Engine light on please help

tezzer · 5th December 2015, 15:15

Hi all over the last couple of days the mg zt 1.8t hasnt been running its usual self, first i noticed it was rough on idle, not so much on start up but throughout any journey, then yesterday the car overheated for the first time ive had it, it went to 115.. normally its 112 fan kicks in and everything is back to normal.
So i pulled over checked water, and was completely empty. I topped up with coolant and water and everything was fine again, but this morning water was empty again. So topped up and drove a few miles, no overheating this time just a rough idle again and then engine light flashed and stayed on.
I recently changed (a couple of months back) IMG for vvc one.. has anyone any thoughts on this?

SD1too · 5th December 2015, 15:35

Hello Terry,

Here are some suggestions for you:

Rough idle
Inlet manifold gasket leaking.
Sparking plug gaps.

Overheating

Quote:

Originally Posted by tezzer

... it went to 115.. normally its 112 fan kicks in ..

Your fan resistor has broken. The temperature should normally be 104° maximum. Since this appears to have remained unresolved you may well now have worn out brushes causing complete motor failure. Both speeds can be tested on a DIY basis if you're interested.

'Check engine' warning lamp
Usually triggered by a detected emissions problem. Ask Phil-T4 to visit you for a diagnosis.

Simon

tezzer · 5th December 2015, 15:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too

Hello Terry,

Here are some suggestions for you:

Rough idle
Inlet manifold gasket leaking.
Sparking plug gaps.

Overheating

Your fan resistor has broken. The temperature should normally be 104° maximum. Since this appears to have remained unresolved you may well now have worn out brushes causing complete motor failure. Both speeds can be tested on a DIY basis if you're interested.

'Check engine' warning lamp
Usually triggered by a detected emissions problem. Ask Phil-T4 to visit you for a diagnosis.

Simon

Cheers Simon,
The fan does kick in but it kept on rising, but today it was normal again sat in traffic, engine got to 112 then went back down to normal. Its been this way for 4 years..
But i will check the plugs, and inlet manifold again.

SD1too · 5th December 2015, 16:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by tezzer

The fan does kick in but it kept on rising, but today it was normal again sat in traffic, engine got to 112 then went back down to normal.

OK Terry. To start with, you'll see a small diameter hose attached to the expansion tank neck. Remove the cap (when the engine's stone cold of course) then start the engine. You should have a steady stream of coolant flowing into the tank through that hose. If not, use a 1mm diameter twist drill to unblock the restriction where the hose joins the tank neck.

Could anyone or a garage have put K-seal into your cooling system 4 years ago?

Simon

tezzer · 5th December 2015, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by SD1too

OK Terry. To start with, you'll see a small diameter hose attached to the expansion tank neck. Remove the cap (when the engine's stone cold of course) then start the engine. You should have a steady stream of coolant flowing into the tank through that hose. If not, use a 1mm diameter twist drill to unblock the restriction where the hose joins the tank neck.

Could anyone or a garage have put K-seal into your cooling system 4 years ago?

Simon

Thanks simon
I will try that.

God knows what goes on prior to owning our cars.. on service history it had a clean bill of health when i bought her, on was only 40,000 miles back then

tezzer · 7th December 2015, 19:01

I had a good look around the car today, and it seems its the inlet manifold again, i fitted the vvc inlet a few months back but all over the back of the engine is covered in rusty coloured water.
I also spoke with terry at ts auto who advised me if possible to put the plastic one back on, if it wasnt warped, as he cannot understand the need to replace this item so i might replace and see if this helps. Car is still losing all coolant on a daily basis. I will have to source new gasket and have a go wed.

kaiser · 8th December 2015, 06:20

The metal item is better. But that requires it to be straight and correctly installed.

The plastic item deteriorates and even gets crumbly in places. Furthermore it cannot create the uniform pressure on the gasket that a metal unit can.

So I would keep the metal unit, but have a careful look at the installation and also check the surface of block and manifold carefully.

But before you do anything, have a careful look at the stains and where they come from!

tezzer · 10th December 2015, 21:05

Ok so yesterday i had my hands full dealing with this problem, i ordered some new gaskets from rimmers which came next day delivery, perfect timing aswell as i had stripped and i think recongnised what the problem was. The vvc manifold i had put on, had come quite loose, and as i remember the 2 outer bolts were almost off. So i spent the day retightening everything aswell as replacing the gaskets, i also replaced the leads which had come apart as i removed them to have a look at the spark plugs, and im glad i had a look at plenum as there was quite a bit of water sloshing around.
I refilled water/coolant and left overnight, came down this morning car started fine and engine light has now gone off.
So the morale of the story is dont let me fit anyones vvc manifold haha. But touch wood all is well now.
Thanks for all the help as usual

Darcydog · 11th December 2015, 08:53

Just a thought re the HT leads

I replaced the HT leads on my V8 LR with Bosch ones thinking I was doing the right thing as she ran on LPG and hence the ignition system needs to be spot-on - but after 20 odd miles she ran like a pig and was even hesitant and hunting on petrol.

I got a shock from the leads when removing them one at a time to see where the problem was but this seemed to make little difference!

Put the old OE LR leads back on and problem solved.

I have never strayed from OE items since.

5th December 2015, 15:15	#1
tezzer Gets stuck in MG ZT Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: South London Posts: 664 Thanks: 63 Thanked 19 Times in 18 Posts	Engine light on please help Hi all over the last couple of days the mg zt 1.8t hasnt been running its usual self, first i noticed it was rough on idle, not so much on start up but throughout any journey, then yesterday the car overheated for the first time ive had it, it went to 115.. normally its 112 fan kicks in and everything is back to normal. So i pulled over checked water, and was completely empty. I topped up with coolant and water and everything was fine again, but this morning water was empty again. So topped up and drove a few miles, no overheating this time just a rough idle again and then engine light flashed and stayed on. I recently changed (a couple of months back) IMG for vvc one.. has anyone any thoughts on this? __________________ [SIGPIC]

7th December 2015, 19:01	#6
tezzer Gets stuck in MG ZT Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: South London Posts: 664 Thanks: 63 Thanked 19 Times in 18 Posts	I had a good look around the car today, and it seems its the inlet manifold again, i fitted the vvc inlet a few months back but all over the back of the engine is covered in rusty coloured water. I also spoke with terry at ts auto who advised me if possible to put the plastic one back on, if it wasnt warped, as he cannot understand the need to replace this item so i might replace and see if this helps. Car is still losing all coolant on a daily basis. I will have to source new gasket and have a go wed. __________________ [SIGPIC]

8th December 2015, 06:20	#7
kaiser This is my second home 75 Tourer 2.5 Auto, 1.8T, 75V8ZT Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Johannesburg ZA Posts: 6,200 Thanks: 1 Thanked 859 Times in 613 Posts	The metal item is better. But that requires it to be straight and correctly installed. The plastic item deteriorates and even gets crumbly in places. Furthermore it cannot create the uniform pressure on the gasket that a metal unit can. So I would keep the metal unit, but have a careful look at the installation and also check the surface of block and manifold carefully. But before you do anything, have a careful look at the stains and where they come from! __________________ Worth his V8 in gold

10th December 2015, 21:05	#8
tezzer Gets stuck in MG ZT Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: South London Posts: 664 Thanks: 63 Thanked 19 Times in 18 Posts	Ok so yesterday i had my hands full dealing with this problem, i ordered some new gaskets from rimmers which came next day delivery, perfect timing aswell as i had stripped and i think recongnised what the problem was. The vvc manifold i had put on, had come quite loose, and as i remember the 2 outer bolts were almost off. So i spent the day retightening everything aswell as replacing the gaskets, i also replaced the leads which had come apart as i removed them to have a look at the spark plugs, and im glad i had a look at plenum as there was quite a bit of water sloshing around. I refilled water/coolant and left overnight, came down this morning car started fine and engine light has now gone off. So the morale of the story is dont let me fit anyones vvc manifold haha. But touch wood all is well now. Thanks for all the help as usual __________________ [SIGPIC]

11th December 2015, 08:53	#9
Darcydog This is my second home Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 5,428 Thanks: 3,123 Thanked 3,170 Times in 2,096 Posts	Just a thought re the HT leads I replaced the HT leads on my V8 LR with Bosch ones thinking I was doing the right thing as she ran on LPG and hence the ignition system needs to be spot-on - but after 20 odd miles she ran like a pig and was even hesitant and hunting on petrol. I got a shock from the leads when removing them one at a time to see where the problem was but this seemed to make little difference! Put the old OE LR leads back on and problem solved. I have never strayed from OE items since.