EML Warning light - again.

[lightbody]

Once yesterday and once today the EML light has come on while driving at about 30 in town. The car hesitates then the light comes on, then i have hardly any power. Bad Petrol maybe? It runs perfectly when i switch off and on again.

It did this when it was about 6 months old resulting eventually in me nearly having a horrible crash on the motorway when i lost all power at speed. It turned out to be the crankshaft sensor (if memory serves). Could it be that again?

[KenL]

Is your petrol cap on tight Rob?

[Duncan Stewart]

Scary!

[lightbody]

And he did it again this morning - had to move him out of the way of a very big bin lorry in my rear lane and he wouldn't start properly! He was idling and refusing to do anything else! THe FOURTH time I started him, he was PERFECT!

Checked and fuel cap is on tight.

:(

[GAJ]

This happened to my car right after I bought it. It was something to do with the wiring harness I think!

[KenL]

I would get your car to the dealer asap Rob.

[Heather]

poor sick charlie:sleepy: A trip the henry brothers hospital i think! Let us know you you get on.

[Julz]

Take him to your dealers!! (take me to your leader...????:I), it might be a loose electrical connection or something like that, when my EML went on, Safe Mode kicked in and it was electrical stuff!!;):D

[lightbody]

He's off to the dealer as soon as i get a chance.

My goodness, he's not been in the dealers since about October - that'll be a record! Mind you I dont really use him Monday to Friday...

[redpoint rallying]

Lightbody - consider this -

My rallycar (Cooper)is not used as a road car so spends most of its time in the garage sitting there. The Cooper battery doesnt like this so it goes flat through lack of use. When its gone flat, (trust me on this, it is BMW's initial tech remedie)take out the battery, turn it upside down to allow the fluid to wash over the internals and place the right way up again. Then re charge overnight. You can only do this a few times before the battery just gives up.

I digress.....what you have described has happened to the rallycar due to a low power battery. The car senses the lack of power and automatically defaults to a 'safe map/mode' which means the car feels like its on two cylinders with absolutely no power, but will get you home at about 20mph.
When you switch off the car, pause for a few seconds and switch on again, it will have re set itself, however will just de-fault onto the 'safe' again. I re charged my battery twice as a result of this happening but eventually has no option but to fit a new battery...and problem solved.

Hope that helps!

Cheers

[lightbody]

redpoint rallying - thanks - very interesting!

The dealer I bought my car from originally took 2.5 days to reply to my message (fax) so I tried Harry F's who replied within 30 mins... so he's off to Harry's on Monday to hopefully get sorted.

[lightbody]

Well he only just made it to Harry's - arriving with EML light firmly on!

They've told me he needs a new 'wiring harness'... i should get him back on wednesday once they get the part in.

[Smurf]

I hope Charlie is better soon.

Smurf is going into Henry Bros a week on Wednesday. The brakes have been squeaking since they fixed them the last time, so she needs to be de-squeaked.
Also, she's running the outside inch to inch and a half off the two front tyres again. They blamed this on me the last time for not checking my tyre pressures. They've been checked every week since then, she's had two new tyres, and that was only around October last year. And as another thread around here will testify, I drive far too much like a 'girly' to have caused that damage myself !!

The salesman was desperately trying to get me to trade her in / sell her privately / and buy a new one when I was there on Saturday.....
I'm doing some maths, hadn't planned on changing her until October 2005, but the salesman made some sense about changing her a little earlier......

[lightbody]

I wouldn't let them talk you into another car just because they can't fix the faults on your current one!!

My front tyres lasted over 16,000 hard-driven miles and the wear was perfectly even (despite replacement front suspension to cure the left-drift).

Having said that, if I had a permanent job, I'd now be thinking about changing Charlie but I think he's older than yours (Oct 01 build).

[Smurf]

Don't worry, Rob, I won't let them talk me into anything!
And they WILL fix her.......

Smurf is October '02 build (52 plate) and I'd planned on changing her once the warranty ran out (Oct '05). However, it makes more sense if selling privately (more money than the dealership) to sell her with some warranty left......

Still thinking.....

[lightbody]

Well, 1 wiring loom later, he's a bit better, but not perfect. EML light came on 3 times (each time power/speed is very limited) on the way home from the garage!! (I would have turned round and dumped him back there but they were shut by then). Using him for the rest of the evening, he only played up once though...

Wonky headlights seem fixed with a new headlight unit.

Squeaky gears seem fixed with a new selector wotsit.

[Heather]

That EML stuff sounds scary Rob. Id get it back in pronto with a very stern face!

[lightbody]

New throttle-body thingumibob now being fitted... fingers crossed!

[GAJ]

That's what I had done to mine! Been fine ever since.

[lightbody]

300 mile test drive round the mull of Kintyre this weekend - he's perfect! Fantastic driving roads by the way with gob-smacking scenery. I'd never been in that bit of the world and was well impressed.

Many thanks to Harry Fairbairns for delivering the car to my door to allow me to make my weekend away.