Engine management dashboard light came on - NCT implications?

masculinist · 23-01-2017 12:38pm #1

I guess thats life in the Bangernomics zone.

I changed the oil and filter last week of my Citroen C3 [full service history and 1 previous owner].

This week the engine management dashboard light came on.

I'm hoping one isnt related to the other.

Can a car pass NCT if theres a dashboard light on ?

Stheno · 23-01-2017 12:43pm

Petrol yes diesel no

kathleen37 · 23-01-2017 3:01pm

My petrol car passed twice with the warning light on

*cough*

Cee-Jay-Cee · 23-01-2017 3:10pm

I'd be more inclined to get a fault code reader and find out what the problem is rather than wondering if the car would pass NCT with the light on which suggests you're simply going to drive it without bothering to get to the cause.

masculinist · 23-01-2017 5:08pm

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I'd be more inclined to get a fault code reader and find out what the problem is rather than wondering if the car would pass NCT with the light on which suggests you're simply going to drive it without bothering to get to the cause.

I just ordered a cheap one on ebay.

In the meantime I guess I'll go looking for something to fix or make better and take it from there . Change the Sparkplugs etc. Maybe theres a teeny tiny chance thats where the problem is if I investigate. Who knows. Its been too damn cold these days for standing in front of an open bonnet.

Its just a relief that an imminent NCT wont' put me under financial pressure to fix this immediately. I'm just hoping its' not something expensive like the catalytic converter [as happened to some people]. The car drives like a dream at the moment...

Frisbee · 23-01-2017 5:11pm

Same thing happened me two days before the NCT. Sent it in anyway and passed fine. Diesel.

kathleen37 · 23-01-2017 7:15pm

Yeah - I did know what my light was for (rear Cat oxygen sensor)

Skatedude · 23-01-2017 7:32pm

kathleen37 wrote: »

Yeah - I did know what my light was for (rear Cat oxygen sensor)

I'd be worried about emissions in that case, unless it's a diesel, but you did mention cats so petrol car?

kathleen37 · 24-01-2017 12:09pm

Skatedude wrote: »

I'd be worried about emissions in that case, unless it's a diesel, but you did mention cats so petrol car?

Yep, petrol. Mechanic thought it was a false positive reading as emissions were always fine. Light used to come on and off too. Would always be back on for the NCT test though...

masculinist · 29-01-2017 6:05am

I changed the spark plugs on the car on Friday night. The engine management dashboard light went off for about 5 minutes when I restarted the car but my hopes were dashed when it went back on again.

Then on Saturday I went on a longish drive from Dublin city centre to Naas and then a few different spots around Dublin again. On the way back the dashboard light went off for about an hour and a half. I was overjoyed. Then it switched back on again .... *groan*

Anyone got any ideas ? Could there be some loose cable which I might have brushed against when I was moving stuff out of my way to get at the spark plugs ?

jca · 29-01-2017 6:14am

Take the bulb out and forget about it, on or off won't make a damn bit of difference to getting an nct. The only lights they look for are abs and airbag which have to illuminate and then extinguish.

jca · 29-01-2017 6:18am

Stheno wrote: »

Petrol yes diesel no

Wha? We've a 06 Diesel Avensis for hacking around in the job, that stupid little engine light always manages to be on when its nct time:mad: The tester laughed the last time it was brought out remarking that it's a pity the external bulbs weren't as hardy:pac:

masculinist · 29-01-2017 7:21am

jca wrote: »

Take the bulb out and forget about it, on or off won't make a damn bit of difference to getting an nct. The only lights they look for are abs and airbag which have to illuminate and then extinguish.

While its reassuring to know it wont affect the NCT, would removing the light not make a difference to a new owner when I sell it in a few months time ?
Maybe theres some more serious issues which could occur which that light is intended to flag at some future point ?

human 19 · 30-01-2017 8:52pm

I know sod all about faults apart from what happened to me over the past 12 years with the same car but the
mention of spark plugs a nd the fact that it worked for a while on a long journey reminds me of when my battery warning light would intermittently go on . Turned out to be the alternator filing.

masculinist · 01-02-2017 8:19am

human 19 wrote: »

Turned out to be the alternator filing.

Do you mean alternator 'failing' ?

The car never needs to be jump started. Theres no power issues at all .

I just realised theres a slightly different sound from the engine when it idles. Hard to detect sometimes but I agreed with my missus that its there. That could be additional important information.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 01-02-2017 9:02am

Generally when an O2 sensor goes then the light stays on, I have never come across a case where it goes on and off at time (although that's not to say it doesn't happen)

If you notice a slightly different engine sound at idle, it could be a faulty knock sensor?

masculinist · 19-03-2017 5:32pm

The NCT came back with seriously high oil temperature and excessive lambda emissions.

I spoke with a specialist Citroen mechanic friend of a friend and by looking at the NCT results but not the car he recommended a new backbox.

I went to Advanced Pitstop in Dundrum for a ''free exhaust'' check intending to give them my business for a new backbox once they had a look at the exhaust and could confirm this indeed needed fixing.

The mechanic gave me more than a look at my exhaust. He came back with a huge list of issues he claimed were wrong with the car.

I have it in writing.

The coolant was low. The oil was low..... etc etc

I had topped up the coolant last month and it was at maximum on the day of the check up and its still at maximum today. So thats just not accurate.

Ditto with the oil. I change the oil every 6 months. The oil was max then and its max today. So whats the explanation for such an untruth or obvious error ?
A lady ahead of me in the queue told them they had said 2 years ago that her brakes were dangerously low but its two years later and shes still driving around and passing her NCT. Sharp practice here ? I had originally intended to avoid small garages but I wont any longer after this.

Faced with this list, I mentioned the NCT results to him and said all I wanted to do was get it through the NCT, could he not change the backbox for me and would that not fix it . I then got some story about oil seals and how it would cost a lot of money to rebuild the engine, he said up to 1500 euro. Unbelieveable. So despite my wanting him to fix my exhaust only he lost my business. It has to be incompetence because even though its otherwise in great condition and I am the second owner of a car with a complete service history, thats probably the value of the car.

I went to a place called autoexhausts in Crumlin which I randomly found on Google maps where he changed the backbox for 95 euro in 30 minutes. The next day or so it passed the NCT with low oil temperature and low emissions. Good to know a simple backbox can be the solution to a seemingly impossible problem.

masculinist · 19-03-2017 7:26pm

I should mention also that the engine management light went off immediately for 2 hours after the backbox was changed.

Then later in the day it came back on again. Then it was on for a few hours. Then it went back off again for an hour or so.

It looks permanently back on again. It made no difference to the NCT tester. Maybe the codes needs to be read and ''cleared'' before it will go off permanently ?

Engine management dashboard light came on - NCT implications?

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