Fault codes - local shop can't solve
 

Hey all
My car's been having "hiccups/stutters" for a while, combined with the check engine light.
I took it to the local shop and they sorted it -for a few weeks.
The "hiccups" have returned and the check engine light has turned on again as well.
I scanned for codes and the following codes turned up:
P0420 Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1)
P0445 Evap Emission Control Sys Purge Control Valve Circuit Short
P1300 Boost Calibration Fault
P1316 Injector Circuit / IDM Codes Detected
P1520 Intake Manifold Runner Control Circuit Malfunction

Do you guys know what the problem could be and how I could solve it?
Thanks in advance

Am sure 1520 is a spurious left over BMW Mems 3 code and does not apply to MGR cars - no doubt someone will come on and advise.

The other codes point your to your cat being unable to cope with the engine emissions output - the cause being the fuel mix is wrong - could be an injector at fault or the Map sensor (Manifold Pressure sensor) is failing which would mess up the fueling ratio which would cause the Cat error code as the cat cannot cope with the emissions.

As your engine appears to be a 1.8 NASP (no turbo) not sure how you could get a P1300 error as that is a turbo fault?:shrug: But no doubt someone with expertise will confirm this.

Your car needs a service, change air filter, fuel filter, spark plugs and oil and oil filter, add a good quality fuel conditioner ( Forte) then take the car for a good run after the engine has warmed up nicely, then have an emissions test carried out, that will give you a base line to start from, your problems appear to be emission related.

It's a 1.8 (non turbo) indeed.
I only had it serviced in April, replaced all but fuel filter then. The problem existed before that time, with the occasional check engine light, but they said everything looked fine. (To my knowledge, P0445 had not shown up at this stage)
Recently it had a bad case of "the hiccups" shall we say, and they read out the codes and found P0445 among some others I don't recall. They have replaced the purge valve (or so they said anyway) and added a fuel conditioner. The problem went away for a few weeks and is now back.
Needless to say I'm not keen on taking my car back there.

Update: a friend suggested switching to another fuel station to see if it would make a difference. I have now run a few tanks on another fuel station's fuel and the "hiccups" seem to have disappeared. I've now cleared the codes through TOAF, but code P1520 (in TOAF listed as "unknown error") won't clear.
Do I just wait and see if everything remains ok or do I still need to look into whatever might be causing this P1520?

RAVE doesn't even list this code for your MEMS engine management so I'd say that you're safe to ignore it as Yorkshire GOC said earlier.

Simon

Alright, thanks, just wanted to confirm.
Guess now I'll just have to wait and see if anything pops up again. If it doesn't, I imagine my former fuel station sells lesser quality fuel which caused the issue.

It seems the underlying problem persists...
So far, I haven't encountered any "hiccups" while driving anymore, but check engine light has come back on with codes P0445 and P0420.
Not sure if relevant, but the check engine light came on while on the motorway.

I'm assuming the P0445 causes the P0420, so where do I best look to sort this issue?

It seems to me that your purge control valve is faulty, thus interfering with the lambda sensor ( Bank 1), the one located before the catalytic converter, have the evaporative charcoal canister and associated tubing checked for blockage/other damage, and if there is any electrical connector to it unplug it and clean it with electrical contact cleaner.
Have the lamdba sensor checked out, cleaned or replaced as well.

Is the purge control valve/evaporative charcoal canister something I can do myself? If so, could you point me to where in the engine it is located?
The lambda sensor was replaced last year so would surprise me if it's bad already, but worth looking at while I'm at it anyway.