector cleaner to the filter housing at say a 50 / 50 ratio and when starting let it idle for 5 mins so the injectors get a more concerted clean out then once done put some in the tank.

Wishbone bush - if one has wear then the other plus the bottom joint won't be far behind so I'd advise replacing the wishbone as an assembly as it has to come off either way.

Air bag - is it not coming on with ignition or is it staying on ?

Thank you geoff, I must say you guys are so helpful. The airbag light does not come on at ignition. It passed the test last time so it must have been working then. Hopefully it is a bulb or fuse and nothing more complicated.  Yes I said to garage I wanted the pair of wishbones done. 

I really hope the revving in the test has clogged something up. Again car perfect driving today except for odd chug,pink,smoke, loss of power, take it down the gears while it is slowing then off  it goes again happy out! No smell from smoke of anything sinister!

[Gadgetman]

The airbag light may not have been on the checklist the last time...
(It's a relatively new addition to the list of things they check)
I would hope it's just the bulb.
Anyone with Lexia or other OBD II reader compatible with the Berlingo should be able to verify if it's working or not. Note that some unscrupulous people used to remove the bulb if there was an issue with the system.
(tHe issue on a Berlingo is either bad earthing in the steering column, or the plug under the seat for the seatbelt tensioners. All easy to fix. Replacing the bulb, though, is a big pain in the... )
This is why the bulb is set to light up until the system has finished diagnostics.

CV boot. If one is perished, odds are that the one on the other side also is perished, or about to.
(The clips can fail, yes, but the rubber also ha a finite lifetime)
Get both done. And if the mechanic tries to use a 'generic' that's in two halves that is glued together after being fitted around the shaft, give him the shaft.

[Berlingo64]

Thank you once again. The airbag check has been in the Irish test for the last few years since 2013 so it would have passed last year. At least I know it has not been butchered to keep the light off!!