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Citigo: ECU prevent starting after oil light?

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Short story is an object punctured the sump, allowing oil to drain out whilst in motion. Oil pressure light came on and engine stopped. After recovery to home, I temporarily pugged the hole in the sump and refilled with oil and tried to start it to see if it had seized. Engine turns over fine with no nasty noises. It has fuel in the tank, and there is a spark when I whip a plug out and crank the engine, but it doesn't start.

Anyone know if there is a ECU based "I won't let you start the car, because it had no oil pressure. You need to reset me before I'll let you" sort of mode?

I've disconnected the battery for an hour to see if there was something in volatile memory, but no luck.

 

Any thoughts?

 

Citigo 1.0 2012 on a 61 plate

?

Could i be the cut out / emergency switch because the hit was hard enough that the ECU thinks it crashed?

From your post its sounds like the car stopped on its own accord when the incident happened, normally the oil pressure light doesn't cut out the engine AFAIK so whatever caused the engine to cut out the first time is probably what is stopping it now.

Sound like you need to do a scan for fault codes rather than keep guessing why it won't start?

  • Author

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

Unfortunately I no longer have the cable (I used to have a Fabia) to read the faults.

Although typically fuel + spark + compression = engine running.

I know it has a spark and I know it has fuel in the tank. So my guess is that either the ECU is preventing fuel reaching the intake (that's my "I won't let you start the car, because it had no oil pressure. You need to reset me before I'll let you" mode), or it has insufficient compression, potentially due to rings welding to piston because of no oil. I'm not sure if the fault codes would help me.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

Unfortunately I no longer have the cable (I used to have a Fabia) to read the faults.

Although typically fuel + spark + compression = engine running.

I know it has a spark and I know it has fuel in the tank. So my guess is that either the ECU is preventing fuel reaching the intake (that's my "I won't let you start the car, because it had no oil pressure. You need to reset me before I'll let you" mode), or it has insufficient compression, potentially due to rings welding to piston because of no oil. I'm not sure if the fault codes would help me.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

 

Only you can make that call because you haven't told us how long you drove for with no oil pressure. My guess is too long if the engine stopped by itself

Thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

Unfortunately I no longer have the cable (I used to have a Fabia) to read the faults.

Although typically fuel + spark + compression = engine running.

I know it has a spark and I know it has fuel in the tank. So my guess is that either the ECU is preventing fuel reaching the intake (that's my "I won't let you start the car, because it had no oil pressure. You need to reset me before I'll let you" mode), or it has insufficient compression, potentially due to rings welding to piston because of no oil. I'm not sure if the fault codes would help me.

 

Cheers

 

Mark

You say above that you have fuel plus spark plus compression, what readings are your compressions actually showing?.

  • Author

Thanks guys,

 

@SuperbTWM

I wasn't driving it, but from my daughter's garbled message I would guess 30 secs, and I believe it stopped on it's own rather than her turning the ignition off. She was coasting down a hill and pulled into a lay-by at the bottom

 

@Kentphil1

Sorry, I was saying it needed those 3, but the only one I know for sure is that there is a spark. It has fuel in the tank, but I don't yet know if it gets to the cylinder. A bit later, I'll crank the engine and have a sniff at the exhaust pipe ans see if I can smell it. I don't yet know if it has proper compression.

 

Cheers

I would say at this stage a code read and a compression test should be high on your list of first things to do in view of that info.

 

Do you know yet how the sump got holed?, did she hit a solid object or clip a moving item in the road?, as the potential damage will be vastly different depending on the answer.

  • Author
On 24/01/2017 at 00:16, kentphil1 said:

I would say at this stage a code read and a compression test should be high on your list of first things to do in view of that info.

 

Do you know yet how the sump got holed?, did she hit a solid object or clip a moving item in the road?, as the potential damage will be vastly different depending on the answer.

 

It looks like something got thrown up, since the puncture site has no surrounding damage: no grazes or scratch marks. There's a picture of the wound a bit further up the thread. I've been a bit tied up this week, but will try to get my aged compression tester to take some readings

 

Many thanks to all

Could anyone else looking in on this thread let me know if you can see a photo in this thread, as I may have an issue with my machine settings that I was not aware of please?.

  • Sponsor
5 minutes ago, kentphil1 said:

Could anyone else looking in on this thread let me know if you can see a photo in this thread, as I may have an issue with my machine settings that I was not aware of please?.

None here mate. The OP posted a few links to pics in his original thread on this car here. :)

31 minutes ago, Wino said:

None here mate. The OP posted a few links to pics in his original thread on this car here. :)

 

Cheers Wino, thought I was seriously losing it then,:giggle:

 

markb, have replied in your main post.

  • Author
14 hours ago, kentphil1 said:

 

Cheers Wino, thought I was seriously losing it then,:giggle:

 

markb, have replied in your main post.

Phil, Have PM'ed you

Replied :)

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